Interview: David Webb, 16 October 2009

One half of arguably the most successful siblings in World Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Alexandre 'Xande' Ribeiro is in a good place right now. The multiple World Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Abu Dhabi World Submission Wrestling Champion is working hard to establish the San Diego based University of Jiu Jitsu with his elder brother Saulo Ribeiro.

Not that the Ribeiro's need to; as just in the weeks leading up to the 2009 ADCC world championships the UNIJJ mats were used as a base for preparation for Kron Gracie, Rafael Lovato Jr., Rani Yahya and Penny Thomas to name just four world BJJ champions in their own right and is a regular base for the likes of lightweight professional MMA athlete Diego 'Nightmare' Sanchez in his build up to various competitions and events including the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Born in 1981, Xande is 7 years younger than Saulo and grew through the ranks of BJJ where his brother had already established the 'Ribeiro' legacy alongside greats such as Gracie, Gurgel, Bitetti, Sperry, 'Roleta', Machado and 'De La Riva'. Having a world champion brother has given Xande a life long inspiration to be the best he can be and with the help and guidance over the years from Royler Gracie and Saulo Ribeiro Xande has indeed become great!

Flicking back through my own issues of 'Grappling magazine' as far back as 2001 his name is etched in reports of battles with the likes of Roger Gracie, Gabriel 'Napao' Gonzaga, Alexandre 'Cacareco' Ferreira, Robert Drysdale and Braulio Estima now almost ten years on Xande is still there competing and winning at the highest of levels. KombatClinic.com caught Alexandre soon after returning from Barcelona and the ADCC world championships where he took the 99kg category title and narrowly missed the absolute crown as well. Xande talks about his most recent win as well as the injury sustained during the absolute final against Braulio Estima. We touch on the inspiration that is Saulo Ribeiro and what the brothers have built at UNIJJ and where it will lead in the not too distant future.

Enjoy people!

Alexandre 'Xande' Ribeiro's titles:

-ADCC Submission Wrestling World Champion in the Under 99 kg division (2009) -World Jiu-Jitsu Champion in the Adult Absolute (open weight) division (2006 and 2008) -World Jiu-Jitsu Champion in the Adult Pesado (heavyweight) division (2008, 2007, 2006 and 2004) -World Jiu-Jitsu Champion in the Adult Meio-Pesado (medium-heavyweight) division (2000) -ADCC Submission Wrestling World Champion in the 88–99 kg division (2007) -Pan-American Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion in the Adult Super-Heavyweight division for black belts (2005 and 2006) -Pan-American Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion in the Adult Medio-Pesado (medium-heavyweight) division for black belts (2002) -Pan-American Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion in the Adult Absolute division for black belts (2001) -Pan-American Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion in the Adult Leve (lightweight) division for purple belts (1999) -Pan-American Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion in the Adult Pluma (featherweight) division for purple belts (1998) -3 x Grapplers Quest Champion -2 x World Cup Champion

Interview:

KombatClinic.com: Xande, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to KombatClinic.com. Could we start with a little background to how your martial arts career started, who got you involved with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and who were your training partners and instructors as you grew up?

Alexandre Ribeiro: I started Jiu-Jitsu at 10 years old (1991) back in Manaus, Amazonas. I started with an affiliated school there and the time my instructor was a purple belt, and then it all started. At 18 years old (1999) I moved to Rio de Janeiro to go to Law School. There I trained with my brother Saulo in regular classes and few days a week we would go train with Royler [Gracie] and the rest of the team. At 20 years old (2001) I got my black belt and the year after I quit college and moved to USA. More precisely in Toledo, OH. And now my brother and I are in San Diego, CA where we found the University of Jiu-Jitsu.

KC: You've spent almost all of your Jiu Jitsu career training out of Gracie Humaitá under the guidance of Royler Gracie. Royler has phenomenal Jiu Jitsu but his frame is somewhat different to your own. Did having him as an instructor mould much of your style or did you look to others to develop that maybe had similar physical attributes?

AR: My style is my style, I tra

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