Amanda Ribas, the UFC star that almost never was Amanda Ribas | Luckily for Amanda Ribas, several crossroads drove her to UFC stardom. Born in August 1993, Ribas’ destiny was set in stone almost from the crib. The daughter of martial arts trainer Marcelo Ribas—at the time of Amanda’s birth, Marcelo already had more than 40 Vale Tudo bouts under his belt—Amanda was raised inside a gym. Marcelo signed her up for jiu-jitsu classes at a young age, and she was clearly talented. One day, Amanda quit training to take dance classes with her friends. Dad didn’t take it lightly when she returned to the gym one year later: He signed the 12-year-old kid up for judo classes and gave her a first taste of what MMA was all about.