Vale Tudo

History

Vale Tudo, also known as "anything goes" or "everything allowed," and referred to as No Holds Barred in the United States, is a full-contact fighting style or competition format with very few rules. It was popular in Brazil during the 20th century and eventually evolved into modern mixed martial arts. For a long time, the term was used interchangeably with MMA in Brazil, but it fell out of common use as stricter rules were introduced and media influence pushed for a more "civilized" name. Today, the term refers to the earlier, more rules-free stage of the sport.

The format began as an informal set of rules for fighters from different martial arts to compete against each other. The Gracie family became known for organizing their "Gracie Challenge," where they would fight other martial artists in Vale Tudo bouts to demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of their own Gracie jiu-jitsu. Over time, many fighters began training specifically for Vale Tudo events, blending striking and grappling techniques, and eventually advertising "Vale Tudo" as its own distinct style. For instance, Marco Ruas called his hybrid style of Luta Livre and Muay Thai striking simply "Vale Tudo."

Fighting sideshows called vale tudo became popular in Brazilian circuses in the early 20th century. In 1909, capoeirista Francisco da Silva Ciríaco defeated Japanese jiu-jitsu fighter Sada Miyako in one of the first recorded confrontations of this kind in Brazil. Examples of such bouts were described in the Japanese-American Courier on October 4, 1928. However, the term did not enter widespread use until 1959–1960, when it was used to describe style-versus-style bouts featured on a Rio television show called Heróis do Ringue, or "Heroes of the Ring."

The matchmakers and hosts of the show included members of the Gracie family, such as Carlson Gracie and Carley Gracie. The Gracie family, who had roots in the circus business, created the "Gracie Challenge," where they would invite or be challenged by opponents from other martial arts to a Vale Tudo match to prove the effectiveness of their Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. The Gracies held these challenges behind closed doors at their gyms, but sometimes also staged public events.

Euclydes Hatem, known as Mestre Tatu, was the creator of Luta Livre, a Brazilian submission wrestling variant of catch wrestling. In 1942, he defeated George Gracie in a historic match. Years later, in 1968, one of his students, Euclides Pereira, also defeated Carlson Gracie. One night during the show, João Alberto Barreto, who later became a referee for UFC 1, was competing against a man trained in Luta Livre. Barreto caught his opponent in an armbar, and the man refused to submit. Barreto broke the man's arm. As a result, the show was canceled and soon replaced by a professional wrestling show called Telecatch.

From 1960 onward, Vale Tudo remained mostly an underground subculture, with most fights taking place in martial arts dojos or small gymnasiums. The Vale Tudo subculture was based in Rio de Janeiro, but many fights also occurred in the northern region, the southern region, and Bahia state, where Capoeira is prevalent. The scene in Rio de Janeiro focused mainly on the intense rivalry between Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Luta Livre. Fights in other regions featured a wider variety of martial arts competing in the events.

In 1980 and 1984, Rickson Gracie fought two events against Casimiro de Nascimento Martins, known as "Rei Zulu," the father of Zuluzinho. Both events generated public interest and filled the Maracanãzinho stadium in Rio de Janeiro. They brought public media attention back to Vale Tudo, which had been dormant since the 1960s. This was made possible by Robson Gracie's rise to the Presidency of the Sports Superintendence of the State of Rio de Janeiro in 1980, a position he was appointed to by Leonel Brizola, whom Robson had befriended while working as a bodyguard.

In 1984 at the Maracanãzinho, the Noite das Artes Marciais, or "Night of the Martial Arts," also known as Jiu-jitsu vs Artes Marciais, or "Jiu-Jitsu vs Martial Arts," was held. It featured representatives of BJJ against representatives of Muay Thai, Kung Fu, Kickboxing, and Luta Livre. Future UFC 7 champion Marco Ruas participated, earning a draw against BJJ representative Fernando Pinduka. There was also a match between Rei Zulu and Sérgio Batarelli, a kickboxing world champion who later became a promoter of the International Vale Tudo Championship and managed multiple Brazilians in MMA and K-1.

In 1991, the most famous event took place: Desafio - Jiu Jitsu vs Luta Livre, between representatives of both martial arts. The event was organized after BJJ practitioners nearly got into a brawl with Luta Livre fighters, who had invaded a BJJ tournament to fight Wallid Ismail, after he had issued an insult and a challenge in a local newspaper against Luta Livre. The Luta Livre fighters were convinced to stand down and instead fight in a public challenge.

Robson Gracie, the organizer of the event, convinced TV Globo, Brazil's largest network, to broadcast the event live under the assumption it was a pure grappling event. The rules were later changed to Vale Tudo, but Globo kept the program. The actual event featured three matches, all won by Jiu-Jitsu representatives. On August 29, 1993, a few months before the first UFC event, the event Capoeira vs Chute Boxe took place in Curitiba, fought between capoeiristas and Thai boxers from the Chute Boxe Academy.

It introduced several future MMA fighters, such as Rafael Cordeiro, Jose 'Pelé' Landi-Jons, and Nilson de Castro, and was the first of its kind.

As a fighting style

Many fighters eventually started to train specifically for Vale Tudo events, mixing striking and grappling, eventually advertising "Vale Tudo" as its own standalone style. For example, Marco Ruas referred to his hybrid style of Luta Livre and Muay Thai striking simply as "Vale Tudo".