Will Ribeiro was well on his way to becoming one of the top bantamweights in mixed martial arts when in 2008 he got into a motorcycle accident. He is now paralyzed on one side of his body, and blind in one eye. Once ranked among the top-10 in the world, his days of fighting in a cage are entirely over, but he fights on, nobly.
Christian Stein has the story, for MMAjunkie.
During the past five years, he’s taught martial arts at no charge to approximately 2,000 youths hailing from Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, historically controlled by violent rival drug factions. Besides instruction and discipline, students also receive uniforms, gloves and mouth guards at no charge. It’s a chance to build champions from the same humble beginnings as fellow MMA standouts Claudia Gadelha, Giva Santana, Marlon Sandro, Eduardo Dantas and Hacran Dias.
Will and his brother, Wladimir Alves, have also have also set up their own fledgling MMA promotion, Fighting For Peace (Lutando Pela Paz), on a shoestring budget. It holds its fifth event this Sunday.
We saw the need to create a promotion to give impoverished athletes a shot at visibility on a national level, said Alves, the event’s organizer, as well as Ribeiro’s primary caretaker. Our goal is to establish our promotion as an officially recognized nonprofit organization. Until that happens, large sponsors aren’t getting involved since there’s no tax incentive for them. Our charitable work speaks for itself. It’s a fact. Once we achieve official status, we can continue to grow.
Ribeiro has dreams of his own. He’s been working as a judge for some of Brazil’s largest regional promotions.
Alves feels there are still many hurdles to overcome. For example, Ribeiro uses the majority of his disability income to purchase vital anti-seizure and anticonvulsant medications.
Will’s situation is complex, Alves said. As a hemiplegic and being bound to a wheelchair, he depends on the goodwill of others for professional opportunities. As the years go by, if he manages to eventually get around on crutches, we’re hoping that many doors will open for him. Many people don’t see him as a complete human being, and they judge him as being simply an invalid.
You can make a PayPal donation towards the costs of Ribeiro’s medical treatment, or to donate to the non-profit school:
•Log into www.paypal.com
•Choose Pay or Send Money
•Goods or Services”
•Enter wlad1@yahoo.com.br
•Choose BRL as the currency.
You can also reach Will Ribeiro and Wladimir Alves via email.
