Rafael Lovato Jr. recently took to Instagram to share the full story behind the end of his collegiate wrestling journey with Oklahoma City University. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion made a series of videos to walk his followers through exactly how everything unfolded.
Lovato Jr. revealed that time was one of the biggest obstacles during his short stint in collegiate wrestling. With limited preparation and a packed schedule, he felt he never truly had the chance to fully develop his wrestling during the season.
“I just didn’t have enough time. If I could have had a whole season, more time to prepare my schedule and clear things out, to do more events, get the experience, really find my wrestling game, I do believe I would have at least made it to nationals,” Lovato Jr. explained.
Another challenge came from the weight class he ended up competing in. Lovato Jr. stepped in at heavyweight after a teammate was injured, which meant facing significantly larger opponents.
“These young kids, monsters, 250 pounds was like the average small size that I ended up competing against, doing heavyweight, stepping in for the heavyweight that was injured for the Oklahoma City University team,” he said.
On top of the physical challenges of competing at heavyweight, Lovato Jr. was also juggling an intense schedule outside the wrestling room. Between college classes, team practices, and his professional commitments, the workload quickly piled up.
“Outside of the actual competition, adding college classes and wrestling practice to my schedule at home on top of teaching, training, running a business, and of course my family,” he mentioned.
Even though Lovato Jr. did not qualify for the national tournament himself, he was proud of what the Oklahoma City University team accomplished during the season. The program had a strong run and performed well at the national championships.
“We ended up finishing the season ranked four in the country, with three members of the team seated number one in their division, number one in the country. We had an amazing start to the national championship today with several people making it through day one, and they finished day one ranked number three as a team,” Lovato Jr. said.
Still, he admitted that missing the national tournament was difficult, especially considering some of the circumstances surrounding the selection process.
“It was pretty disappointing to miss that opportunity. I was very excited to have my chance at a national level wrestling tournament in college. Just what an experience, what a rush, and kind of a dream come true that would have been,” he said.
Lovato Jr. also pointed out that one of the wrestlers who received a wild card entry into the tournament was someone he had already defeated earlier in the season.
“It stung a little bit because they ended up giving a wild card spot to one of the kids that I pinned at the conference championships. It was my semi-final. He ended up getting in, and there were several people that I was able to beat this season, this half season that I did, that are in the tournament. It would have been great to be there and try to battle to become a national champion, or at the very least leave with an all-American,” he said.
Despite the disappointment, Lovato Jr. spoke highly of the Oklahoma City University team and the experience of being part of the program. Having spent decades around elite martial arts teams, he said he could immediately sense something special about the group.
“Going throughout my martial arts journey, I’ve been so blessed to have spent a large amount of time surrounded by incredible teams, legends, history making moments. I can see it, I can feel it when I’m around something super special. That’s how I felt every day being around these kids on the Oklahoma City team,” he said.
Now that the season is over, Lovato Jr. says he is shifting his focus back to his regular schedule and upcoming events.
“Time to get back to doing what I do and not having to worry about homeworks and midterms and quizzes and all that kind of stuff anymore. Next stop will be Miami, then Wagner Hosha in May.”
