I predict Xande Ribeiro will win his weight and the open in the Worlds this year. He is very younge, and will have a string of titles that, when its all said and done, might rival/surpass Saulo....
Although PDP beat him yesterday, it was 0X0, and Xande lost by ONE ADVANTAGE point. PDP is who is widely considerd the best BJJ fighter right now, and in this years worlds Xande will beat him.
when Xande brings his "A" game, there are very few ppl in the world that can touch him, either Gi or No Gi. question isn't whether Xande will win a world title....it's how many world titles. he's a friggin' machine who no doubt will have a very long and successful career ahead of him. I feel extremely honored to have received my Blue belt from Xande. I will consider myself a student of his for as long as I am in jiujitsu.
I don't know about the world titles and all. But I've met him on a couple of occasions and he is a nice guy, and a credit to the sport.
He won't beat PDP and he won't beat Roger.
JSHo- Arent you a little biased? (lol)
Fact is that PDP barely edged him out this time. You forget that for a year or two now Xande has been TEACHING (not training) at his academy in Toledo. From what I understand Saulo is teaching in his place, while Xande is in Rio training hard.
I'll admit, I'm a little biased against PDP because he's a dick, and I wanted to see Xande beat him. Roger who I saw at the pan ams as a Brown was cool.
My prediction- Xande Ribeiro wins his weight and the open in the 2004 Mundials.
"My prediction- Xande Ribeiro wins his weight and the open in the 2004 Mundials."
It won´t happen. This year is going to be stacked. Can´t forget Werdum or Corletta. Roger,,not sure if he is fighting or not this year. Café,, then Jacare, Terere, Pe de Pano, Napão, Garcia, Lagarto, Wanderly. Maybe Jefferson Moura. This year is going to be stacked and I just can´t see Xande winning.
Wow, thats about as stacked as stacked gets. But its not like Xande has to beat all of them. Most of them will take each other out. Xande fights very strategic like Saulo, and I think he'll at the very least come home with a gold in his weight.
I think little C hit it with the correct. This year's worlds is shaping up to be one of the best ever. Here are the guys I see as vying for the absolute title:
1. Pe de Pano
2. Xande Ribeiro
3. Roger Gracie
4. Jacare
5. Fabricio Werdum
Is saulo planning to compete this year? I think some phenomenal match-ups would be Jacare vs. PdP and Roger vs. Xande. I also think Terere and Leozinho will get reckless as fuck this year and will be breaking fools.
I hope Saulo competes this year, but I think he's doing more NHB stuff right now.
I'm sure the guys at Gracie Humaita and Gracie Tijuca will make sure Xande is a finely tuned killing machine once the Mundials come around. I still think that if his mind and body are 100%, very very few can keep up with him.
If you go to www.tatame.com you can find two videos of Xande. First video is him mauling Eduardo Telles (he beat Rener at the pan ams), the second is him fighting in the open weight finals.
hey, don't forget that pdp is 2 weight classes above xande.
weight does matter in bjj, especially if both fighters have the same level of technique. however, no excuses, pdp won. just an observation.
but, i think xande will win the next one. this match with pdp was a good experience.
my 2cents.
Sean, I saw you compete in the Dale Jr. tournament and you impressed the hell out of me. How long have you been training.