On the drive to a seminar, Rafael Lovato Jr tells Bernardo how to keep doing jiu-jitsu for the rest of your life, why he is wrestling college kids at 43, and how to beat the young guys: make them tired.

In this episode:

- Timeless Jiu-Jitsu: keep doing what you love for as long as possible, and build a game that lasts

- Why he never saw himself as "just a jiu-jitsu guy", and the difference between an athlete and a martial artist

- Wrestling college kids at 43, and his plan to medal at the Masters Worlds in wrestling and judo

- Coming up in Oklahoma with no black belt in the state, learning side by side with his dad

- Bruce Lee, jeet kune do and "take what is useful"

- Going to Brazil at 16, getting beaten up over and over, and how he met Saulo

- Getting beat up and coming back the next day: find your why

- How an older grappler beats a 20-year-old: slow the game down, stay on top, keep them flat, make them carry your weight

- What MMA taught him, and why he thinks it is what he does best

- Why he calls a basic game the most powerful one, and the Roger Gracie comparison

Rafael Lovato Jr is the 2007 IBJJF World Champion at black belt and the undefeated Bellator Middleweight World Champion. He runs his academy in Oklahoma City and teaches the Timeless Jiu-Jitsu approach: a game you can keep using as you get older.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

00:35 Timeless: keep doing what you love for as long as possible

02:40 From Worlds champion to wrestling college kids at 43

03:58 Not just a jiu-jitsu guy: living as a martial artist

08:57 The next goal: Masters Worlds in wrestling and judo

10:45 Want to get good at something? Compete in it

13:45 Oklahoma, no black belt in the state, learning with his dad

14:47 Bruce Lee and jeet kune do: take what is useful

15:58 Brazil at 16, sleeping on mats, and fighting Saulo

18:15 Starting over again and again

19:44 Why he took a match against a 22-year-old

21:01 Getting beat up and coming back: find your why

24:45 Everything great is hard

26:29 Putting on a singlet in his 40s

29:18 How to beat the young guys: "Make them tired"

32:24 Keep them flat: why he wants to be on top

34:29 What he's best at: MMA, 11-0 and the cage door

37:09 Give it all back: why teaching drives him

39:21 The American Roger Gracie: a basic game you never change

42:14 His new BJJ Fanatics instructionals, one a month

His new BJJ Fanatics series starts with the Gi Mount Masterclass: https://bjjfanatics.com/products/gi-mount-masterclass-by-rafael-lovato-jr

Bernardo says a new one is coming every month.

Connect with Rafael Lovato Jr

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovatojrbjj

Timeless Jiu-Jitsu: https://www.timelessjiujitsu.com

His academy in Oklahoma City: https://www.okbjj.com

Connect with Bernardo Faria

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bernardofariabjj

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtXtqlLdZYZm3060qVExXkA

BJJ Fanatics, the largest online jiu-jitsu library: https://bjjfanatics.com

Kojo Fightwear, Bernardo's gear brand: https://kojofightwear.com/?rfsn=9277274.6e01c5

New episodes every week. If this one helped you, follow the show and leave a rating: it is the best way to help the podcast reach more people.

Marlon Tajik took silver at -88 kg and finished fourth in the absolute at ADCC 2026. A month later he sat down with Bernardo to explain how a kid from Sweden got there with no blueprint, and why his whole game is built to make you tired.In this episode:- Starting jiu-jitsu at 11 in Stockholm, training next to his dad, who is also a black belt- No roadmap: saving money, flying to the US and finding the room where he was not the best- Training like a professional from purple belt: diet, strength and conditioning, 80% light and 20% hard- "Hard work is never in vain, it only compounds"- Half the year in the US, half in Sweden, and why each half has a different job- How he tests a new move: first on juveniles and blue belts, then up the ladder until it works 8 out of 10 times- The energy bar idea behind his passing: "No technique works when you're tired"- The sneaky leg locks, and why he looked for entries nobody else was using- You don't need the best gym in the world anymore to learn from the best in the worldMarlon Tajik is a no-gi grappler from Sweden. At the 2026 ADCC World Championship in Kraków he won silver in the -88 kg division and finished fourth in the absolute, where he submitted Pouya Rahmani (+99 kg) with an inside heel hook. This week he recorded his first instructionals with BJJ Fanatics: his guard passing system, and half butterfly to leg locks.Chapters00:00 Intro00:31 ADCC 2026: silver at -88 kg and fourth in the absolute01:17 Starting at 11 in Stockholm, with a black belt dad02:33 No blueprint: making it from a country where nobody had04:27 Training like a pro from purple belt: 80% light, 20% hard06:27 Jiu-jitsu as a job in Scandinavia: "I'm living the dream"08:25 Half the year in the US, half in Sweden09:45 How he tests a new move: from juveniles to the best guy in the gym11:24 His guard passing system, built from fights and instructionals13:53 The energy bar: "No technique works when you're tired"15:42 The sneaky leg locks and the side control escape everyone saw17:53 You don't need the best gym anymore19:15 His first BJJ Fanatics instructionalsMarlon's first instructionals (guard passing, and half butterfly to leg locks) are coming soon to BJJ Fanatics: https://bjjfanatics.comConnect with Bernardo FariaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bernardofariabjjYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtXtqlLdZYZm3060qVExXkABJJ Fanatics, the largest online jiu-jitsu library: https://bjjfanatics.comKojo Fightwear, Bernardo's gear brand: https://kojofightwear.com/?rfsn=9277274.6e01c5New episodes every week. If this one helped you, follow the show and leave a rating: it is the best way to help the podcast reach more people.

Victor Hugo won ADCC 2026 at +99 kg with four submissions in four matches, pulling guard every time. A month later he sat down with Bernardo to explain the Big Man Flow: why the biggest guy on the mat plays guard, how he trains, and the road from Fortaleza to the top of the sport.

In this episode:

- "Breaking records or breaking limbs": how he stayed loose and had fun through a tournament most people dread

- Why he pulls guard on everyone in training, except wrestlers, and what he gets out of it

- Ultra-heavy matches used to be "bad judo": the strategy he has used since the colored belts

- His training split: drilling, specific training with constraints, then live rounds, built up from blue belts

- The kid from Fortaleza nobody knew: double gold at Worlds as a purple belt, then San Diego with Saulo and Xande

- Dropping out of nutrition school after winning Worlds, and starting jiu-jitsu at 14 with his dad

- Athlete to entrepreneur: running jiu-jitsu schools and learning the business side

- Three ADCCs, Buchecha and Gordon Ryan in the second round, and the joke "I just want to make it to day two"

- The CJI foot lock, "don't confuse better with more", and why "the crown is heavy"

Victor Hugo is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt from Fortaleza, Brazil, under Saulo and Xande Ribeiro of the Six Blades Association. He is a four-time IBJJF world champion at black belt, including double gold (100 kg and absolute) at the 2023 Worlds, and the 2026 ADCC world champion at +99 kg, where he won all four of his matches by submission in Krakow. He recorded two new instructionals with BJJ Fanatics this week: his guard game, and his offensive game with back attacks.

Chapters

00:00 Four matches, four submissions, pulling guard at +99 kg

00:41 "Breaking records or breaking limbs": having fun at ADCC

01:42 Big guys around the world are pulling guard now: the Big Man Flow

02:29 Why a giant who relies on strength is a gym owner's nightmare

03:56 Pulling guard against everyone in training, and why

05:21 Ultra-heavy matches used to be "bad judo"

06:08 Drilling, specific training with constraints, then sparring

07:24 Build the technique up from blue belts: the leg drag story

07:56 Two new instructionals: guard game and back attacks

08:25 The kid from Fortaleza nobody knew

09:13 Double gold at Worlds as a purple belt, then San Diego with Saulo and Xande

11:08 Dropping out of nutrition school: "the perfect excuse to make my parents mad"

12:05 Starting at 14 with his dad, who is a black belt too

13:07 What's next: super fights and the names he hasn't faced

14:20 Athlete to entrepreneur: running schools, churn and CAC

16:57 The free time pro athletes don't talk about

18:33 Is 14 too late? Competing too early and burning out

20:53 Three ADCCs: Buchecha, Gordon Ryan and "I just want to make it to day two"

21:42 The CJI foot lock and "don't confuse better with more"

22:42 Resilience after the black belt: "the crown is heavy"

24:43 Wrap-up

Connect with Victor Hugo

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victorhugojj

Instructionals: https://bjjfanatics.com

Connect with Bernardo Faria

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bernardofariabjj

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtXtqlLdZYZm3060qVExXkA

BJJ Fanatics, the largest online jiu-jitsu library: https://bjjfanatics.com

Kojo Fightwear, Bernardo's gear brand: https://kojofightwear.com/?rfsn=9277274.6e01c5

New episodes every week. If this one helped you, follow the show and leave a rating: it is the best way to help the podcast reach more people.