is an annual mixed martial arts competition held in Japan. Originally arranged by promoter and former professional wrestler

Satoru Sayama (born November 27, 1957) is a Japanese professional wrestling, Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, MMA and wrestling promoter and writer, best known as the original Tiger Mask (professional wrestling), Tige ...

, he had previously created a

hybrid martial art Hybrid martial arts, also known as hybrid fighting systems or sometimes eclectic martial arts or freestyle martial arts, refer to mixed martial arts or fighting systems that incorporate techniques and theories from several particular martial arts ...

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 Vale Tudo (; en, Everything Goes/Everything Allowed), also known No Holds Barred (NHB) in the United States, is an unarmed, full-contact combat sport with relatively few rules. It became popular in Brazil during the 20th century and would event ...

competitions in Brazil, previously to this tournament, Shooto did not feature

striking Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

in ground position. The fighters were composed by the best Japanese MMA fighters drawn from Shooto, the

Shoot Wrestling Shoot wrestling is a combat sport that originated in Japan's professional wrestling circuit of the 1970s. Professional wrestlers of that era attempted to use more realistic or even "full contact" moves in their matches to increase their exciteme ...

circuit as well as foreign invitees, one of them and most famously begin the older brother of UFC champion Royce Gracie,

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

legend Rickson Gracie. Some other notable fighters to fight at Vale Tudo Japan include Sanae Kikuta, Takanori Gomi,

Enson Inoue Enson Shoji Inoue (; born April 15, 1967) is a Japanese-American jiu-jitsu practitioner and retired professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1995 until 2010, he fought for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, the UFC, Shooto ...

, João Roque,

Carlos Newton Carlos Newton (born August 17, 1976) is an Anguillian-born Canadian retired mixed martial artist. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion and Pride FC Japan MMA Legend. Known as "The Ronin", he competed worldwide in the biggest MMA organizatio ...

, Rumina Sato, Royler Gracie, Dan Severn, Vladimir Matyushenko, Frank Shamrock,

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 ...

, Randy Couture, Frank Trigg, André Pederneiras, Rafael Cordeiro, Alexandre Franca Nogueira, Hayato Sakurai, and Yuki Nakai. Vale Tudo Japan events ran from 1994 to 1999, a pair of editions held in 1994 and '95 were single-elimination tournaments, both of which were won by Rickson Gracie. Afterwards, from 1996 to 1999 the events were invitationals. Vale Tudo Japan returned in 2009, now organizing by the "Vale Tudo Japan Executive Committee", with semi-annual events and three reunion events in 2009, 2012 and 2016. Early Vale Tudo Japan events were a huge success, it led to a boom of the popularity and development of MMA and Shooto in Japan, and the tournament is considered a predecessor to

PRIDE Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

. VTJ's format and rules would serve as a basis for PRIDE, while Rickson Gracie's impressive victories in VTJ would make him a celebrity in Japan, leading to him being paired with popular Shoot-style professional wrestler Nobuhiko Takada to headline

Pride 1 The year 1997 is the 1st year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 1997 had only 1 event, ''Pride 1''. Debut Pride FC fighters Given that this is Pride FC's debut year, all fighter ...

in 1997.

Events and results

Vale Tudo Japan 1994

Vale Tudo Japan 1994 was held on July 29, 1994, at the Tokyo Bay NK Hall in Urayasu,

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 ...

Vale Tudo Japan 1995

Vale Tudo Japan 1995 was held on April 20, 1995, at the Nippon Budokan Hall in

Chiyoda, Tokyo is a special ward located in central Tokyo, Japan. It is known as Chiyoda City in English.Profile< ...

Vale Tudo Japan 1996

Vale Tudo Japan 1996 was held on July 7, 1996, at the Tokyo Bay NK Hall in Urayasu,

Vale Tudo Japan 1997

Vale Tudo Japan 1997 was held on November 29, 1997, at the Tokyo Bay NK Hall in Urayasu,

Vale Tudo Japan 1998

Vale Tudo Japan 1998 was held on October 25, 1998, at the Tokyo Bay NK Hall in Urayasu,

Vale Tudo Japan 1999

Vale Tudo Japan 1999 was held on December 11, 1999, at the Tokyo Bay NK Hall in Urayasu,

Vale Tudo Japan 2009

Vale Tudo Japan 2009 was held on October 30, 2009, at the

JCB Hall The Tokyo Dome City Hall (TDC Hall) is a facility for sports, fashion shows, circuses, and live music, located inside Tokyo Dome City in Tokyo, Japan. It is on the opposite corner of the Tokyo Dome, and hosts a variety of events at any given ti ...

in Tokyo,

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 1st

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 1st (also known as ''VTJ 1ST'') was held on December 24, 2012, at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo,

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 2nd

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 2nd (also known as ''VTJ 2ND'') was held on June 22, 2013, at the Tokyo Dome City Hall in Tokyo,

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 3rd

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 3rd (also known as ''VTJ 3RD'') was held on October 5, 2013, at

Ota City General Gymnasium Ota City General Gymnasium is an arena in Ōta, Tokyo is a special ward located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. In English, it is often called Ōta City. , the ward has an estimated population of 716,413, with 379,199 households and a populatio ...

in Ota, Tokyo, Japan. The main event featured longtime # 1 ranked Megumi Fujii in her retirement bout.

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 4th

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 4th (also known as ''VTJ 4TH'') was held on February 23, 2014, at

in Ota, Tokyo, Japan.

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 5th in Osaka

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 5th in Osaka (also known as ''VTJ 5TH IN OSAKA'') was held on June 28, 2014, at

Bodymaker Colosseum is an indoor sporting arena located in Namba, Osaka, Japan. It first opened in 1952 and the current building was constructed in 1987. It is the venue of a professional sumo tournament (honbasho) held in March every year. The capacity of the a ...

in Osaka, Japan.

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 6th

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 6th (also known as ''VTJ 6TH'') was held on October 4, 2014, at

in Otā, Tokyo, Japan.

References

External links

Official Website

Vale Tudo Japan Results on Sherdog.com
{{MMA organizations Vale Tudo Mixed martial arts in Japan Mixed martial arts organizations Mixed martial arts events Sports competitions in Japan