Vítor Ribeiro


Vítor de Souza Ribeiro is a retired professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2001, he has formerly competed for Strikeforce, Shooto, DREAM, Cage Rage, Cage Force, the World Fighting Alliance, and K-1 HERO'S. Ribeiro is the former Cage Rage World Lightweight Champion and the former Shooto World Lightweight Champion.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu lineage

» Carlos Gracie Sr. » Carlson Gracie » Andre Pederneiras » Vitor Ribeiro

Mixed martial arts career

Vitor Ribeiro is an accomplished grappler. He has won the CBJJ Mundials four times, once as a purple belt in 1996 and three times as a black belt in three consecutive years. He has competed in the ADCC World Championship in 2000 and 2003.
After a brief absence from the MMA world, Ribeiro returned to competition at DREAM 8, where he dominated former Olympic wrestler Katsuhiko Nagata ending the fight with a TKO. In his next fight at DREAM 10, he lost to Shinya Aoki via unanimous decision.
On September 24, 2009, it was announced that he had signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce.
Ribeiro made his promotional debut on May 15, 2010 against undefeated Lyle Beerbohm and lost the bout via split decision.
Ribeiro's next fight for Strikeforce came against Justin Wilcox at Strikeforce Challengers: Wilcox vs. Ribeiro. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Retirement

On August 8, 2013 Ribeiro announced that he has retired from mixed martial arts competition.
In 2015, Ribeiro transitioned to becoming a referee for mixed martial arts shows. He debuted as a referee for UFC events on April 18, 2015 at.
Vitor is currently the head BJJ instructor at his 2 Manhattan academies as well as Yeti MMA in Scotch Plains NJ.

Championships and Accomplishments

Mixed martial arts