Translated from Portuguese, "vale tudo" means "anything goes" and is a Brazilian martial art that has become popular worldwide. In Brazil, the term "vale tudo" was first used in bare-knuckle fights that took place in circuses during the 1920s.
The term "circus fight" was rarely used until around 1959-1960, when it was used to describe the style-versus-style fights in the Brazilian television show Heróis do Ringue (Heroes of the Ring). The show's organizers included members of the Gracie family , and all participants were highly skilled fighters in their own martial arts style.
From the 1960s onwards, vale tudo remained an underground subculture, with most fights taking place in martial arts dojos or small gyms. Vale tudo was mainly concentrated around Rio de Janeiro , but many fights also occurred in more northerly regions and in the southern state of Bahia, where Capoeira was particularly prominent.
In and around Rio de Janeiro, the rivalry was mainly between Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Luta Livre , while in other regions various martial arts competed against each other.
Gracie and the introduction of the UFC
Rorion Gracie, a member of the famous Gracie family, moved to America and introduced vale tudo to a new market by founding the UFC in 1993.
The enormous success of the UFC led to a vale tudo explosion worldwide, especially in Japan, and it regained popularity in Brazil. This resulted in two organizations hosting vale tudo events: the WVC and the IVC.
Both organizations operated from the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, and many of today's MMA stars began their careers there.
After vale tudo fights were banned in São Paulo, both organizations ceased to exist in 2002. The world focused primarily on the safer sport of Mixed Martial Arts , which has stricter rules.
Vale Tudo "underground"
When vale tudo was banned in the United States, it retreated back into the Brazilian underground. Countless vale tudo fights still take place in Brazil annually, but the violent and bloody image attracts considerable media criticism.
Critics believe that vale tudo fights should adopt the rules of the much safer sport of Mixed Martial Arts .
Proponents of vale tudo strongly oppose this because the MMA developed in America differs greatly from vale tudo nowadays and should therefore be seen as a completely different sport, just as Muay Thai differs from the safer kickboxing, for example.
