Fight 2 Win returns on March 13, and for the main event at F2W 166, they’re bringing us a main event between Rafael Lovato Jr. and Gabriel Almeida.
The promotion announced the big match (and multiple others) on social media on Wednesday.
Lovato is a frequent face on the F2W stage and former light heavyweight master champion in the gi. He went 2-2 on the big stage in 2020, taking home wins against Arnaldo Maidana and Helton Jose Junior before losing his belt to Tex Johnson at F2W 151. His most recent match was against Dimitrius Souza at BJJ Stars 4, and he’ll be hoping to get back in the win column with a victory against Almeida.
Almeida, a 2020 American Nationals champ, has already competed for F2W this year, losing to Pedro Marinho via decision at F2W 160. Make no mistake, though — he’s not one to be underestimated. Last year, he defeated the Romulo Barral at F2W 152, and prior to that, he beat Manuel Ribamar in the main event of F2W 149.
Ribamar himself will also be competing at this event, taking on rising brown belt star William Tackett in another exciting match on the main card. Ribamar, a former no-gi bantamweight champion for the promotion, managed to go 2-1 at F2W in 2020, ultimately losing his belt to Jon Blank at F2W 154. He’s started 2021 strong, picking up a win against Dante Leon at F2W 164 via referee decision, and he’ll be doing his best to keep that streak going against Tackett.
We’ve seen by now that Tackett is not the opponent you hope for if you want an easy win, of course. A brown belt F2W champ, he kicked off his 2021 competitive year by defeating ADCC veteran John Combs via ref decision at F2W 160, following up a quick heel hook win over Fellipe Andrew at 3CG 5 at the end of 2020. Might he continue his impressive streak against Ribamar?
Also on the card will be a match between 2020 Pans and American Nationals champ Joshua Cisneros and fellow 2020 Pans champion (in both gi and no-gi) Lucas Pinheiro. 2010 Abu Dhabi World Pro champ Alexandro Ceconi will also have a match against 2013 No-Gi World Champion James Puopolo.
As always, the main card will be preceded by dozens of exciting matches between local competitors in both gi and no-gi.
Fight 2 Win 166 will take place on Saturday, March 13 in Austin, Texas and can be streamed live on FloGrappling.
The post Rafael Lovato Jr. To Face Gabriel Almeida At F2W 166 appeared first on Jiu-Jitsu Times.