Rei Zulu (bottom) during his fight with Rickson Gracie
Born
Casemiro de Nascimento Martins (1947-06-09) June 9, 1947 (age 77) São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil
Nationality
Brazilian
Height
6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight
207 lb (94 kg; 14 st 11 lb)
Division
Heavyweight
Style
Tarracá, Vale Tudo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Years active
1963–2009
Mixed martial arts record
Total
10
Wins
2
By knockout
1
By submission
0
By decision
1
Losses
8
By knockout
3
By submission
2
By decision
3
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Casimiro de Nascimento Martins, better known as Rei Zulu (born 9 June 1947), is a Brazilian former vale-tudo fighter that specialized in a traditional fighting style from his native Maranhão known as tarracá.[1] Rei Zulu had been and continues to be considered a legendary figure in the MMA scene in Brazil, particularly in the vale-tudo circuit. He is also the father of MMA fighter Zuluzinho.[2]
Rei Zulu became famous for traveling throughout Brazil and challenging various fighters from Brazil and other parts of the world. In 1980, after 17 years of competition, his career had initially ended after approximately 150 fights after being caught in a guillotine move by Euclides Pereira.[3] It was then that Rei Zulu sent out a challenge to the Gracie family to prove who was the best vale-tudo fighter in Brazil. The undefeated Rickson Gracie fought Rei Zulu, who had to that point a 170–0 record and was alleged to have had up to 270 wins in the vale tudo circuit, in a televised fight that was historic for the development of the Brazilian MMA scene.[4][5] In a hard-fought fight, Rei Zulu lost to Gracie by decision.[6] In a reunion between the two, he was defeated again by decision. However, on 30 November 1984, he had his most major victory against competitor Sérgio Batarelli, a kickboxing fighter, during the JJ vs MA-Jiu-Jitsu vs Martial Arts event.[7]
After winning against Batarelli, continued to fight. In 1990, he was defeated by knockout by James Adler.[8] On 6 April 2000, in the state of Piauí, in a televised fight, Rei Zulu, at 55 years old, lost to kung fu fighter Wellington Dourado. Rei Zulu lost when he was pushed by Wellington out of the ring and fell, hitting his head and went unconscious.[5] Rei Zulu went on to allege that such a move was illegal and that Wellington should have been disqualified. Despite him getting older and into advanced age, he would continue on, having 3 wins due to knockouts at 62 years old. He began to instruct his son Zuluzinho and would accompany him to fights. He had mentioned of intentions to fight other fighters such as Skip Hall and Dan Severn. One of his last fights was against Santos Samurai in the Desafio de Giantes 10 event in 2008.[9]
For a long time, Rei Zulu had been considered worldwide as one of the fighters in the MMA scene with a brawler tactic, ones without a singular style and fought mainly with stronghanded fighting tactics. Years later, however, he revealed in an interview that he learned from his father a traditional fighting style from his home state of Maranhão, which he had also passed onto his son, called tarracá,[10][11][12] which is very popular in the regions of Pindaré and the lowland region of Maranhão.[13]
^Adriano Albuquerque and Raphael Marinho (24 October 2014). "Maracanãzinho consagra Rickson e vê aurora de nova geração histórica". O Globo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 30 November 2023.
^Cruz, Guilherme (6 September 2022). "Zuluzinho 'shocked' by standup rule that led to brutal knockout, still plans to fight in late-September". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
^"Euclides Pereira - O Diabo Louro do vale-tudo". GracieMag (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2 December 2023.
^Fred Melo Paiva, Rei Zulu: "Isso de Carate, Kung-Fu, essa coisa de Jiu-Jitsu, eu arrebento é na porrada", Trip magazine, April 1999
^ abDe Jesus Saraiva 2015.
^"RICKSON GRACIE CRAZY NO-RULES FIGHT VS. KING ZULU IN 1984". MixedMartialArts.com. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
^"JJ vs. MA - Jiu-Jitsu vs. Martial Arts". Sherdog. Sherdog.com. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
^"Do baú: Rei Zulu x James Adler no vale-tudo". GracieMag (in Brazilian Portuguese). 16 March 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
^Lopes Müller Júnior, Mendes Capraro 2023.
^"Portal do Vale Tudo: Zulu e Zuluzinho". Retrieved 30 November 2023.
^"Tarracá - Jogo/luta Maranhense: o Estilo de Rei Zulú". Retrieved 30 November 2023.
^"Rei Zulu e seu Estilo de MMA o Tarracá". Retrieved 30 November 2023.
^"Tarracá - O Estado". Retrieved 30 November 2023.
Casimiro de Nascimento Martins, better known as ReiZulu (born 9 June 1947), is a Brazilian former vale-tudo fighter that specialized in a traditional...
professional wrestler and fighter Casemiro "ReiZulu" Nascimento Martins (father of Zuluzinho). ReiZulu was not a qualified martial artist, having only...
Rickson Gracie fought two events against Casimiro de Nascimento Martins ("ReiZulu"), father of Zuluzinho. Both events were proceeded with public interest...
artist. He is the son of Vale Tudo legend Casemiro Nascimento Martins ("ReiZulu"). Wagner was raised by his grandmother and works as a security guard in...
(armbar) UFC 13 May 30, 1997 1 1:36 Augusta, Georgia, United States Win 6–2 ReiZulu TKO (elbows) Shooto: Reconquista 2 April 6, 1997 1 0:45 Tokyo, Japan Win...
world champion and had Vale Tudo experience with a bout against Casimiro "ReiZulu" de Nascimento Martins in 1984 before he decided to become involved in...
are shaped like wreathes or rounds, and uses an almond as the fève. Bolo-rei (lit. 'king cake') is a traditional Portuguese cake eaten from the beginning...
Santana by decision 1974: Drew with Ivan Gomes in Brasilia 1979: Won over ReiZulu by submission (guillotine choke) Syl Peterkin. "Euclides Pereira – The...
of Manukosi. Soshangane was born in ca 1780 in modern-day KwaNongoma, KwaZulu to Zikode kaGasa, a chief of the junior branch (iKhohlo) of the Ndwandwe...
Tanganyika. In South African English, the word muti is derived from the Zulu/Xhosa/Northern Ndebele umuthi, meaning 'tree', whose root is -thi. In Southern...
of Stellaland (later United States of Stellaland; 1882–1885) 1816–1897: Zulu Kingdom 1806–1910: Part of the British Empire c.1780–1817: Mthethwa Paramountcy...
Magudulela's first acting job was in Mbongeni Ngema's production of The Zulu Show and then as a backing singer in for Ngema's albums Isimukanandwendwe...
some messages and the way they would be encoded: Transport portal Bravo Zulu Character encoding Day shapes Diver down flag Dress ship England expects...
Richard Boyle James Woods Second Serve Renee Richards Vanessa Redgrave Shaka Zulu Shaka Henry Cele Sid and Nancy Sid Vicious Gary Oldman Nancy Spungen Chloe...
between the provincial capital of Pietermaritzburg and Durban, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Kearsney College was founded by Sir Liege...
Africa Malcolm X Marcus Garvey Martin Luther King, Jr. Maulana Karenga Malik Zulu Shabazz Michael X Muhammad Ahmad Obi Egbuna Robert F. Williams Rosa Parks...
2024-06-24. Retrieved 2024-06-25. Tabuena, Anton (4 February 2024). "Top prospect Rei Tsuruya shines in tournament win: Road to UFC Season 2 finals - Full results...
to the Zulu, whose present-day king Goodwill Zwelithini has called for the reintroduction of customary circumcision after it was banned by Zulu king Shaka...
Frontier (1955) Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990, TV) Psycho (1960) Zulu Dawn (1979) Zulu (1964) The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) A Fistful of Dollars...
unionist in GB and Primitive Methodist preacher Dinuzulu (c. 1868–1913), Zulu king exiled in St Helena from 1890–1897 Khalid bin Bargash (1874–1927), deposed...
1978. On 1 January 1982, two services were introduced, TV2 broadcasting in Zulu and Xhosa and TV3 broadcasting in Sotho and Tswana, aimed at a black urban...
association with geohelminth infection in rural schoolchildren from northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa". Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine...
Music Legend Who Died at 67". Summit Daily. Retrieved December 15, 2023. Reily, Ross (November 27, 2023). "Jimmy Buffett's Music Partner Fingers Taylor...
British officers who fought alongside Uys during the course of the Anglo-Zulu War; the monument is in the shape of an obelisk with plaques in Dutch and...
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