Vale tudo means ‘anything goes’ translated from Portuguese and is a Brazilian martial art that has become popular worldwide. In Brazil, the term vale tudo was first used for fistfights that took place in circuses during the 1920s.
The circus term was hardly used until around 1959-1960, when it was used to describe style-versus-style fights on the Brazilian TV show Heróis do Ringue (Heroes of the Ring). The organizers of the show included members of the Gracie family, and all participants were very skilled fighters in their own martial arts style.
From 1960 onward, vale tudo remained an ‘underground’ subculture, with most fights taking place in martial arts dojos or small gyms. Vale tudo was mainly centered around the city of Rio de Janeiro, but many fights also took place in northern regions and in the southern state of Bahia, where Capoeira was especially 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 huge success of the UFC sparked a vale tudo explosion worldwide, especially in Japan, and it regained popularity in Brazil. This resulted in two organizations hosting vale tudo matches, 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 Sao Paulo, both organizations ceased to exist in 2002. The world then focused mainly on the safer Mixed Martial Arts, which has stricter rules.
Vale Tudo "underground"
When vale tudo was also banned in the United States, it retreated back into the ‘underground’ of Brazil. Every year, numerous vale tudo fights still take place in Brazil, but due to its violent and bloody image, the fights face much criticism from the media.
Critics believe that vale tudo fights should adopt the rules of the much safer Mixed Martial Arts.
Supporters of vale tudo strongly oppose this because MMA, developed in America, nowadays differs greatly from vale tudo and should therefore be seen as a completely different sport, just as Muay Thai differs from the safer kickboxing, for example.
