Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Lovato Jr. has been ruled out indefinitely as he fights a brain condition that could end his career.
Lovato Jr has maintained an undefeated record in his MMA career (16-0).
He beat Gegard Mousasi back in June 2019 to gain the Bellator Middleweight World Championship.
On Hold
But the 36-year-old has had to put his career on hold indefinitely after being diagnosed with cavernoma.
The condition involves abnormal blood vessels on the brain and spinal cord, and could see Lovato stop fighting for good.
Lovato explained that for the most part of his career he’s fought in locations where he hasn’t required a brain scan to compete.
And it was only when he underwent compulsory tests ahead of his title fight with Mousasi at Bellator 223 that the issues began to surface.
‘It Wasn’t Normal’
Speaking on the JRE podcast with Joe Rogan, Lovato said: “I could sense something was going on,”
“He pulls me into the room and shows me on the screen, pointing out what looked like little balls.”
“It looked like something was wrong – not a normal scan, like shades of discoloration.”
“You could see that it wasn’t normal, he didn’t even know what it was at the time.”
“He tells me that he did some research and he believes I have a disease called cavernoma.”
“He hits me with that.”
“I had no idea what cavernoma was.”
“He said, ‘Look, I’m not signing this paper, you need to go see a specialist and get looked at, but as far as I know, you should not fight, you should not be fighting.’”
‘The Hardest Week Ever’
Lovato revealed that it was uncertain whether he’d be cleared for his title shot, as doctors were torn about the implications fighting could have for his health.
“It was the hardest week ever before multiple doctors were all saying no,”
“He said, ‘There is no studies that say getting hit in your head is going to make your cavernoma worse or cause you to bleed and something is going to happen,’”
“‘You could bleed, you could be oozing blood at any point in time, little by little, it could become an issue at some point in time.’”
“‘Because I can’t find any studies that say getting hit in the head is going to make it worse, and because you a normal, healthy, functioning person at this point, I think it’s fine for you to fight.’”
The American was ultimately given the go ahead, and went on to take the belt via decision.
But he was contacted following his victory and told that allowing him to fight had been a mistake, and he’d no longer be approved to fight in Europe on medical grounds.
He has since been advised by a doctor to stop fighting for good.
“He’s very adamant that I should not continue fighting,” Lovato said.
“He says it was a mistake that I was able to fight in London and moving forward I will not be approved in Europe again.”
“At this point, Europe is a no.”
‘Indefinite’
Lovato had signed a rematch with Mousasi at Bellator 238, but had it pulled by the California State Athletic Commission.
Despite the future looking uncertain, Lovato has insisted he’s not giving up just yet, and hopes his stint on the sidelines isn’t permanent.
“I’m not officially retiring. I am indefinitely on the sidelines right now,” Lovato said.
“I am actively seeing more doctors and working toward learning more about this.”
“Obviously I want to keep fighting.”
“I still have hope that if I can continue to still see more doctors and get more knowledge.”
“It’s indefinite.”
The Ohio-born fighter has said he’s mentally prepared for the worst-case scenario, and has other avenues he can go down should he be forced to retire.
He continued: “If it’s really unsafe and I’m not going to get approved, ever, I finally got to a place where I can accept that and I’m going to move forward on with my life,”
“I’m going to do everything I can to hopefully get approved to come back.”
“But it’s sort of an indefinite time.”
(Featured image source: Instagram/ Rafael Lovato Jr.)