Renowned 6x Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion Rafael Mendes has hinted at a return to competition in 2024.
Although no specific details have been announced, the 34 year old Mendes has expressed interest in making a comeback after his last competition in 2016, where he won a gold medal in the featherweight division of the IBJJF World Championship.
This achievement marked his sixth IBJJF world championship title and concluded an impressive undefeated streak that began in 2013. Mendes unexpectidly anounced his retirement from competion when he was just 27 years old.
Mendes’ last loss was in the final of the 66kg division at ADCC 2013, where he was aiming for his third consecutive world championship win under that ruleset.
Fans are excited to see what new matches await Mendes, including potential rematches with legendary competitors like Rubens ‘Cobrinha’ Charles. It would be interesting to see what Mendes could do against the new generation of featherwight world champions: Fabricio Andrey, Isaac Doederlein, or Diogo Reis. It was his student Tainan Dalpra who first shared the news of Mendes’ possible return on Instagram, which was supported by comments from the Mendes brothers.
“Happy birthday Wizard. 2024, the comeback?”
To which Rafael Mendes answered ironically, when in fact, he is training every day:
“Osss 🙏🏻👊🏼 You know, I’m not training at all. 2024 🔥“
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