Ricardo Libório - The man behind the legend

Ricardo Liborio’s Biography ------ Ricardo Liborio was born on the 13th of July 1967 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He started training martial arts when he was 4 years old, practicing Judo, while his first competitive challenge came only a year later when he was 5. Ricardo Liborio also trained in the Korean kicking art of Tae Kwon Do for a few years before he finally found jiu-jitsu as a teenager (going on 15 years of age). His first BJJ training ground was the Carlson Gracie Academy in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro. The academy was also shared by Rolls Gracie, Carlson Gracie‘s brother, who died a few months after Ricardo Liborio joined due to a paragliding accident. Under Carlson Gracie’s tuition, Ricardo Liborio bloomed to BJJ, winning several competitions for the team. His strong judo foundation and his amazing grasp of Jiu-Jitsu made him excel and overcome adversity. Another interesting characteristic of Ricardo Liborio that serves as a testament to his warrior spirit, was that he enjoyed fighting in the heavier categories in order to test himself. Ricardo was not a heavy guy, usually weighing around 176lbs (80kg) but he would fight in the heavyweight and open-weight divisions. A good example of this was when in the 1996 World Championships Liborio decided to fight in the Super Heavyweights so he could avenge his loss in the 1993 “Nacional Brasileiro” to the much larger Leo Castello Branco. Castello Branco was winning in the final few minutes until Liborio took Castello Branco down following a quick mount, winning the fight and taking gold in the first-ever World Championship. Other accomplishments ----- Three-time Brazilian National Champion IBJJF World Champion 1996 2nd Abu Dhabi Submission Tournament 2000. 3rd Abu Dhabi Submission Tournament 1999. NAGA Coach of the year in 2005. Inducted into the NAGA Grappling Hall of Fame. ADCC 2015 Superfight Champion masters def Mario Sperry. National Coach for USA Grappling[9] ------ References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo... https://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-fighter...