Alexandre "Xande" Ribeiro – A Pro BJJ Formidable Grappler

Brazil has undoubtedly produced several BJJ stars who have ruled the BJJ world. One of the high-profile names that emerged in the BJJ world is Alexandre Couceiro Ribeiro. He is famously known as Xande in Brazil.

The formidable grappler has won World Championships in the heavyweight division five times. Xande has also won the World Championships in the absolute division two times. Xande has also become World Pro Division Champion three times while fighting as a black belt.

Xande’s passion and motivation came from his father, Saulo Mendonça Ribeiro, who was an inspiring figure for both Xande and his brother, Saulo Ribeiro.

Saulo Ribeiro, who was also a star BJJ competitor and a champion of submission wrestling, helped push Xande to achieve a more successful career. Both of them have won multiple times in ADCC events. Along with that, the brothers have earned the greatest number of titles in BJJ championships.

Alexandre “Xande” Ribeiro was born on January 20, 1981, in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas, Brazil. He has ruled the BJJ world for three decades. Xande started his BJJ career at the young age of 10, learning under the supervision of the Monteiro brothers.

Xande was born to be a BJJ star and champion due to his early start in the BJJ arena. In his early BJJ career, he only ended up on the losing end twice in the first seven years of his stellar career as a formidable grappler.

Xande enrolled in college to earn a law degree after he moved to Rio de Janeiro. He was 18 years old at that time. Xande, alongside his brother Saulo, trained at Gracie Academy. Xande started getting recognition as a fighter and won BJJ World Championships and Pan American titles in the first two years of his training at Gracie Humaita.

Xande possessed the skills that made him the toughest competitor in BJJ. When talking about his strengths and remarkable journey as a BJJ fighter, Xande is famous for his formidable guard position. As a world-renowned grappler in the professional BJJ world, there are only three instances when an opponent was able to pass his guard. This was accomplished by Roger Gracie, Braulio Estima, and Renato Miragaia.

Xande also holds another historic record in the professional BJJ world: no opponent has ever scored against him when in the mount position.

Saulo was seven years older than his brother. Xande was awarded the black belt by his brother in March 2011, which was a unique moment in BJJ history. After moving to San Diego, California, the Ribeiro brothers launched an institute to practice and teach BJJ to others. Together they worked hard to further the progress of BJJ and later established the Ribeiro Association for BJJ. The association became one of the best places to learn BJJ.

Xande was a versatile competitor throughout his career. He fought in almost all weight categories including the absolute and super heavyweight divisions. Xande fought and won against some of the greatest names in BJJ. He participated in the BJJ world’s biggest events throughout his career. A few of the biggest names in BJJ that Xande defeated included Craig Jones, Andre Galvao, Marcelo Garcia, Roger Gracie, and others.

In honor of his efforts, legacy, growth as a BJJ athlete, and becoming a BJJ professor, Xande was included in the Hall of Fame in 2014.

Xande’s first two entries at ADCC events ended in defeat. However, the third time is when Xande finally achieved victory.

A fourth-degree black belt and renowned BJJ and MMA fighter, Robert Drysdale was defeated by Xande in the ADCC World Championship semifinal round. This victory cemented Xande as one of the most formidable grapplers in the BJJ world.

With this win, Xande advanced to the finals to compete against Braulio Estima. Xande won this World Championship by earning more points than his opponent.

After a 2-0 (Win-Lose) winning streak in his MMA career, Xande returned to BJJ in the 2009 ADCC World Championship. Continuing his excellent performance, Xande won the second ADCC Gold Medal after beating Gerardi Rinaldi. Xande also secured a silver medal in the absolute weight division.

Xande appeared in the 2012 No-Gi Championship. After making a name for himself in gi BJJ, Xande decided to try the no-gi competitions in the heavyweight and absolute weight divisions.

Xande fought against Joao Assis in the finals of the heavyweight division. The match was a tie, however, the referee declared Xande the winner based on his performance.

Continuing with his winning streak, Xande won another gold medal in the absolute division by beating Leandro Lo as well.

Xande’s first fight was on September 28, 2008, against Takashi Sugiura. Xande won via a technical knockout.

The second fight was held on May 2, 2009, against Keiichiro Yamamiya. Xande won as well via knockout.

There was speculation that Xande might not return to fight again. However, in 2020, he came back to fight against Gabriel Almeida, defeating him with an armbar. Then, Xande secured a win in a match against Fellipe Trovo in 2021, showing that Xande still had some fight left in him.

However, after his last match against Harryson Pereira in the 2022 World Championship, Xande announced his retirement. Xande put his black belt on the fighting mat, indicating that he will not be returning to the fight again.

Xande took a break in 2019, with no one knowing whether Xande would return or not. After his win against Almeida in 2020, Xande gave the news that he would be leaving Ribeiro Academy which he co-founded and created with his brother Saulo.

Xande decided to make his own BJJ academy in Austin, United States. He wanted to teach people to live up to their full potential. He called this new academy, “Six Blades Jiu-Jitsu Academy.”

Throughout Xande’s three-decade career, it is difficult to name a single fight that can be considered his best. However, winning the World Championship is always a dream come true moment. Roger Gracie, who is also a big name in BJJ and won the World Championship title 10 times throughout his career, was not able to secure a win against Xande in the 2006 World Championship finals in the absolute division. This competition was worth watching as both Xande and Roger were equally-matched. Finally, Xande managed to win the match by advantage as both fighters had won four points each.

This was one of the biggest events in BJJ history as Xande and Robert Drysdale, two of the best grapplers in the world, faced each other in the semifinal round. However, due to using comparatively better techniques, Xande won the match with more points.

After moving on to the 2007 ADCC World Championship finals after defeating Drysdale, Xande faced Braulio Estima. The match was worth watching as, at last, Xande won a hard-earned victory by scoring more points than Estima.

Xande’s competitiveness and skills in BJJ are formidable considering that he defeated Roger Gracie again in the 2008 World Championship finals. Xande won the match with four points against Gracie’s two points, winning the World Championship for the second time.

• IBJJF World Championship (8x)
• ADCC Championship (2x)
• IBJJF No-Gi World Championship (2x)
• Pan American Championship (4x)
• BJJ Half of Fame

Alexandre Ribeiro Vs Ricardo Ramos de Mesquita (2014)

Craig Jones Vs Xande Ribeiro (2017) ADCC Championship

Xande Ribeiro Vs Adam Wardzinski - FINAL - Abu Dhabi Grand Slam London (2017) - Black Adult - 94kg

Xande Ribeiro VS Alexandre Souza - World Championship (2008)

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