Many aspire to be rich and famous, often to make a positive impact on the society they grew up in. We’ve witnessed Themba Gorimbo, despite financial struggles, earning money from the UFC and investing it in building his village. Now, another UFC fighter, Amanda Ribas, is following suit. In a conversation with MMA Junkie, she shared her efforts to help the youth in Brazil. She is trying to steer them away from drugs and other criminal activities.
Reports indicate that almost 25% of the Brazilian population has fallen victim to crime or theft. It has got Brazil the 8th rank in global crime rates. In response to this issue, Women’s Strawweight fighter Ribas reveals how she is utilizing her bonus money to address problems in her neighborhood. The UFC fighter is steering kids away from the wrong path. She stated,
“I want to put this institute here, this gym here, so they can look at me and say, ‘I want to be as Amanda Ribas because she is from here, Varginha, she trains here in my neighborhood, and she conquered the world. She buys a gym, she buys a house, she buys everything with a good vibe.’ Even the children that won’t be athletes, if this children come here and study or do something to get focus, to get discipline to be a good person in the future. And this is my goal to make children into good person. Because it’s so bad to see the children selling drugs, and using drugs.”
According to Ribas, after school children who don’t have anything to do often channel their energy into negative activities. This new gym will have MMA fights, Jiu-Jitsu, games for learning, and afternoon English and Portuguese classes. This way, when they have nothing to do, they can come here to be disciplined and channel their energy into something positive. Which will make them a good person and a better society to live in.
UFC fighter Amanda Ribas aims to become an inspiration and role model for her neighborhood
Ribas stated that sometimes children have parents who use drugs, are incarcerated, or even don’t have parents. In such cases, they lack positive role models. Additionally, she said for these children, the absence of positive role models leads them to idolize the negative influences on the street, such as those involved in selling drugs or engaging in illicit activities.
With this project, Ribas aims to become a positive role model for these children. She is providing them with someone to look up to and inspiring them to engage in positive activities.
Meanwhile, Ribas is anticipating a potential fight on the UFC 300 card against Carla Esparza. Although it’s not confirmed, it would be interesting to see if she gets the opportunity to compete on this historic card.
