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Rafael Lovato stays unbeaten vs. Chris Honeycutt in Bellator 189

Rafael Lovato Jr stayed unbeaten with a unanimous descision win vs. Chris Honeycutt in Bellator 189 last night. One of the most accomplished American practitioners of BJJ, he started fighting in 2014. 3 years later, he has compiled a 6-0 record, winning the Legacy Fighting Championship title and a spot on the fast rising Bellator promotion’s roster. With this win at Bellator 189, Lovato Jr. believes a title s is a realistic possibility by late 2018.

2 Quick wins

After vanquishing his first two Bellator MMA foes in a combined 2:12, Lovato defeated the very tough Honeycutt in the Bellator 189 co-main event at the Winstar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla. the event aired on Spike TV. Honeycutt, 29, owns a strong wrestling base and is 7-1 with one no contest under the Bellator banner. After suffering the first loss of his pro career to Paul Bradley at Bellator 148, the Dethrone Base Camp product has bounced back to post four consecutive triumphs, including a finish of ex-UFC talent Kevin Casey in his most recent outing.

Thoughts from Lovato

“It means a lot. It’s early in my MMA career, I guess you could say. For me, this has been my whole life. This is my life’s work,†Lovato told Sherdog.com. “It feels really good to get that recognition now and have Bellator believing in my potential and giving me the opportunity to be in that co-main even spot. Especially here in my backyard against such a great opponent. It’s destiny letting me know that I’m on the right path and everything is happening the way it’s supposed to be.â€

Lovato has yet to go the distance in six professional bouts. As he gains experience, the ability to smoothly shift from one phase to another in MMA is constantly improving.

“For me it’s just being more comfortable and making the transition between striking to wrestling to jiu-jitsu with ground-and-pound. Just connecting everything,†he said. “That’s where I feel like I’ve had the most evolution. Obviously I’ve focused a lot on my muay Thai over the last couple years. I feel like I’ve improved greatly with my standup game, but overall I’m just way more comfortable, way more confident inside the cage and really know what my game is, what my style is, how I like to move, how I like to attack.â€

While Lovato is relatively young in MMA, he has been competing in combat sports for most of his life thanks to his jiu-jitsu background. Although he is 34 years old, he isn’t necessarily in a rush to take the next big step in his career.

“I don’t want to say urgency. I’m doing what I feel like I’m supposed to be doing at the right time. I don’t let my age affect my decision for trying for a title shot. I just feel like I’m ready,†he said. “In another year I’m gonna be that much better and that much more ready. I just want to fulfill my potential and do what I know I can do. If it comes, then great. If I have to win two more, I’ll win two more. I know it’s only a matter of time until I’m fighting for that belt.â€

As a result, lool for a title shot by the end of the year for Lovato.

Savarese Jiu-Jitsu Competition Team shines again

Savarese Jiu-Jitsu Comp Team shines again at Toys 4 Tots tourn yesterday, bringing home medals at many different levels.

Words from Professor Savarese

What an awesome day I had at the Toys for Tots tournament today. One of the best run tournaments I have ever been to. Not to mention for such an awesome cause. The level of the competitors who so high, it was awesome to watch. Many teams from the Ricardo Almeida association were there and I have to say, I don’t think Ricardo gets enough credit for what he has built. Almeida’s students compete and excel at the highest levels in MMA and Jiu-Jitsu. They are so well rounded in their stand up, passing and guard games. NJ had so many schools represented today from the East Coast and my competition team was definitely tested today in many ways. Our team closed out the under 165 class taking 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in an incredibly tough division.

Savarese Competition Team results

Congrats to the following:

Sean Yadimarco: what can I say about this kid. Since getting his purple belt in July, his growth has been incredible. He had a couple of tough matches today. But Sean still went undefeated on the day. He won with takedowns as well as his guard and passing showing his all around game. His improvement over these 4 months has been incredible and it’s a testament to him constantly testing himself. He took 1st in gi and no gi today, saving his best match for the no-gi final finishing a very tough opponent by D’Arce choke in what I thought was his best match ever. So proud of you kid!

Leo Alves Leo is getting back into the swing of competition after taking the summer off, but he was flawless as well today taking first and his gi division going undefeated on the day. Leo has been one of the best kids in our Academy for quite a while now. It was awesome to see him back in action. Can’t wait to see him again soon.

Andrew Kuntz: Andrew has been on an upswing in the Academy and I told him to get back into the competition and test his improvements and he was awesome today too, winning a flawless match in his purple belt division by dominating his opponent from start to finish in his first time competing in over a year by being aggressive and forcing his opponent into mistakes. Great job Andrew!

Bluebelts

Hoze Bee also competed for the 1st in a couple of years and won his first match coming from behind for an awesome win before losing to a kid from Ricardo’s school named Brandon who I thought was one of he best Purplebelts competing today. What a beast!

Mark Garcia had a mental win today competing for the 1st time since ACL surgery and though he came up short, getting back on the horse seems to give him the confidence to get back in soon and start being one of the best on our team like he was before the injury.

Maria Villa lost her first match in the gi but came back strong in no-gi to make the final before bowing out to the same girl who she lost to in the gi in a much closer match where I was proud of her because instead of being intimidated by someone who defeated her earlier, she came back super-aggressive, dictating pace in a much closer match

Our Training 4 Life Team

William Pike was impressive today, showing great improvement, taking 3rd in his gi and no-gi divisions, and was inches away from a big upset in his last match. The future is bright for him if he keeps it up.

Conclusion

Most of all, I am really proud of everyone who competed today. Savarese Jiu-Jitsu Comp Team shines at Toys 4 Tots tourn. We improve by not being afraid to fail. OSS

Savarese Jiu-Jitsu Comp Team shines at Toys 4 Tots tourn

Jiu-Jitsu Champion Champion Mike Perez at Savarese BJJ

Jiu-Jitsu Champion Mike Perez at Savarese BJJ ! The Savarese Jiu-Jitsu Lyndhurst hosted 2x No-Gi World Jiu-Jitsu Champion Mike Perez Monday night at their Park Ave location. Perez is one of the top grappling competitors in the world now. Perez is 2x No Gi World Champion (purple & brown belt) , the 2015 ADCC North American Trials Champion & ADCC Veteran. He one day hopes to be an ADCC world champion and this year went to OT with the eventual champion Yuri Simones, losing a judges decision. he is also one of the instructors at the famous Atos Academy in San Diego CA, one of the top jiu-jitsu Academies in the world run by Andre Galvao, a 5x World BJJ Champion.

Words from Professor Savarese

I want to thank Michael  Perez for coming up and teaching at Savarese Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tonight. I have have had a lot of the best competitors and instructors in the world teach by me and this seminar was right up there at the top. He showed his “A†game, held nothing back and although I knew him as one of the best competitors in the world now, he was an excellent teacher as well. I was really impressed w how articulately he broke things down and chained them together. Iï¸ shouldn’t be surprised since he trains and teaches at one of the best Jiu-Jitsu Schools in the world but I couldn’t possibly recommend him more highly. Very, very good. If you are a school owner, you should look him up. He will definitely be back here. Thanks again Mike!

BJJ seminars

Savarese BJJ is known for having some of the best BJJ seminars in the world at it’s location. Many of the world’s top competitors and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructors have been in to teach at this Academy. The Academy always strives to be better and that is why the school is well known as one of the top BJJ schools in the northeast.

Professor Savarese and Perez

Savarese Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu recent promotions

Here are the Savarese Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu recent promotions. All of our Savarese BJJ students make goals at the beginning of the year to improve and follow strict guidelines. And so many of them have done just that. Here is a list of all the students who have gone up in rank in the past 3 months:

Bluebelt

Pete Bouzalakous – 2nd Stripe

Orangebelt

Henry Talasan

Yellowbelt

Donna Valdivia-3rd Stripe

Jenn Aviles-2nd Stripe

Carlos Aviles-2nd Stripe

Jon Dinces-2nd stripe

Dylan Hutchinson-1st stripe

Dominick Silva-1st Stripe