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Vale Tudo Japan
is an annual mixed martial arts competition held in Japan. Originally arranged by promoter and former professional wrestler Satoru Sayama, he had previously created a hybrid martial art organization named Shooto in 1985. He arranged VTJ in 1994 with the objective of creating a more rules-free event similar to the early Ultimate Fighting Championship events in the United States and Vale Tudo competitions in Brazil, previously to this tournament, Shooto did not feature striking in ground position. The fighters were composed by the best Japanese MMA fighters drawn from Shooto, the Shoot Wrestling circuit as well as foreign invitees, one of them and most famously begin the older brother of UFC champion Royce Gracie, Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Rickson Gracie. Some other notable fighters to fight at Vale Tudo Japan include Sanae Kikuta, Takanori Gomi, Enson Inoue, João Roque, Carlos Newton, Rumina Sato, Royler Gracie, Dan Severn, Vladimir Matyushenko, Frank Shamrock, Jean Jacques ...
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Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north toward the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, and Taiwan in the south. Japan is a part of the Ring of Fire, and spans Japanese archipelago, an archipelago of List of islands of Japan, 6852 islands covering ; the five main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu (the "mainland"), Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa Island, Okinawa. Tokyo is the Capital of Japan, nation's capital and largest city, followed by Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, and Kyoto. Japan is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eleventh most populous country in the world, as well as one of the List of countries and dependencies by population density, most densely populated and Urbanization by country, urbanized. About three-fourths of Geography of Japan, the c ...
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João Roque
João Manuel Roque (born July 22, 1971) is a Portuguese-Angolan former featherweight Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) black belt World Champion and a retired mixed martial artist. He competed in the Featherweight division in MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). His first coaches of BJJ were Marcio Pinheiro and Gerson Velasco, and he stayed under their guidance until he was a purple belt. It was under prestigious Osvaldo Alves, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Red Belt and a legend in the sport of BJJ, that Joao Roque graduated to brown belt. When Master Oswaldo had to move to Manaus Roque joined André Pederneiras, right at the start of the Nova União. Joao Roque began his MMA career in 1996 in the United States (Oklahoma) with a win by armbar. He retired in 2005 in the Japan (Tokyo) with a loss by decision. Today he lives in Brasília, capital of Brazil. Roque went on to form one of the strongest teams in that state and his gym "Clube Vizinhança" still runs today. BJJ lineage Mitsuyo Maeda ...
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Hayato Sakurai
also known as , born August 24, 1975, is a Japanese mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 1996, he has formerly competed for the UFC, PRIDE, DREAM, Shooto, Vale Tudo Japan, DEEP, and participated in the Yarennoka!, Dynamite!! 2008, Dynamite!! 2009, Dynamite!! 2010, and Fight For Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoka 2011 events. Sakurai finished second (Silver) in the Absolute Class (no weight limit) ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in 1999 at just under 77 kg. During the height of his career in 2000 and 2001 he was considered to be one of the top pound for pound fighters in MMA. He is the former Shooto Middleweight Champion. His nickname, " Mach", pronounced ''ma-ha'' in Japanese was taken as a tribute to his childhood professional wrestling hero, Higo Shigehisashi better known as Mach Hayato, the first Japanese professional wrestler to completely embrace the Mexican style of lucha libre and was also among the group of professional wrestlers who ...
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Alexandre Franca Nogueira
Alexandre Franca "Pequeno" Nogueira (born January 15, 1978) is a Brazilian Luta Livre fighter and the former Shooto Lightweight Champion, a Japanese mixed martial arts organization. Nogueira began his professional career at the age of 20, defeating Noboru Asahi. The California State Athletic Commission (CSA) had suspended Alexandre Nogueira, for one year and fined him $2,500, for failing a drug test at a June 1, 2008 WEC show. He tested positive for Boldenone, a banned substance. Championships and Accomplishment *Shooto ** Shooto Lightweight (143 lbs.) Championship **Six Successful Title Defenses Mixed martial arts record , - , Win , align=center, 18–6–3 , Denison Silva , Submission (heel hook) , THF: The Hill Fighters , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:23 , Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 17–6–3 , Antonio Barajas , Submission (guillotine choke) , RDC MMA: Reto de Campeones 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:06 ...
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Rafael Cordeiro
Rafael Cordeiro (born June 1, 1973) is a Brazilian mixed martial arts (MMA) coach and founder of MMA Gym, Kings MMA. He is best known for training multiple MMA world champions. History Cordeiro was a fighter affiliated with the Chute Boxe Academy where he participated in mixed martial arts and Muay Thai. He was three-time Brazilian Muay Thai champion and lightweight champion at the International Vale Tudo Championship (IVC). In 1999, Cordeiro stopped competing professionally and started his career as a full time coach at Chute Boxe where would remain until 2009. In 2008 he moved to the United States and in 2010 opened his own gym, Kings MMA in Huntington Beach, California. Cordeiro has won the 2012 and 2016 coach of the year awards for MMA. In 2019, during the weigh-ins for UFC 244, the NYSAC "determined that Kelvin Gastelum made contact with another person while on the scale, a violation of the weigh in policy”. This was because he was in contact with Cordeiro, who was his ...
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André Pederneiras
Carlos André Pederneiras de Castro (born March 22, 1967) is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and Mixed martial arts (MMA) coach and promoter. A former BJJ competitor, holding today a Red and Black 7th Degree Coral belt, Pederneiras is a 6 x Brazilian National jiu-jitsu champion. During his short career as an MMA fighter, he challenged Pat Miletich for the UFC Welterweight Championship in 1999, and fought at the Shooto-ran Vale Tudo Japan events. Pederneiras is the co-founder of Nova União, one of the top BJJ/MMA academy and team, acting as its leader and MMA head coach until stepping down in 2018 after 21 years. He is widely regarded as one of the best BJJ and MMA coaches in the world. Among the numerous champions he produced, Pederneiras is best known for training Jose Aldo, B.J. Penn and Renan Barão who all became UFC champions. Pederneiras is also the President of Shooto Brasil, the Brazilian branch of Shooto, a Japanese MMA promotion. Background Carlos André Pederneiras ...
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Frank Trigg
Dewey Franklin Trigg III (born May 7, 1972) is an American retired mixed martial artist, color commentator, pro wrestler, MMA referee and TV host. Trigg is a veteran of the UFC, Pride Fighting Championships, Rumble on the Rock, Icon Sport-(Icon Sport Middleweight Champion), BAMMA, World Fighting Alliance, and has made professional wrestling appearances in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Mixed martial arts career In 1995, Trigg began studying judo under Sensei and former Olympian, Patrick Burris. It was while training with Burris that Trigg earned his first black belt and was introduced to the world of Mixed Martial Arts. A high school state champion wrestler in his native New York, Trigg initially wrestled at Oklahoma State as a walk-on before transferring to Phoenix College. After finishing second in the NJCAA championships, he returned to the NCAA ranks when OSU's arch-rivals Oklahoma offered him a scholarship. After receiving his bachelor's degree in Public Affairs and Adminis ...
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Randy Couture
Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American actor, former United States Army, U.S. Army sergeant, former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former Collegiate wrestling, collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestler. During his tenures in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), he became a three-time UFC Heavyweight Championship, UFC Heavyweight Champion, two-time List of UFC champions, UFC Light heavyweight Champion, an interim UFC Light heavyweight Champion, making him a six-time UFC Champion and the List of UFC champions#Tournament winners, UFC 13 Heavyweight Tournament winner. He is the first of seven fighters to hold two UFC championship titles in two different divisions (along with B.J. Penn, Conor McGregor, Georges St-Pierre, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo). Couture has competed in a record 16 title fights. He is tied for the record for the most wins in UFC Heavyweight Championship bouts (6) with former UFC Heavyweight ...
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Jean Jacques Machado
Jean Jacques Machado (born February 12, 1968) is a Brazilian Jiu jitsu practitioner. He is one of the five Machado brothers (Carlos, Roger, Rigan and John). Machado is nephew of BJJ co-founder and Grandmaster Carlos Gracie, and learned the martial art from an early age. He is married to Jaqueline Machado. They married on September 29, 1988 in Rio de Janeiro Brazil, they have two daughters, Jullie and Camilla. Machado is known for his grappling skills having won ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships in his weight division plus a runner up in the open division in 2001. Biography Machado was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and suffered birth defects resulting from amniotic band syndrome, which left him with only the thumb and the little finger on his left hand. Despite this congenital problem, which directly affects the skill of gripping, he began his Jiu-Jitsu training over thirty years ago and dominated the competitive arena of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in his native c ...
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Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock (born Frank Alisio Juarez III; December 8, 1972) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship (later renamed the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship) and retired a four-time defending undefeated champion. Shamrock was the No. 1 ranked pound for pound UFC fighter in the world during his reign as the UFC Middleweight Champion. Shamrock has won numerous titles in other martial arts organizations, including the interim King of Pancrase title, the WEC Light Heavyweight Championship and the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship. Shamrock is regarded as one of the first complete mixed martial artists, having adapted his game from a ground-focused style of fighting to a more well-rounded and versatile style. He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 1990s by the ''Wrestling Observer'', "Best Full Contact Fighter" by ''Black Belt'' magazine (1998), and three time "Fighter of the Year" by ''Fu ...
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Vladimir Matyushenko
Vladimir Vladimirovich Matyushenko ( be, Уладзімір Уладзіміравіч Мацюшэнка, ''Uladzimir Uladzimiravič Maciušenka''; born 4 January 1971) is a Belarusian retired mixed martial artist. A professional from 1997 until 2014, he competed for Bellator MMA, the UFC, Affliction, Jungle Fight, and is the former IFL light heavyweight champion, where he was a member of Ken Yasuda's Tokyo Sabres. Wrestling career Matyushenko is an accomplished freestyle wrestler athlete who competed for both the Soviet Union and Belarus. At the age of 15, he was training alongside the Soviet Olympic wrestling team. At 90 kg, he won a silver medal in the 1994 European championships, and placed 11th in the 1994 World Championships. He utilized his wrestling background extensively in his fights. His nickname of "The Janitor" was coined by Dave Schultz as a joke to the U.S. wrestling team after Matyushenko beat members of their formidable squad (including Olympian Ke ...
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Dan Severn
Daniel DeWayne Severn (born June 8, 1958), nicknamed "The Beast", is an American professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Severn is considered one of the leading pioneers of mixed martial arts and the first true world-class wrestler to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is best known for his success in the early years of the UFC where he became the only UFC Triple Crown champion in history. Severn has also competed in King of the Cage, PRIDE FC, Cage Rage, WEC, RINGS and MFC, and holds a professional MMA Record of 101–19–7. In professional wrestling, Severn is a two-time world champion by winning the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship twice, with his first reign lasting for over four years, and an NWA Hall of Fame member. During his almost year-long tenure with the World Wrestling Federation, he was managed by Jim Cornette and was perhaps most famous for making his entrance with the numerous UFC an ...
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