Before the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) became popular in 1993, Vale Tudo dominated competitions of unarmed combat in South America. This sport was well known for its lack of rules, brutality and bloodiness as a result of the lack of protections for the fighters. The UFC, in adopting rules, regulations, and weight classes, has been seen as creating a dramatic difference between its mixed martial arts style and Vale Tudo. Vale Tudo uses many styles and techniques of fighting such as Muay Thai, Boxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Wrestling and Sambo. It is still practiced widely in South America today.
In the early 1920s, Vale Tudo began to emerge in the mainstream along with circus acts in what was considered “box fighting”. The mid 1950s to the early 1960s saw Vale Tudo gain more popularity with the mainstream, and the name came into regular use. The name in Portuguese means “Anything Goes” to describe the rule-less fighting style. Popularity for this martial art grew as the Gracie Family introduced Brazilian jiu-jitsu on the fighting scene, with its reputation for bloodiness and brutality due to fighters not wanting to tap out.
Royce Gracie used these techniques to dominate the first four years of UFC. As UFC became more popular and adopted more rules and regulations, Vale Tudo slowly faded out of the limelight. It is still practice widely underground in Brazil; however, moves have been made to keep it out of the main stream due to its brutal nature. Mixed martial arts have been compared to Vale Tudo, but there are people who disagree with that due to the changed rules for mixed martial arts. They believe that the distinction should be made between these two styles due to its more traditional form of fighting.
You will not find Vale Tudo fights televised the way they were years ago, but it is still popular in South America as a largely known fighting style, the way that it had previously been. Individuals can still be trained in this technique, but finding an instructor willing to teach it is the obstacle. Because these fights have been banned in the mainstream in South America, many want to keep it quiet. UFC was closer to this martial art in the past, but changed to be accepted in mainstream sports to get a wider recognition. Separation from the mixed martial arts of the UFC and this sport are desired due to the changes instituted in the UFC.
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