Rafael Lovato is out of Metamoris 5. He has just announced on his Facebook that he has suffered a serious injury. Metamoris have not yet announced his replacement for the November 22 bout vs Yuri Simoes.

Lovato’s statement:

“To all my friends, fans, & supporters, I regret to inform you that I will not be able to compete at Metamoris 5 against Yuri Simoes on November 22nd, due to a serious tendon tear that happened in training this week.
The tendon that connects my pec to my shoulder is torn.
Words cannot express the disappointment I felt when I got hurt this week and realized that I was going to have to step out of Metamoris and cancel my fight with Yuri.
At first, the injury did not make any sense to me because I had been eating right, sleeping well, stretching and taking care of my body as I always do. (Which allowed to me to stay basically injury free for over 5 years)
When this injury happened, I was very depressed, confused and grasping to understand what caused this to happen at such a great phase in my career.
Then after a deep period of personal reflection, I realized…
This injury was my body’s way of saying, SLOW DOWN!
As freak of an accident as it was, I believe that everything happens for a reason & this was my body stopping my mind and forcing me to take some time to breathe.
For the last few years, I have been keeping a very rigorous pace of training, competition, teaching, traveling, & haven’t stopped for more than a day to soak it all in.
So many great things have happened in my life recently & instead of stopping to enjoy any of it, I immediately set the next challenge & keep pushing forward.
Another important gem I realized in this was…
I am addicted to the “grind” of training hard, competing and pushing the limits of reaching my goals.
Which is a great thing.. but also, must come with balance.
Being addicted to reaching goals and staying focused is a great addiction, but an addiction nonetheless.
And to be balanced, I must be aware of the toll the “grind” is putting on my body and take some time to enjoy life and get healthy.
After the initial depression lifted, I realized this was really an opportunity!
Because of this realization and injury, I have the ability to focus on helping my students, family, team, association and refocusing to get healthy!
There are so many projects I have been putting off because of my rigorous training schedule.. that I can now put my attention into!
Now, I will focus on helping my team, my academy, the Lovato Jiu-Jitsu Association, and spending time with my family.
I will also be focusing on my online students and building up my online interactive Jiu Jitsu academy, to help those around the World reach their goals in Jiu Jitsu.
You will be hearing a lot from me over the next few months as I reopen my Online Jiu-Jitsu Coaching program (membership has been closed for over a year) and share with you the best techniques me and my students have been working on.
I want to thank Metamoris for the opportunity to be a part of such a historic event. I will be back stronger then ever and you will see me and my students competing in every arena imaginable in 2015.
I hope to be healthy in time for M6 and would love to face Yuri there if it’s possible. I was happy to hear that I awoke a sleeping giant & I was very excited to have a great battle with that giant and put on a show for the fans.
Best wishes to all the M5 competitors, especially Master Renzo Gracie!
Thank you to everyone who is always behind me! I had several friends that were going to travel to LA to support me in person, that love means so much!
I want to thank the people who were helping me prepare for Metamoris, my Lovato’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu students, my strength & conditioning coach Lucius C. Tirey IV, & my brothers Saulo & Xande Ribeiro. Special thanks to my wife for her love & understanding of a life filled with training camps and highs & lows.”