BTG 35 - Rafael Lovato Jr.

[Music] hello everyone welcome back to breaking the guard podcast I am Robert Drysdale here with my good friend and co-host David Avalon and with super Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion legend Bellator champion also a great guy overall Rafael Lovato junior Rafael what a pleasure to have you on the show it's great to be here thanks for having me guys it's an honor now I have here two American Jesus legends right that's right at least is the key you to have both set the way for Americans you know so that's kind of a cool thing and I think lo out too I read up and I guess we could start off with this on your podcast with Jenna Rogan recently where you're talking about the disease that you had and man what ordeal that you had to go through yeah I'm trying to empathize with you and put myself in that situation I'm like Jesus Christ like just stepping in there it's just so much stress because I know how we all are you think about everything going on and all the repercussions that something gonna have and then just to come out of that in the battle you know that it was I mean it's a true testament to your heart so the kudos definitely a good way to at least for the moment that's a nice exclamation mark in your career as a as transition from BG Gator mm-hmm yeah I mean both you guys have fought MMA before you know you know you know what it's like I mean it's it's the scariest thing I've ever done you know and I'm sure you guys would put it right up there you know in the top three if it's not number one you know there's there's all that fear the unknown and it's just so raw and and all the unexpected all the the possible outcomes you know you really put it all the line and then to find out about that condition that I have you know just six weeks before the the toughest fight of my life and and one which I was a big underdog and you know it was such a huge step up in competition you know against such a great all-around fighter that was definitely going to test me you know to have that going on and trying to process it and and train at the same time was just man like I I can't begin to describe you know like I mean you know everything is about being confident and your confidence comes from from how well you're performing in your training and and making sure everything's clicking your body mentally physically spiritually well you know mentally and spiritually I was a [ __ ] wreck and and so naturally you know physically things things weren't weren't clicking I wasn't sleeping I was stressed you know I and Beyond dealing with the news of what I of the condition that I have and trying to process that and think about like man am I just am I just killing myself by doing this you know I had those thoughts you know beyond that I I didn't know if I was going to get approved to fight so I'm trying to train and stay positive you know while processing my health and then and keep working my ass off and not know if they're actually going to get me the green light I didn't know the fight was gonna happen until two weeks before the fight and so there was so many elements that were just so hard and every bit of free time that I had outside of training I was I was using it to to see doctors and you know just do everything I could to get the information and get everything in place to send it in to the Commission and get approved and it was just it was so difficult and then inside of all that I got injured as well my hamstring you know I can go on and on or on but it was it was an emotional roller coaster I can probably probably not the same thing but I can't imagine fighting under those conditions because I remember when I tried out for the the season of The Ultimate Fighter I think I might have been season 9 I was trying to make 85 and and then they did an MRI my brain they found like an aneurysm right and when you told me I had an aneurysm you might as well told me I have brain cancer and I was gonna die because I didn't know what to think I don't know right now I don't know anyone with the brain aneurysm and like dude I got like I was just crying all day you know it's like I'm gonna die how much time do I have left you know like what I do I guess what's going through my head but later I found out it wasn't that bad it was my case it's not life-threatening but I can't imagine having that thought process being like emotionally worn out from just the notion of having an issue like that and then having prepared for a fight at the same time so like man that kudos for for toughening that out man that's got to be the probably the hardest moment of your life and I doubt you ever go through anything that hard yeah but at the same time you know it gave me the strength you know what I mean it was it was so hard but when you're going through something like that you know you have to you have to reflect and you dig deep and and you completely understand you know what you're doing it for and and just so grateful that I mean whenever they whenever they approved me I mean I cried basically every day but whenever I got approved I just broke down again and I was just so so grateful that that that it was gonna happen and and I had that opportunity and you know the fight was a war itself and I believe that I was able to come out for that fifth round and you know have that last bit of a fire and that that will because of everything that I had to go through leading up to the fight you know it just it just made me stronger so in the end it was it was it was a good thing you know and I'm very grateful for it that's amazing yeah I think that goes to tell you that you know one a lot of people have this idea like oh if I'm injured I can't have a good campaign obviously you were like four people don't know you had a serious leg injury you were saying you were hobbling around everywhere yeah I couldn't my pain train III all I could do was like cardio boxing I need a wrestle you know but I couldn't wrestle because of my hamstring I mean it's a whole whole nother element to it all absolutely and then I think the other thing it adds to is like you you were expressing that the fact that you had to go through all this intensify your desire to fight as I know some people there you're scared to get in there and sometimes especially when you're and everybody's a little scared of course but like some people are terrified to get in there to the point that they feel like they're being forced to fight and you know people who are a little bit weaker they're looking for ways out you know like oh you know oh they call this off thank God you know or like try to say face so like when you have to do everything in your power to get the fight like yeah that's a stress that most people don't really understand that I've been to that situation that not in your context whatsoever but like a fight being called off or whatnot and it is devastating to assemble who really wants to fight and particularly in this situation where you know this might be the very last chance you'll ever get yeah it's kind of like if you see like wrestlers in high school they all cry when they lose and they don't make states that whatnot and it's funny because people look at why wrestlers crying it's just a wrestling match in jujitsu we have 20 minutes every day you know it's like true but it's because the time span because that you know your your high school wrestling career ends there's no coming back to it you know and similarly like in yours it's a finality like this is it there's nothing beyond this so III think it's just to me III heard it and I was just so amazed by it because I it's like a mountain on top of you and you manage to persevere you know and I think it's just it was a really cool thing because you again coming from and you are are a true mixed martial artist you know you've I know you did you couldn't do like I actually started but you could go also 13:14 I know you went through the whole thing so it's really cool seeing you being able to come all the way to the top yeah yeah that was the hardest part whenever we got hit with the news you know being yeah we were supposed to find in January right and and then he got hurt and then there was this long period of kind of limbo where I'm waiting to hear about the extent of his injury how much time he's gonna need and I got offered a couple other fights inside of that time and it was I was like man dude do I take this fight I was so close to saying yes because I was already ready I was already doing a camp but you know talking over with my manager and my team is just like no we we had already put in half of a camp with masazi on our mind it'd be really hard to focus properly on someone else at that point and so we decided to wait and so going from January waiting all the way until the fight getting rebooked for June you know so that was already a six month period and then and then I had already started you know I mean the camp is about to 12 weeks you know 10 to 12 weeks and I got hit with the news six weeks out so I was already halfway through the second camp for Mousasi and then it was just like what after all of this now you're telling me I might not get to fight you know working my whole life just to get to this point to be on this stage to fight someone of his caliber for a world title like that's my life's work and now maybe it's it's not gonna happen you know and on top of that maybe I might be having brain surgery one day you know what I mean and all the other stuff I mean it was it was something else but you know definitely nothing but but gratitude for my health and that I got that opportunity and you know I got to be up there with my team and my family and and get our hands raised and have that Bell for us awesome so I felt like we've known each other I mean a rough go way back out rough file for a little little piece of history rough fellow beat me twice when we were kids where I would have been like what 18:16 or something like that 20 years ago you were super flexible I was like [ __ ] I can't get around this guy's guard well uh it was but we're back and actually I sure you told this story a million times but you started with your father right like your father's been in your corner your whole life and and you're originally what the Machado's I remember and then you had a moment there with what's Gracie by I remember you crowd Lee took Raziel I was living Brazil at the time that's continued at tournaments I gave you a brown belt wants to make way did you remember that was like no it wasn't it was it wasn't to make weight it was because it was too faded they gave me a hard time about the the the color of my belt yeah yeah and I remember like a really thin belt Dave there's like a Taekwondo belt who's like super thin I that was wait hey you reminded me I join our member this exactly that was the 2003 Brazil it oh yes I I think I think you got hurt and you you ran out I think that's what happened in the absolute I think you got hurt or something like that I don't think I was looking for you 2003 I grabbed my toe and he broke my toe remember yes no [ __ ] I'm heating this guy on points I'm just doing my thing playing my guard he literally grabs my toe and goes like this sideways oh and then the ref doesn't do anything staring me in the eye and then I finally tapped from the toll lock right and then this guy goes and then the rich stops to fight and I'm like he's literally gonna give the guys submission it's like a new rule I haven't heard of and then he stands us back up and gives me the win I'm like dude why'd you wait for him to break my toes like sooner I'm like are you kidding me but apparently you have to tap for them to call it in the legal submission but anyway cuz he would come from from Oklahoma to compete and he'd spent some time and Gracie Baja right so I was training there because because of the Machado brothers they're their lineage to Gracie Baja and it wasn't uh they weren't very closely connected but I just didn't have another option at that time yeah and then you end up getting really tight with the Ribeiro brother so me talk about how did that really should come about and you know you're really tight with them and you have been for a long time yeah so uh you know like I said like you said I was under the Machado brothers my father he met the Machado brothers through the JKD instructor conferences that they were hosting in LA and then Chuck Chuck Norris brought Carlos Machado to Dallas Texas to teach him while he was filming the Walker Texas Ranger show and so Carlos became the first you know legit like world class you know Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt in this area of the country and he had a profound impact on jiu-jitsu in the south down here and so basically everyone has some sort of lineage to Carlos you know now people have moved here but but for a long period of time you could trace everyone back to Carlos from text you know in Texas Oklahoma and the Southwest the Midwest and so we were under Carlos and and of course Carlos is an excellent teacher but he was already starting he's the oldest of the Machado brothers he was already starting a family and really focusing in on his Academy and so all the times when I was going to Brazil and you know traveling around to compete and stuff like that I was I was usually by myself and I didn't have a team and in 2003 traveling by myself going to compete I ended up competing against solo and David you were there you thought solo in the first round I believe yeah that was a sucky time for me because I didn't know what I was getting into yeah well in solo was already I mean he was he was already a legend he was already a multiple time world champion and but I remember you being there and we were we weren't opposite sides you had him early and then I managed to fight my way to the finals and I actually competed against one of sorrows' black belts in the semi-finals and I was losing on points and was able to come back and submit him and so then I earned my spot in the finals whenever it was kind of like the vibe was already kind of going around that they were gonna end up closing it out and sharing the money and everything and so I spoiled all their plans and then I was really really nervous going into the final with solo just felt like man I was intimidated I was intimidated and I knew he was coming to take my head off after beating his guy but but it was it was a beautiful match I was able to survive for a good bit my guard you know gave him a little bit of trouble and but at the end he mounted me and submitted me which was you know to be expected I was just like 19 at the time and so anyways later on a few a few months after that I like he was super nice to me super cool to me at that tournament and then a few months later I was in Brazil and we were at the Copa de mundo I know you remember this these days Robert when there was the sea BJJ oh and the sea BJJ and and I was competing at the Copa de mundo and Saleh didn't compete that year and he was just coaching and so he was very approachable I saw him sitting there coaching somebody and and after he was done I went up to him and I was like you know I called a mr. Ribeiro at that time as I had hello mister Ribeiro good to see you you know and I was just being really respectful and you know solid good to see you and he's like where are you training and oh my god I'm training a Gracie Baja and he's like okay okay well you want to come train with me and I'm like yes I would love to and be an honor he's like okay okay here's my card call me on Monday I'll come pick you up you know so it was really awesome that there was the Copa de mundo at that time because if it would have been the world's if I just seen him at the Worlds I would have been going home like the next day you know but because it was the two tournaments I fought the Copa de mundo and I had like two weeks or a week I don't remember but there was you know space in between then it was one week it was one week one week yeah one week and so you know it was perfect so a game of the opportunity to see him and then he invited me we connected and sure enough I called him on Monday and he came right up picking me up from my my hotel took me to Copacabana and and we ended up training and I spent that that week with him I went there every day like up until Thursday and then it was time to rest for the next next weekend of competition and I just immediately fell in love with it like I could see his his passion and his knowledge and he was so open with sharing techniques and you know just Jiu Jitsu like just really breaking it down for me and some of the other American guys that I was with and it was really odd surprising for all of us because a Gracie Baja we really didn't learn anything at that time like you know Robert can probably attest to this but there is there was a bit of you know pride and he's a gringo you know we're Outsiders we didn't really get brought in to be able to learn the boat Jiu Jitsu you know well what one thing that and you and this is goes it with what you're talking about Gracie viola was a lot different 15-20 years ago I realize now it's guys like they're super cool and they're the faces of Gracie bar so people think but it wasn't always like that like no one liked them like I remember 20 years like that was the Playboy team like no one yeah like them they were hated and they had that attitude because they came from the wealthier neighborhoods in Rio so everyone from the sub yeah everyone from the countryside hated them and the foreigners hated them too so pretty much they were hated by just about everyone except for the gracie by their very tight yeah they were they were a difficult crowd yeah and they were very used to to foreigners you know Baja was like you said that the nice neighborhood of Rio and so normally when when people travel to to Rio to train they'd want to stay in Baja where it's really nice and they would they would trainee Gracie Bob they're very accustomed to foreigners and and Outsiders coming and so you know they it wasn't a big deal to them they they weren't like trying to make friends it's like okay a new way the people are coming through you know we charge them whatever we charge them and they stay for a little bit they compete and they go home you know when I went to SOL those he invited me there you know it was the first time like we're really learning because at that time it Baja it was just training there wasn't really a class and so we were really learning he didn't charge me anything and he was picking me up from my hotel taking me there and then they were say hey you guys want to come eat lunch with us you know what I mean and one of my students actually got injured training there with Solow that week and and everyone like came together to make sure my student was okay they took him to the hospital they translated for him and right off the bat I tell like man this is different like I've never had that level of just hospitality and kindness come my way and I fought so low you know what I mean I was a not only was I an outsider but I was someone that was standing on the opposite side of the mat of him you know just a few months prior and and you know there he was now teaching me and so it it just like really shocked me it stood out in my mind like that was the experience of of that Brazil trip was was getting to to go to solace Academy and and and and make that connection and I when I came home I told my dad all about I said dad we gotta bring him for a seminar you know it was amazing and so a few months later we had him out for a seminar and that was it that was all she wrote he stayed all week we trained every day he invited me to come to Brazil to train with Sean G you know they were kind of in between the u.s. and Brazil at that point and Sean she was in Brazil getting ready for the worlds and all that he said go to Brazil Gerry and my brother every day we're gonna do all the competitions together and as soon as I started doing that I was like man I found I found my team and you know he became my mentor to help me hit you know my accomplish my dreams basically yeah I was around when I first started I competed against you the first time in a grandpa's quest I think that's and yeah oh five yeah yeah and it was around then because I saw that they were in your corner I think right yeah yeah oh oh four was when things started happening with us and then yes oh five we had our our hour-long oil wrestling match didn't get anywhere I think we have the longest grapplers quest match in history I think I think there's only one ground erection only one grabbing much longer which I think was recently Keenan and Gordon when they did in no time I think it went like 90 minutes long but or maybe one of those Gracie you know challenge matches like the Henner and here on used to do maybe one of those went went for over an hour too but we're up I was it three for sure yeah I was in the head or Matt or I grapple with Heather and there when there no time than imagine they didn't only jeff monson and higher and had a long match but I still don't think goes 58 minutes and mind you are third eight minutes was a tough 58 minutes because yeah I was essentially just neat cut spamming Jenna and throws every so often and labatto's guards pretty much unpassable with legs flying around everywhere and yeah it was a weird rule format because it did it was a atcc rules for the first eight minutes and then it went to overtime and then it was supposed to be first point wins yeah either have a squirter point and then they're like sudden-death first to score points wins now mind you the first like nine minutes neither of us court-appointed so it wasn't like it wasn't gonna happen you know so it went like 55 or 56 minutes yeah and I remember at one point I got pissed I started yelling at people and then I think mark Lehman started taunting me and I claimed they pissed me off because he talked to me oh you know what I was about to walk off that mat you know I was a guy I felt like I had it scored and they didn't give me the score so I'm like that's it I'm done and then he goes oh he's a quitter I'm like oh no I'm not a [ __ ] quitter and they're all right let's get to work but then I was like 50 miles later and then they said oh we're gonna change the rules to first advantage and then I ended up winning by like an advantage you know but it's just like it was just a ridiculous roll too tough to sweep I you know at that time you guys were you and your brother were really killing the scene back in those days you know with kind of being one of the first first ones to really have that hybrid of wrestling and jiu-jitsu you know you had some dangerous submission attacks leglocks guillotines and and good guard passing and backaches and stuff like that to go along with your wrestling you know and you you you guys were beating all the black belts back then and given us all fits you know what conclusion that me and Dave reached the other day is Dave's the only one that can make a claim for American jiu-jitsu anyone else like you trace them back like not even a generation ago they had a Brazilian teach you know like they actually he actually you know the him and his brother they they were their own coaches you know like they're their own yeah Mike's you know really like you think about it like that's the because I remember back and I should watch David you know I knew he had like a presence strong president Naga and I remember in 2005 and it was always you know like you can see they had like a really strong wrestling background with submissions you know so I always wonder like what style was that oh these guys catch wrestling or they what are the was the origin you know and it was just you know it's like its own little lineage lineage and fold order well it was just pretty much I started with G Qin though like I was saying and then like after I started watching the UFC's I would root for the G Co no guy but unfortunately a bit we started watching well who's winning and then the rest are starting winning like Mark Coleman and Ben Savage sounds like okay we'll start wrestling in high school and after I did wrestling in high school my brother had met up with a coach it's got Randy who was kind of ahead of his time because like back in 1983 he was already doing judo black belt Taekwondo black belt he was training boxing he had done some seminars on the Hicks and Gracie's early he was already mixing everything back in 1993 and we met him again 98 so like on the first day of training I was doing grana pound heel hooks and neck cranks so like we we just had our levy essentials trainee like everybody's always like a college wrestling dude I was a high school wrestler but like the wrestling level in jiu-jitsu was so low even as the guys at high school and I never even made states in high school this someone who had some decent wrestling was gonna run through the opinion but you guys you guys kept wrestling your level got better and better and you were you know just very strong willpower both of you guys were really tough and you were always there for each other so having like that loved one in your corner you guys could connect to each other with the coaching I remember how well you guys would code which each other and always have a game plan and even though your game was you know simple or basic you put it together very well and you don't need much I mean noogie there's not a lot to do anyways and you knew how to connect it and it made you guys hard to beat and you know it was only guys like solo you know or the highest level guys that could figure out a way you know yeah I was back to Salo because the the first time I faced him and wasn't the Arnold Classic that's yeah yeah that's where I thought yeah yeah so I remember going in there it was cold as colleges in Ohio and Miami boy I think was the first time I saw snow was there you know and I got a cold that morning and then when I looked at the brackets i saw i got Solow I was like oh [ __ ] this guy's a good to just a legend and that was going through the same anxiety that you were talking about in my head like oh I'm gonna beat him and then at the time I had microdose oh who was acting as my coach and he goes whatever you do don't let sallow Poole guard he's gonna try to get 1/2 mile and sweep you so my mind like oh I have to take him down first I gotta shoot first and then when I went with him he blasted me with a double boom he just held me down though for most of the round and I try to get up and he eventually choked me I'm like hey damn it yeah but so when I got to face him again after you I remember I was yeah that same day you had it we were the first round you had yeah more matches to do after an hour of us yeah I was because I married that essentially the whole tournament finished on the right side of the bracket and then like they were waiting on our mats to finish to determine so I thought better route on the next match and then sallow was next and I remember sallow was trying to be cool with me he goes hey man don't you don't have to prove anything you know like don't compete but I was like still a pissed I'm like no I'm coming for you in there he said okay I would I was so determined to win there was a one time I told myself I will trade my life if I can win against a low price break me down with a lightning bolt and kill me at this moment and I meant it with a every fiber of my being so I grappled with everything I could I got one good lateral throw knew that was about it he ended up beating me by I think I take down and the guard pass well you're the cool thing that you did afterwards you're gonna forget it he shook my hand he goes you're a warrior brother and then he took off his sweaty that's what he talked about it and he gave it to me yes it's like a Japanese type customer what now you know by giving yeah me too I three at the Arnold's he gave me his rash guard or yeah his rash guard that he were saying that's pretty cool it is guy I will say this though like if someone doesn't is unaware of the tradition had a ton of respect for you David they definitely saw the warrior inside of you I remember like they've done like that they've given the Bell - who did that someone did I thought that was right that was really cool like they gave the Bell to someone they did it the world's recently remember who was Bruno Bastos what I thought that was really cool ok you know what I was saying about in Excel or enzymes you they both are what Warriors you know I I do like that and they have honor you know so you you allied yourself with good people you know and uh obviously it shows in the results you've done really well for yourself yeah I'm very blessed so no just gonna ask the baklava is like you know he he's done so well getting noogie now he's a Bellator champion what's next man like what what are your like your ambitions moving forward man like you you want to keep fighting do you want to move into coaching or other projects what's what lies ahead and like you what is that you dream about when you go to bed man like what's the what's the next frontier ah man there's still so much still so much you know the biggest thing that I had on my mind especially after winning the belt and everything was was getting the Academy of my dreams the school of my dreams and we were we were able to lock that in basically right after and I spent all the second half of last year renovating and preparing and actually getting in in this space this is my office and and you can look out these out this window here and that's all about it that's my that's my main main room the back room there's a front room too and so you know just really taking my school to the next level becoming you know an even bigger sort of how would I say like just impacting our community more here in Oklahoma City we have so much history my father started our school 27 years ago in 93 and you know just wanting to keep building and reaching our potential and hitting that next level and next level so that was the main thing and and we had our official grand opening at the end of February two weeks right before we had to lock the doors so that that was really really tough and so is like I had the whole thing with with my brain and and having MMA sort of taken away from me right after I climbed the mountain I got to the top and I'm like ready to you know reap all the benefits of being a world champion and make better money and fighting bigger venues you know I was dreaming of Madison Square Garden and Japan in LA and all these places I wanted to fight at and and hold that belt for a long time and then I I kind of like felt like that was taken away from me because I could no longer get approved by by commissions Europe decided that I shouldn't have fought I shouldn't have been allowed to fight for the title and they said I wouldn't be allowed to fight there anymore and then California said no and so all that got taken away and then I'm like okay it's fine I have my school you know I still have jiu-jitsu I can do two Jitsu I have my students you know I just focus in on that and then boom Quarantine hit no you can't Jitsu you can't teach you know and I'm like man I I had a pretty rough patch there in the beginning of the quarantine but I've already that I I was waiting for the time in the right moment to get into and I jumped into those one of which being a book and so I've actually started on my book I've got everything in motion I've been really working hard on that during this time and I'm excited to get that out around the end of the year and you know just taking everything to the next level as far as like teaching and making that positive impact it's all about giving back now and sharing from my journey and my experiences you know talking with guys like you doing these podcasts and just putting more and more you know positive content out there I've been trying to about I did a Facebook group and you know when the quarantine first hit and just putting a lot of stuff out there for the people to join my group I've been doing a lot of videos and filming and teaching a lot of live stuff you know and I'm gonna keep competing always I'm actually competing next weekend fight to win is coming back and no spectators just streaming for full grapping and I'm gonna make my return to the ghee after three years away so I'm super excited get the ghee back on I'm always gonna be competing you know there's I know it's not the same as you get older but I have to there's just a part of me on the inside of my heart that that has to have a challenge and you know I'll be doing the master stuff until until they put me in the grave you know like I just I have to do it and I want I want to start a family and I want my my kids to grow up seeing their dad challenge themselves and and know that you know you got to get outside your comfort zone yeah you got to put it on the line and so I'll be competing as much as I can and it's still it's still my goal and my hope my dream I was actually gonna go to Vegas and March and and visit the Cleveland Clinic you know but I'm gonna see more doctors because my condition is so rare there's no information out there of you know MMA fighters or boxers you know extreme athletes having this condition and what exactly is the risk you know of course there an extra risk but a lot of the doctors that I'm seeing the most experienced doctors in fact are saying that the risk is very minimal because the location of my of my cavern oma of the the the sort of the the build ups of these vessels that I have in my brain they're there in a very safe location you know and of course is something I need to keep up with and if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen but if I can get more information and present it to the Commission and it's acceptable to me and to them the risk I still want to do one more to go out on my own terms at least one more fight would be would be really amazing for me but at the very least I'll be doing jujitsu you know trying to compete against some of these young bucks out there and and you know just stay sharp and always have a challenge and you know teach build my my school my association that's it amazing amazing well all about you got a lot to be proud of yourself you know for like your father you know you're doing amazing things man so you got another Meyer in me and I'm sure Dave feels the same way yeah absolutely I think it's pretty cool that you'll be making a return to grappling like I know when we were competing like in those grab post questions there wasn't any money in grappling and now that now there's money in here yeah I'm looking at I'm kind of envious of my dad when I was competing like it I mean 20 minutes a month you know and make the comeback see masters see masters class let's do it it's beautiful hey now it's the best the best time you know what I mean because we we're in a different in a different headspace you know we can be so much more grateful you know and and just really see the beauty in our journeys and what we're doing and learn and it's not like you know a a loss or whatever of course we're always there to win but it's not make-or-break anymore you know life is already beautiful and amazing and I can I could appreciate it so much more the matches that I was doing in between my MMA fights you know I was still staying pretty active I was going into it was such a different perspective you know after fighting and feeling that level of of adrenaline and and like you know I mean you're you're literally like really afraid afraid for your well-being you know you're fighting for your life right - it's do or die it kind of makes grappling and jujitsu it's like men why was I making this out to be so much more than what it really was back in the days like you know I'm just doing what I love and and you could find that little bit of meditation inside of it you know and I can appreciate it so much more these days than what I what I could when I was younger and it kind of felt like like it was it was everything you know when we get older and we grow we realize there's so much more to life and if you know we've already made our history made our marks and and now it's just purely about the challenge and the love of it and so I appreciate it so much more these days and I feel like in a lot of ways that's helped me have even better performances now in my 30s doing jujitsu and grappling you know than what I wasn't having in my 20s and and a lot of that as well is because of the lessons that MMA has given me you know like it's just all gratitude man and and so I mean we still got some in the tank Drysdale you too man let's go come back make a comeback oh yeah I me and Ed have discussed this I don't know to me like my challenges or personally you know speaking for myself like my challenges are different now like I agree I get a kick out of other challenges like to me redoing what I have done is not as appealing because I my head am I gonna be possession tomorrow and I go unlikely right so and if I can't be the best like I wanted you know I might as well try to like learn new things and experience of things I write some foreigners others comparing myself like I into me everything I ever done in fighting had to do with being number one I had to be the best right that that's what motivated me now my motivation is to be the best coach I can be like I get a key finish swipe though sometimes like it's not just making a world champion like we you know you do that stats it makes you feel good too but you know it's just really reaching out to my students and helping him I got some prospects I got some prospects at MMA that I think in two years we'll be a UFC champion like I really believe that so to me it's like alright I'm gonna make my mark as an in then make ya know you know yeah I get a kick out of that I hear that I don't know like its but like I respect the hell out of like maggots on compete like he's still competing the adult division and he gives them a run for their money that's my favorite part he doesn't go in and get killed he makes him work oh yeah no and he's like 50 years old days you know but like the 22 year olds and he's hanging so I think it's so admirable but at the same time like I wouldn't get even if you know win or lose I wouldn't think I would get the same stimuli that I used to get you know ten years ago so it's just different it is different it is different but it's still I don't know it makes me feel alive and I enjoy it and obviously I know at some point like of course still be in my 30s I mean there's a lot of guys in their 30s like lepree I mean Cabrini ax had the most amazing year of his career at like 37 you know you know Sean G is is 39 now you know and he's still a monster like there's tons of guys who can I mean we can go well into until we're 40 maybe even a little further than that but you know of course there'll be a time where I just have to stay and stick to the Masters you know but then we can fight each other you know what I mean go against the other masters the other guys that age and still and like I said it becomes a little bit more like a reunion you know you go you go to the Masters there in Vegas and the vibe is so different like Spruance hugging it's so much respect you know in it you're literally competing for the purity of it for the passion the love and at the end of the day it's just men were you know you're happy to be there you know it happened to be healthy and still moving and having a goal and and for me that's something that I'm gonna have to just I'm gonna have to keep the one for the for the rest of my life and I respect that man that's amazing Dave you got anything else you want to ask well I gotta go I got another call in like two minutes here I gotta get going but is anything else you wanna you wanna ask for vato man like you feel like we I I you've inspired me man you're the first person come close close to convinced me to fight again most people you said a couple things that got me considering it yeah I gotta stay for me that what's held me back the most was just injuries you know like I've been young and if I was a smarter when I was younger like I probably wouldn't have jumped into that grandpa's quest that I actually competed with you because I had a blown out my knee Oh like two weeks before and I wasn't grappling I was just under an elliptical for two weeks and then I I didn't make weight early on I had to cut the weight and it's not like that's a like and I had an AC separation and I've had all sorts of things so like I but I've always pushed through all these things and then compete anyways you know and I always felt like if I didn't jump on a particular opportunity I was in a regret it later and now I realized that was obviously wrong there's always another opportunity you know I could chase one that means I lose one later down the road you know but ultimately like I've paid the price and just now like the last year I really started focusing on being healthy because I noticed that my knee I started to lose a lot of mobility I was buckling and I would just walk out on my car my knee would just slip and I totally mess up and it turns out I haven't I haven't had an ACL for like five years on that knee I was just oh wow so it explains a lot you know it was like too tough for your own good man yeah it was like in 2013 it was not actually pot Harris because the power thing wasn't good I still had a ACL because I had a MRI and it was still there it was I thinking a noogie you world's I got stuck in looking at 50/50 and with a guy try to turn me over and I resisted and I heard her a little pop never the same after that but I never it was fine after a week so I'm like a no big deal but uh my wrestling has sucked since and I put through together I got the surgery and all that fixed and I've just been fixing my knee and I started fixing everything like now like Rob I'm like 191 you know like leaner than I've ever been in my life WIC yeah I see your you know your your stayin in shape and you know being pretty inspiring with with your your physical goals and everything you're doing it's awesome yeah like I you know I document everything so like I'm just trying to be everybody tells me uh when are we gonna see you back in the match something no no I'm just trying to get healthy yeah I've been unhealthy for so long just trying to force you know myself into something that when I see someone like you you've been doing it right right like you're you're fit year-round it's not like the old-school fighters would like essentially binge on their offseason and then okay it now I'm gonna get ready for a fight like the first six weeks is just dieting and cutting away you know and trying to get into shape rather than being in shape you're right yeah you know so I think you gotta live the lifestyle the martial arts lifestyle always you know practicing moving and learning staying healthy but it's hard exactly that's I think something that you've had the whole time though right because I think your father probably it'll you that because there's a lot of people who I would say are however this they're like athletes right there are people who are just very athletic they're talented but they don't have the spirit right like to them it's kind of like a game right I've always approached it like a what I call warrior where every match you've been grappling matches to me are life or death scenarios I've gone into I thought I've gone to copy matches thinking I can die here and I would be fine with it you know so like the intensity that I've always brought in was really high so right like when I fought and I'm a I didn't really feel a difference to be honest like I don't really I didn't feel this was scary or what not it's like it's the same thing to me because I'm always like there the rules are just telling me how I can kill somebody all right okay use my hands and knees you know to make it easier I wasn't grappling you know okay I just have to use my chokes and slams and whatnot you know I think was I think Josh henjo is asking of you if you had the opportunity to escape a guilty by slamming someone but you end up killing him when you do it I'm like yeah you know it's a competition you know that's that's the stakes I'm playing yeah right so when you ask me like Oh what I want to compete again now like look at that that desire was no longer in me like I think yeah the last ADCC I did was in 2013 and I felt like I kind of forced myself to do it and I had that goal I wanted that that gold medal from a DCC you know and I've gotten close you know but I've never gotten all the way there but it was kind of an echo of an old goal you know like it wasn't something like I really believed because I I did what I could to train but the training wasn't impaired and my heart wasn't there anymore I was just forcing myself to it and like you know what I'm there's no need right like I've gotten there to the fire I felt like I didn't really have to prove anything to myself anymore and that for me the stake was always critical like a you know I can get impaired physically I've been unfortunately before you know so the cost versus reward ratio wasn't there for me yeah now like fix myself up and I I feel like I'm serving a lot better but unfortunately I haven't been able to be on the mats I was hoping to start like in the new year and then you know all this crazy stuff came out hopefully we can get you got it you got a call Drysdale and say hey I'm gonna quit and he's gonna say 9:00 a.m. or 5 p.m. and then by the way we got it's been too long yeah but now you're like you got like 50 pounds of me no they Robbie you got to put you got to put David again I sure I just hand in the collar man handle the collar people try to do that Sanjay and because back when he was in LA I think I he was training out of someone else's gym this just like I think in 2007 I actually hung out with him for a day and we trained and he put me in the ghee and I was like yeah I think it was one of his DS because my collar was like my sleeves were always think about did that to me took about so they're doing something I'm not doing cuz you've been in my gym 100 times you know like I can appreciate it's a whole other game but I like for me I'm amazed what I really want to do above anything else you know I think grappling as a compromise you know okay so if I'm gonna do grab me there'll be no ghee and a person I just find that man the geese is so hot and like I just I mean I already got that but I got the fur coat you know it's so like yeah that was your trademark back in the day I was like man that guy's really tough and he's really hairy to goodness I hope he wears a rash guard if I go against it but he did it I think wisdoms got me beat though oh yeah yeah bakka beat man he's got everyone I went against him - so I've competed against them various grappling [Laughter] I'd love to thank you so much man you're such a gentleman such a nice guy I always mention people asking like oh do you have to be a knight do you have to be an a-hole to be successful in jiu-jitsu and like you're on one of the guys that comes up to know in my mind like you're a highly successful you've always got a lot of class and respect and I've no one who knows and anyone who knows you know that you're all about that right you're not it's not you're not paying lip-service do it you really are a true representative of jiu-jitsu I think they're a lot of good grapplers art thou art thou but they're not a lot of good martial artists a lot of like true black folks right and I think you embody that so stay that way man never changed and give the community a lot of pride and joy to be able to represent us out there in the MMA stage and never change man and hopefully your students will learn from you and they'll be the same and I think that right there being a good role model man hands down your biggest accomplishment in your life man thank you so much that means a lot to me I really appreciate it yeah that's that's everything you nailed it on the head right there and having guys like you you know both of you giving me that sort of respect you know really means means so much to me so I appreciate the opportunity guys I just want to throw out there anyone listening that would like to join my facebook group and learn and staying connected with me you can find it at Lovato junior fans calm it'll redirect you to the Facebook group so just junior LOV ATO J our fans comm and of course follow me social media all that other stuff but man is great catching up with you guys when we have so much history and much love much respect wishing you guys all the best and yeah let's get together again soon and you're invited to a TCC master class when you come to Vegas sounds good sounds good I'll be there [Music]