Valdemar Santana (born 28 October 1929 - died 29 August 1984), sometimes known as Adema Santa, was a Brazilian martial artist who trained in

Capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. Born of the melting pot of enslaved Africans, Indigenous Brazilians and Portuguese influences at the beginning of the 16th century ...

under

Mestre Bimba Manuel dos Reis Machado, commonly called Mestre Bimba (; November 23, 1899 – February 5, 1974), was a Brazilian capoeira ''mestre'' (a master practitioner). He founded the '' capoeira regional'' school, one of the art's two main branches. E ...

and in

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 ...

under

Hélio Gracie Hélio Gracie (October 1, 1913 – January 29, 2009) was a Brazilian martial artist who together with his brothers Oswaldo, Gastao Jr, George and Carlos Gracie founded and developed the self-defense martial art system of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, also ...

. He was also trained in

Luta Livre Luta Livre (, lit. ''freestyle fighting''), known in Brazil as Luta Livre Brasileira (lit. ''Brazilian freestyle fighting'') or Luta Livre Submission, and also Brazilian Submission Wrestling, is a Brazilian martial arts and combat sport created ...

and

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

Biography

He is famous for fighting his former master Hélio Gracie in 1955. Valdemar fought for the original Gracie Academy for many years but had a falling out with Hélio. Gracie and Santana decided to settle their differences in a

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 ...

(no holds barred) match. After more than three hours and forty minutes of combat, Santana knocked out Gracie with a

soccer kick A soccer kick, also known as a soccer ball kick or PK (penalty kick) in puroresu and shoot fighting, and as tiro de meta in vale tudo, is a reference to a kick that is similar to kicks used in association football. It is the colloquial term for ...

to the head. The violence of that fight would lead to the prohibition of

in Rio de Janeiro and merit chronicles in all newspapers in the city, including one by

Nélson Rodrigues Nelson Falcão Rodrigues (August 23, 1912 – December 21, 1980) was a Brazilian playwright, journalist and novelist. In 1943, he helped usher in a new era in Brazilian theater with his play ''Vestido de Noiva (The Wedding Dress)'', considered ...

, entitled: “O preto que tinha uma alma negra”, in which the playwright analyzes the racial issue at the time. In his words: The brutal knockout suffered by Hélio Gracie would generate an immediate interest in a response from the family, this time represented by

Carlson Gracie Carlson Gracie (August 13, 1932 – February 1, 2006) was a practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. A member of the Gracie family, he was the eldest son of Carlos Gracie, and nephew to Hélio Gracie, founders of Gracie jiu-jitsu. Carlson Gr ...

(Hélio's nephew). Carlson would avenge his uncle Hélio in a

fight that filled Maracanãzinho in 1956. Carlson and Santana had, according to Carlson Gracie, had six fights, with Carlson winning two and the other four being declared a draw. But even after being defeated by Gracie, Santana continued with his status as a great sports icon. It is worth remembering that at that time Brazil was still experiencing the trauma of the Maracanazo in 1950. It was only in 1958 that the Canarian script, led by Pelé, would bring their first World Cup. In addition to

fights, Black Leopard ''Leopardo Negro'' would fight several times with other great icons of his generation, such as Ivan Gomes,

Euclides Pereira Euclides Pereira (born 7 May 1941) is a former Vale Tudo fighter and current Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach. Biography Pereira was born in northeastern Brazil. His family moved to the city of Natal when he was a child, and he attended Salesian Colleg ...

, and even with the Japanese

Masahiko Kimura was a Japanese judoka and professional wrestler who is widely considered one of the greatest judoka of all time.Jim Chen, Theodore ChenThe Man Who Defeated Helio Gracie.July 3, 2003. He won the All-Japan Judo Championships three times in a row ...

, whom he faced in Salvador under the rules of Vale-Tudo. Kimura won the first match, and the re-match was a draw.

Masahiko Kimura vs. Valdemar Santana

went to Brazil again in 1959 to conduct his last Professional Judo/Wrestling tour. He was challenged by Valdemar Santana to a "real" (not choreographed) submission match. Santana was a champion in Gracie Jiujitsu and

. He was 27 years old, 6 feet tall, and weighed 205 lbs. Kimura threw Santana with

seoinage is a shoulder throw, one of the traditional forty throws of Judo as developed by Jigoro Kano. It belongs to the first group, Dai Ikkyo, of the traditional throwing list, Gokyo (no waza), of Kodokan Judo. It is also part of the current 67 Thro ...

, hanegoshi, and

osotogari is one of the original 40 throws of Judo as developed by Jigoro Kano. It belongs to the first group, Dai Ikkyo, of the traditional throwing list, Gokyo (no waza), of Kodokan Judo. It is also included in the current 67 Throws of Kodokan Judo. ...

. He then applied his famous

reverse ude-garami An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...

(entangled armlock), winning the match. Santana requested a rematch under

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 ...

rules (their first fight was apparently grappling only), and, this time, the result was a draw after 40 minutes in a bout in which both competitors reportedly drew blood. Kimura fought this match despite having an injured knee; he was pressured by the promoter and police to fight against his doctors orders.Masahiko Kimur
Excerpt from ''My Judo''
(1984).

Career highlights

*1955: Won over Hélio Gracie by KO *1955: Drew with Carlson Gracie *1956: Lost to Carlson Gracie by TKO *1957: Lost to Carlson Gracie by decision *1957: Drew with Carlson Gracie *1957: Drew with Carlson Gracie *1957: Drew with Carlson Gracie *1959: Lost to Masahiko Kimura by submission *1959: Drew with Masahiko Kimura *1962: Drew with Ivan Gomes *1968: Lost to Euclides Pereira by retirement *1970: Drew with Carlson Gracie *197?: Drew with Euclides Pereira *1972: Lost to Ivan Gomes by submission

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santana, Valdemar Brazilian male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing capoeira Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Luta Livre Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing vale tudo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian capoeira practitioners Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian male judoka 1929 births 1984 deaths