Shooto (1994-1999) Vale Tudo Japan Executive Committee (2009-Present)
Website
http://www.valetudojapan.com/
Vale Tudo Japan (VTJ) (Japanese: ヴァーリ・トゥード・ジャパン, Hepburn: Vāri Tūdo 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.[1][2] 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 Machado, 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.[3] Afterwards, from 1996 to 1999 the events were invitationals.[2][4]
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.[2][5]
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. VTJ's format and rules would serve as a basis for PRIDE,[2] 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 in 1997.[6]
^"Fight Finder - Mixed Martial Arts Statistics". Archived from the original on March 12, 2007. Retrieved August 28, 2006.
^ abcdSherdog.com. "The Resurrection of Vale Tudo Japan". Sherdog. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
^Blackett, Todd. "Throwback: Rickson Gracie vs Yuki Nakai At Vale Tudo Japan 1995". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
^"Vale Tudo Japan - VTJ (Vale Tudo Japan Executive Committee) | MMA Promoter". Tapology. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
^"Vale Tudo Japan - VTJ (Vale Tudo Japan Executive Committee) | MMA Promoter". Tapology. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
ValeTudoJapan (VTJ) (Japanese: ヴァーリ・トゥード・ジャパン, Hepburn: Vāri TūdoJapan) is an annual mixed martial arts competition held in Japan. Originally arranged...
ValeTudo or vale-tudo (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvali ˈtudu]; English: Everything Goes/Everything Allowed), also known as No Holds Barred (NHB) in the...
with its ValeTudoJapan events being essential to the rise of Pride Fighting Championships and the development of modern MMA. Many Japanese MMA fighters...
Ruas was the UFC 7 Tournament Champion, and also competed for the World ValeTudo Championship (WVC), PRIDE Fighting Championships and the International...
where he won the Shooto World Welterweight Championship, as well as ValeTudoJapan 1995, where he was outweighed by every opponent in the tournament....
cornerman. Two years after his UFC stint, Gordeau applied to the JapaneseValeTudoJapan tournament. He had been in the previous edition as a cornerman...
professional competitor since 2000, Tokoro has also formerly competed for ValeTudoJapan, ZST, Shooto, Rings and K-1 Hero's. He is notable for holding the record...
career in Shooto, Kawaguchi represented the promotion in the event ValeTudoJapan in July 1994, where he was pitted against French karateka Jan Lomulder...
contacted by Erik Paulson to compete in Satoru Sayama's event ValeTudoJapan. Gracie traveled to Japan and participated in the tournament, firstly facing Daido-juku...
fought for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, the UFC, Shooto, and ValeTudoJapan. He was the first and only Shooto Heavyweight Champion, and was a finalist...
on New Year's Eve 2012. However, she instead faced Mei Yamaguchi at ValeTudoJapan 2012 on December 24. Fujii defeated Yamaguchi by unanimous decision...
mixed martial arts bouts. He fought in ValeTudoJapan 1995 a mixed martial arts competition that took place in Japan on April 20, 1995. The tournament was...
seconds with a flying armbar. At ValeTudoJapan 1998, Sato went against André Pederneiras of the Nova União in a valetudo rules match. Sato suffered the...
Paulson still competed in Shooto, being sent as a representative to the ValeTudoJapan event, where he was submitted in 0:41 by Canadian grappler Carlos Newton...
Federation. A professional since 2006, he has also competed for Shooto, ValeTudoJapan, and The Ultimate Fighter. He is the former Shooto World Bantamweight...
Championships in Japan, UFC in America and W-1 in Canada. Newton started his Japan fight career with a win over Erik Paulson to become the ValeTudoJapan World...
roster. Aguilar faced Megumi Fujii in a rematch at ValeTudoJapan 3rd on October 5, 2013 in Tokyo, Japan. Aguilar initially won by TKO when the doctor stopped...
Championships, Pancrase, DREAM, World Victory Road, DEEP, Shooto, and ValeTudoJapan. He is the former Pancrase Light Heavyweight Champion (2001–2003) and...
decision. Finally, he got another quick TKO of Ed de Kruijf at ValeTudoJapan 1997 in Chiba, Japan on November 29, 1997, in what would be his last MMA fight...
until 2016, he competed for the UFC, RINGS, ValeTudoJapan, Pancrase, the WEF, and the International ValeTudo Championship. Born and raised in Jefferson...
During this time Sayama hosted the ValeTudoJapan event, leading to the introduction of Brazilian jiu-jitsu in Japan, which drove him to change the rules...
place throughout Japan and in the countries of the East Asia. At the same time, in Brazil, there was a phenomenon called valetudo, which became known...
he has also competed for ValeTudoJapan. He was the inaugural ONE FC Welterweight Champion. Suzuki is from Tokyo, Japan and began training in Kyokushin...
Cornered by The Alliance, Shamrock fought Enson Inoue in a bout in ValeTudoJapan '97 that would determine who would fight Kevin Jackson for the newly...
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