Mountainside’s own, Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro, in his latest match, defeated his opponent in an impressive two minutes and twenty-one seconds with an aggressive chokehold.
Ribeiro, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and mixed martial artist who lives with his wife Janaina and three children; Henrique 9, Eduardo 6, and Vicky 5, began his journey in the early 1990’s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After losing a schoolyard fight at 14 years old, Ribeiro enrolled in the famous BJJ school Nova Uniao. His talent was noticed by the coaches right away, and within 3 years, Victor won his first World Championship and placed second in both the Pan Am Games and the Brazilian Nationals.
The nickname “Shaolin” arose when Ribeiro was training in his teens and would sit in the Lotus Flower position pretending to meditate like a Buddhist monk to lure his training partners.
He currently holds a professional MMA record of 20 wins and 5 losses. Ribeiro’s list of accomplishments includes; former Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Champion; a Black Belt earned at 18 years of age, a record breaking achievement at the time; four time CBJJ Mundials (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championship) winner, once as a purple belt in 1996, and three consecutive times as a black belt (1999, 2000, and 2001); competed in the ADCC World Championship, one of the most prestigious no GI grappling competitions in the world in 2000 and 2003. Ribeiro considered one of the best lightweights in MMA history, fought in several organizations all over the world, including Shooto Japan, Shooto Hawaii, Rumble on the Rock (Hawaii), Cage Rage (England), and K-1 HERO’S (Japan). He has held the Shooto welterweight (154 lb.) title, as well as the Cage Rage World lightweight championship. Recently FIGHT magazine named Ribeiro as one of the competitors they’d like to see on the Brazilian team, if MMA makes it into the Olympic games. His reputation as a world class competitor is outshined by his reputation as a coach. He represents a lifetime of effort and commitment toward the sport of Jiu-jitsu.
(above) Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro competing in Abu Dhabi.
