Things were looking up for Will Ribeiro in December of 2008. With a 10-2 MMA record, he found himself firmly among the world’s top bantamweight fighters. Then there was that devastating collision.
Today, Ribeiro remains paralyzed on the left half of his body. But he was never one to back down from a challenge. By early 2009, Ribeiro decided to fully devote himself to teaching martial arts to impoverished children in his own Rio de Janeiro neighborhood, Morro do Andarai. In 2010, his own trainer, Boxe Thai head coach Luiz Alves, unexpectedly passed away from a stroke.