Vale Tudo

Vale tudo

Also known as	no holds barred (NHB), anything goes
Focus	Hybrid
Hardness	Full contact
Country of origin	Brazil
Creator	Various
Parenthood	Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai, Combat Sambo, judo, boxing, savate, catch wrestling
Olympic sport	No

Vale tudo (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvali ˈtudu]; English: anything goes) is an unarmed, full-contact combat sport with relatively few rules. It became popular in Brazil during the 20th century. It uses techniques from many martial art styles. Vale tudo is the precursor of mixed martial arts.

Fighting sideshows called vale tudo became popular in Brazilian circuses during the 1920s. Examples of such bouts were described in the Japanese-American Courier on October 4, 1928:

One report from São Paulo declares that Jiu Jitsu is truly an art and that in an interesting exhibition in the side tent to the big circus a Bahian of monstrous dimensions met his waterloo at the hands of a diminutive Japanese wrestler. The man was an expert at Capoeira, an old South American style of fighting, but after putting the Japanese on his back and trying to kick his head ... the little oriental by the use of a Jiu Jitsu hold threw the Bahian and after a short struggle he was found sitting on the silent frame of the massive opponent.

However, this circus term did not enter popular use until 1959–1960, when it was used to describe the style-versus-style bouts featured in a Rio television show called Heróis do Ringue ("Heroes of the Ring"). The matchmakers and hosts of the show included members of the Gracie family, including Carlson Gracie and Carley Gracie. The participants were all legitimate practitioners of their styles.

One night during the show, João Alberto Barreto (later a referee for UFC 1) was competing against a man trained in Luta Livre. Barreto caught his opponent in an armbar and the man refused to submit. Barreto broke the man's arm. Consequently, the show was canceled and soon replaced by a Professional Wrestling show called Telecatch.

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