.
.

Ricardo Liborio: ‘Teammates Facing Each Other Means Team Is Successful’

Ricardo Liborio: ‘Teammates Facing Each Other Means Team Is Successful’

 

 

Ricardo Liborio is the head instructor and one of the creators of American Top Team. He is a veteran in ADCC with bronze and silver medals in 1999 and 2000 and a multiple times BJJ National Champion.

Ricardo Liborio is considered, by many to be the best Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt formed by Master Carlson Gracie and an all around legend of the sport. Ricardo Liborio was also the very first world BJJ champion in the super heavyweight division (A division he won weighing little over 85 kgs).

Liborio is going to face Mari Sperry  in the next ADCC Worlds. Both legends are ex team mates from the time when they were under Master Carlson Gracie. Sperry formed Brazilian Top Team and Liborio went on to form American Top Team

In a recent interview with  Guilherme Cruz for MMAFighting, Liborio talked about how his fighters (Robbie Lawler, Tyron Woodley and Hector Lombard) could possibly face each other in the UFC welterweight division and how this is a good thing:

 

“What better example can I give than competing against a former teammate? I’m facing Ze Mario Sperry at ADCC 2015,” said Liborio. “I don’t have a better example than that.

“We have Robbie Lawler, Tyron Woodley, Hector Lombard, Thiago Alves, Ben Saunders, Colby Covington. We have a lot of great talents at 170. What can we tell them? There’s only one belt and they understand it.”

“If they have to fight, they have to fight. We can do different camps for both. We wouldn’t like to see it happening, but they eventually will have to fight. At the end of the day, it’s an individual sport.”

However, although teammates fighting each other is inevitable, Liborio will step back from coaching either.

“We’ve talk about this for a long time,” he said. “They understand it, but I won’t be in anyone’s corner. Tyron and Hector, I train them both. Don’t ask me for advice, anything. I’m out. Whoever wins, ATT wins.

“Tyron fighting Hector would be easier because Tyron sometimes trains in his own gym, so we could find a way to support them both. But I would never get involved in this. I would be watching it at home.”

“Two American Top Team fighters fighting for a title? It means we’re doing something right here. It’s an individual sport and everybody wants the same thing.”