News and Announcements

Video: Rafael Lovato Jr. Interviewed by SportTV in Brazil

Fri, 10 May 2013 23:48:00 GMT

Check out this awesome video of Rafael Lovato Jr. being interviewed by a Brazilian sports station before his historic showing at the 2013 Brazilian Nationals!

Team Lovato Dallas Open Results!

Mon, 06 May 2013 23:17:00 GMT

Sunday was the IBJJF Dallas Open and Team Lovato showed up as a team without many of our veteran competitors. Despite our lack of depth, we still came away with many medals and a wealth of experience for our unseasoned competitors. It was a great learning experience, however. The learning that results from one tournament is equal to multiple months of training. Here are our results!

Kannon Manis - Bronze - White Belt
Alan-Michael Chow - Bronze - White Belt
Jose Moreno - Bronze - White Belt
Andrew Trace - Gold - White Belt
Tyler Murrah - Gold - White Belt
Chet Hooper - Gold - White Belt
Sara Thomas - Bronze - White Belt
Adam Rhoten - Gold - White Belt
Daniel Gonzales - Bronze - White Belt

Kyle Yoerin - Silver - Blue Belt
Jermaine Brown - Bronze - Blue Belt
Audrey Boyd - Bronze - Blue Belt
Hannah Rauch - Gold & Bronze - Blue Belt
JH Wooldridge - Silver - Blue Belt
Jon Blackburn - Bronze & Bronze - Blue Belt
John McCowen - Bronze & Bronze - Blue Belt
LG Almeda - Bronze & Bronze - Blue Belt
Lane Epperson - Gold & Silver - Blue Belt

Brandon Russell - Bronze - Purple Belt
Lance Southard - Silver - Purple Belt

Johannes Wieth - Silver - Brown Belt

Congratulations to everyone who competed, we are extremely proud of our competitors!

Team Lovato BJJ OKC Makes History in Brazil!

Wed, 01 May 2013 19:22:00 GMT

The Brazilian Nationals, possibly the toughest tournament of the year due to the amount of competitors and it's location. This year Team Lovato sent two representatives to compete in this tournament. The leader of Team Lovato, Rafael Lovato Jr. himself, and brown belt, Shiloh Roberts, made the trip to Brazil. Shiloh won his master's division in order to be become the second member of Team Lovato, other than Rafael, to win his division in Brazil. He armbarred 3 of his opponents and defeated the fourth by points in his quest for gold. Rafael Lovato Jr. made history once again by becoming the first non-Brazilian to win the black belt absolute in Brazil, and he won it by submission (kimura)! He is now also the first American to win the absolute division at one the four major tournaments (Europeans, Pan Ams, Brasileiro, Worlds) at the adult black belt level. Two competitors, two gold medals.

Team Lovato Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Oklahoma City Taking Competitors to Brazilian Nationals!

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 19:44:00 GMT

The Brazilian National Championship will be in Barueri, São Paulo, Brazil the 25th-28th of this month, not that far away! Professor Rafael Lovato Jr. and Coach Shiloh Roberts will be making the trip to Brazil to represent America and Team Lovato! Rafael became the first non-Brazilian, and only American, to ever win the tournament in 2007. He also made to the absolute finals in 2010. Now, he is looking to make history once more by becoming the only non-Brazililan two time Black Champion. Coach Shiloh will be looking to become Lovato's first Brazilian National Champion.

James Head Represents Mixed Martial Arts in Oklahoma City at UFC 159!

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 20:03:00 GMT

Team Lovato mixed martial artist, James Head, will be stepping into the octagon for the fifth time on April 27th to face Nick Catone. James will put his 9-3 record on the line at UFC 159, which is headlined by Jon Jones vs Chael Sonnen fighting for the light heavyweight championship. We know that James will do well and walk out of the octagon with another win!

James' fight will be during the Facebook prelims, which start at 5:35 central time.

Team Lovato Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Oklahoma City Pan Ams 2013 Results!

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 22:55:00 GMT

The dust has settled from the IBJJF 2013 Pan Ams and it was another amazing experience for Team Lovato's competitors. Unfortunately, our purple belts Brandon Russell and Dallas Niles both lost their opening matches, while Jared Dopp lost his second match. They were unable to reach the medal rounds but showed tremendous effort and walked away with a wealth of knowledge to help them grow. However, we had many medals (9 total) including Mike Miller who won double gold at blue belt!

Chet Hooper - White Master Gold
Evan Yokoyama - Juvenile White Gold
Michael Miller - Blue Senior 1 Double Gold
Daniel Benson - Blue Senior 2 Gold
Darragh O Conaill - Brown Adult Bronze
Eric Calderon - Brown Master Bronze
Jesse Sunderman - Brown Senior 1 Double Bronze

Thanks to all the Team Lovato members from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, and Ireland who competed! Also thanks to all our affiliates Salem-Keizer Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy, BJJ Seaside, & Performance Grappling Team from Oregon who sent competitors!

Team Lovato Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Oklahoma City Looking to Shine at Pan Ams!

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 23:22:00 GMT

Once again Team Lovato will have representatives at the Pan Ams! This year a small, but elite, group will make the trip from OKC but will be joined by team members from across the globe upon arriving in California. Those from OKC will be Jared Dopp, Dallas Niles, and Jesse Sunderman who all had stellar performances last year. Other big names like Brandon Russel, James Puopolo, Salem-Keizer BJJ, Nate and Zach Adamson, BJJ Seaside, and Darragh O Conaill, East Coast Jiu-Jitsu Academy, are looking to make a big splash as well. Professor Rafael Lovato Jr. will be coaching them throughout all their matches on all 5 days! Please show your support for our competitors putting it all on the line this week!

Watch a live stream here - Budovideos.com

Look at the schedule here - Pan Schedule

You may also want to check out this highlight video of Team Lovato from last year's Pan Ams!

Team Lovato Kid's Jiu-Jitsu in OKC Has Another Great Performance!

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 19:00:00 GMT

Professor Justin Rader and Coach Austin Adkins took the kid's competition team to another tournament and, once again, produced amazing results! Team Lovato had 20 kids make the trip and brought 20 medals! Some of the competitors were able to leave with two medals and close out divisions with their teammates!

Here are the results:

Jacob Absher - Orange Belt Teen Ultra-Heavy Silver Medal

Josiah Absher - Grey Belt Kids Middleweight Silver Medal

Kelvin Adkins - Orange Belt Pre-Teen Medium-Heavy Bronze Medal and No-Gi Pro Silver Medal

Logan Austin - Yelllow Belt Ultra-Heavy Champion (closed out division with Blaise) and No-Gi Beginner Teen Bronze Medal

Kyler Brown - No-Gi Beginner Teen Bronze Medal

Brandon Cox - Orange Belt Teen Super Heavy Bronze Medal and No-Gi Intermediate Pre-Teen Champion (closed out division with Cache)

Caleb Guy - Grey Belt Pre-Teen Middle-Heavy Bronze Medal

Cache Haggard - No-Gi Intermediate Pre-Teen Champion (closed out division with Brandon)

Pamela Johnston - Grey Belt Pre-Teen Silver Medal

Alisha LeRoy - White Belt Kids Lightweight Silver Medal

Quincy LeRoy - Yellow Belt Pre-Teen Middleweight Champion

Rayden Musgrove - Yellow Belt Kids Middleweight Silver Medal

Alexei Oldham - Yellow Belt Pre-Teen Ultra-Heavy Champion

Tanner Sagal - Grey Belt Pre-Teen Ultra-Heavy Silver Medal

Blaise Withrow - Yellow Belt Teen Ultra-Heavy Champion and No-Gi Pre-Teen Champion

Gabriel Van Ness - Grey Belt Teen Ultra-Heavy Bronze Medal

Honorable Mention - Madilyn Reiner, Jared Melton, Tristan LaRose, Kylie Cardinale

We are so proud of our Warriors, these kids are definitely the new generation of champions!

Lovato's Brazilian Jiu-jitsu in OKC is now selling Kize Snack Bars!

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:01:00 GMT

You might notice some new products in the fridge the next time you stop by the academy. We are pleased to announce that we now carry Kize Snack Bars in the fridge!

Kize bars are excellent for post workout/jiu-jitsu/muay thai recovery, and make an excellent snack! They are all natural, gluten free, and only have 4-6 ingredients per flavor. They are a healthy alternative to traditional snack bars and great for all ages! Grab yours and start your journey towards a healthy life today!

Lovato's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu OKC Has First Testing of the Year Promoting 4 New Blue Belts!

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 21:40:00 GMT

March 2nd was our first scheduled belt testing of the new year and was a huge success! 15 people received promotions with 4 of those being new blue belts! Lovato's is very proud of the students who tested and would like to welcome Zack Hudson, Greg Morris, Josh Giza, and Jason Parker to the Advanced Class!

Before that was testing for our Warriors program with Coach Justin Rader. It was another great performance by our kids that saw many stripe and belt promotions! We couldn't be more proud of our kids and how they represent the academy!

Team Lovato Kids Martial Arts Oklahoma City Dominates at NAGA Tournament!

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:39:00 GMT

Professor Justin Rader and Coach Austin Adkins took a team of 17 Total kids to the NAGA Tournament in Tulsa, OK this past weekend. Between all competitors they earned 13 Gold Medals, 7 Silver Medals, 2 Bronze Medals.

Jacob Absher - Gi Division Champion
Josiah Absher - Gi Division Champion
Lex Oldham - Gi Division Champion (closed out w/Blaise Withrow)
Blaise Withrow - No-Gi Division Champion & Gi Division Champion (closed out division w/Lex Oldham)
Brandon Cox - Bronze Medal in Gi Division
Quincy LeRoy - No-Gi Division Champion, Gi Division Silver Medal
Caleb Baker - Gi Division Champion
Kelvin Adkins - No-Gi Division Silver Medal, Gi Division Silver Medal
Payton Woolard - Gi Division Silver Medal
Alicia LeRoy - Gi Division Silver Medal
Joel Baker - Gi Division Silver Medal
AJ Shannon - Gi Division Champion, No-Gi Division Champion
Austin Hancock - Gi Division Silver Medal
Logan Austin - Gi Division Champion, No-Gi Division Silver Medal
Cache Haggard - Gi Division Champion, No-Gi Division Bronze Medal
Rayden Musgrove - Gi Division Champion
Dylan Bush - Gi Division Champion

All of the kids fought with tremendous heart, never once quit, displayed incredible technique, and showed great sportsmanship, shaking every opponent's and coaches hand. We couldn't ask for a better, more respectful, group of kids to represent Team Lovato. These kids made their parents, coaches, and teammates very proud!

BONUS CONTENT!

It takes a lot of energy to put on such a great performance, so the team decided to invade Hideaway Pizza for a reward/recovery meal!

Team Lovato Jiujitsu OKC Competition Results From the Houston Open!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 23:58:00 GMT

Team Lovato traveled to Houston this past weekend with 26 competitors looking to dethrone the larger Texas teams, and continue to place in the top 3 as a team. Unfortunately, the team was vastly outnumbered and was not able to earn enough points to oust the 3rd place team. However, Team Lovato still had an amazing performance taking home 26 medals!

Jason Martinek led the white belts by winning gold in his division!

James Enix - Bronze
Daniel Gonzales - Silver
Chet Hooper - Silver
Jason Martinek - Gold
Kevin Goodrich - Bronze
Tyler Murrah - Bronze

The blue belts were well represented with Madison Smith taking the gold in her first tournament as a blue belt! Juan Theard won double gold in his first competition as a blue belt and shut out the absolute division with teammate Andy Waldon!

Madison Smith - Gold
Cole Osborne - Silver
Dominique Noel - Silver
Juan Theard - Double Gold
Andy Waldon - Bronze & Silver(closed out division w/ teammate)
Bobby Dhimmar - Silver & Bronze
Bobby Bebout - Gold

The purple belts were killers! Jared Dopp and Dallas Niles both won their divisions and closed out the absolute!

Nick Foust - Silver
Jared Dopp - Gold & Silver(closed out division w/ teammate)
Dallas Niles - Double Gold

Jesse Sunderman also became two time Houston Open brown belt senior champion!

Shiloh Roberts - Gold & Silver
Jesse Sunderman - Gold & Silver

Professor Rafael Lovato Jr. also competed and won the gold in the Ultra Heavy division! He beat both the Bastos brothers in their back yard!

Prof Rafael Lovato Jr. - Gold

Congratulations to all competitors! Team Lovato looked awesome and we are proud of everyone!

Mauricio Veio of Evolucao Thai to Visit Lovato's to Teach Muay Thai in OKC!

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 06:00:00 GMT

Next week, February 19^th-23^rd, Mauricio Veio will be back in town teaching Muay Thai at Lovato’s! He will be teaching the amazing Evolucao Thai system to all students interested in his Muay Thai classes. In case you are unfamiliar with Mauricio, He is a fully acredited black belt under Master Rafael Cordeiro, holds an 8-1 Muay Thai record, and a 13-2 MMA record, fighting from Brasil to Portugal and Japan. He has spent his formative years training with Wanderlei Silva, Anderson Silva, Mauricio Shogun and many other past and future champions. He now runs Evolucao Thai in Toronto and trains many fighters, such as Shogun Rua, from Bellator to UFC and beyond. Don't miss this chance to train with one of the best muay thai coaches in the world!

Team Lovato JiuJitsu OKC Competing in the Houston Open!

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 06:00:00 GMT

This weekend Team Lovato will once again make the trip deep in Texas to compete in the 2013 Houston Open. The competitors will be led by none other than Rafael Lovato Jr. himself, as usual. However, Rafael will also be competing this year to help his team claim victory over the larger teams with home field advantage. In all, there will be 24 total competitors representing Team Lovato OKC, along with 2 more from our school in Wichita Falls, TX. Last year Team Lovato took second place and is still the only team to place in the top 3 at all IBJJF events held in Texas!

Team Lovato OKC Jiujitsu Youth Martial Arts Competitors Shine at Kids Pan

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 06:00:00 GMT

This past Sunday (February 10) was the Kids Pan Ams and Team Lovato sent it's first team ever with great results! Rayden Musgrove and Cache Haggard represented our team from OKC. Both competitors had an amazing performance with Cache taking home a bronze medal! Also, there was another group of great kids from the Lovato Jiu-Jitsu Oregon affiliate, BJJ Seaside, that competed. They were able to coach Kaden Gilbert to the top, becoming our first Kids Pan champion of the association! Thanks to Professor Justin Rader and all of the coaches at BJJ Seaside for bringing together our first team of kids at this big tournament! The future is very bright for these young ones!