Bart Vale (born May 4, 1957) is an American former

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

and

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. He is known for his "old school" American martial arts look, consisting of a mustache, mullet and American flag trunks.

Career

Bart Vale began his martial arts training in 1970 with kenpo. He later traveled to

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 ...

where he was a

in the

Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Group (''Purofesshonaru-resuringu Fujiwara-Gumi'', プロフェッショナルレスリング藤原組) was a shoot style professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan, operating from 1991 to 1996. It was formed b ...

(a shoot-style professional wrestling organization) champion for close to three years. In Japan, he also studied a number of other styles and coined the term "

shootfighting Shootfighting is a martial art and combat sport, with competitions governed by the International Shootfighting Association (ISFA). It incorporates techniques from a multitude of traditional martial arts, the most principal of these being wrestlin ...

", a martial art that combines striking and

grappling Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling i ...

. He co-founded the International Shootfighting Association and in 1992, began the Shootfighting World Championships. Vale began participating in events for Fighting Network Rings in March 1993. He appeared in five matches for Rings, four of which took place during the organization's pro wrestling period. Rings began promoting

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

bouts rather than shoot-style works in 1995. In October 1995, Vale competed in the World Combat Championships. In the first round of the tournament he defeated Mike Bitonio via first-round submission. Fighting at 260 lbs, Vale outweighed Bitonio by 45 lbs. Vale was to face

Renzo Gracie Renzo Gracie (; born March 11, 1967) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A member of the Gracie family of Brazil, Renzo is a 7th Degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Carlos Gracie Jr. He is the so ...

in the semifinals, but wasn't able to continue due to head lacerations. He had two further MMA bouts, in which he lost to

Kazunari Murakami (born November 29, 1973) is a Japanese professional wrestler and retired mixed martial artist currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah. Murakami is best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) during the late 1990s and early 2000s, ...

and

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 marti ...

. He also competed in the K-1 kickboxing promotion twice. In 1996, he was invited into the

K-1 World Grand Prix K-1 World Grand Prix, also known as the K-1 World GP, is an elimination kickboxing tournament that has been held annually since 1993 by the K-1 organization. Each year, K-1 holds various 16-men, 8-match grand prix style tournaments throughout the ...

and was defeated by

Andy Hug Andreas "Andy" Hug (7 September 1964 – 24 August 2000) was a Swiss karateka and kickboxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight kickboxers of all time, Hug was renowned for his ability t ...

. His next bout, against

Nobuaki Kakuda is a retired karateka and kickboxer. Early life After attending university, Kakuda opened a karate dojo in Kobe but was forced to shut it down after two years. He subsequently worked as a dishwasher, ramen chef, and construction worker. At age ...

in 1998, also ended in defeat. In the early days of MMA, when it was still called NHB, Vale was introduced as the man who beat

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (''né'' Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promoter and semi-retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and kickboxer. He is best known for his time in Ultimate Fighting Champ ...

in reference to a pro wrestling bout that occurred in

on May 15, 1992.cagematch.net
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Kickboxing record

, - , , Loss ,

, K-1 Japan '98 Kamikaze ,

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , align="center", 1 , align="center", 2:09 , 0-2 , , - , , Loss ,

, K-1 Grand Prix '96 Opening Battle ,

Yokohama, Japan is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

, TKO (3 knockdowns) , align="center", 1 , align="center", 2:24 , 0-1 , , - , - , colspan=10 , ''Legend'':

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 1–2 ,

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , CFA 1: Collision at the Crossroads , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:36 ,

Corinth, Mississippi Corinth is a city in and the county seat of Alcorn County, Mississippi, Alcorn County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,573 at the 2010 census. Its ZIP codes are 38834 and 38835. It lies on the state line with Tennessee. Histor ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , Extreme Fighting 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:37 ,

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Mike Bitonio , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , World Combat Championship 1: First Strike , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 7:10 ,

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, United States ,

References

External links

* *
Official K-1 profileYouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vale, Bart 1957 births Living people American male karateka American male kickboxers Kickboxers from Florida Heavyweight kickboxers American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Florida Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing American Kenpo Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing shootfighting American male professional wrestlers Sportspeople from Miami

Career

Kickboxing record

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links