Vale Tudo Japan (VTJ) (Japanese: ヴァーリ・トゥード・ジャパン, Hepburn: Vāri Tūdo Japan) was a mixed martial arts competition held in Japan. Founded by promoter and former professional wrestlerSatoru Sayama and his organization Shooto, its first event was held in 1994.[1] The 1994 tournament introduced ground striking to a major Japanese MMA event and helped lay the groundwork for modern Japanese MMA.[1]
The events featured Japanese fighters from Shooto and the shoot wrestling circuit as well as international participants, including Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner Rickson Gracie.[1] 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.[2] Afterwards, from 1996 to 1999 the events were invitationals.[3]
Vale Tudo Japan returned in 2009, organized by the Vale Tudo Japan Executive Committee. The revived series ran through 2016,[4] and a standalone VTJ 2021 event was held in 2021.[5]
Vale Tudo Japan became an important platform for the development of mixed martial arts in Japan. Similar to his brother's victory in the UFC, Rickson Gracie's success in Vale Tudo Japan helped raise the profile Brazilian jiu-jitsu in mixed martial arts competition for the Japanese audience.[9] Prior to this tournament, Shooto rules did not feature striking in ground position and Sayama would subsequently introduce ground striking into Shooto.[6][10] Vale Tudo Japan also served as an important stepping stone for Women's mixed martial arts, with Vale Tudo Japan 1996 featuring a fight between joshi professional wrestlerYumiko Hotta and Dutch kickoxer Margot Neyhoft.[11]
Early Vale Tudo Japan events were successful, leading 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, while Rickson Gracie's impressive victories in VTJ would make him a celebrity in Japan, leading to him being paired with popular Shoot-styleprofessional wrestlerNobuhiko Takada to headline Pride 1 in 1997.[12][10] The original Vale Tudo Japan series ended in 1999 after Shooto officials considered the event's purpose fulfilled, as Shooto had developed into an established MMA organization and VTJ was no longer considered necessary as a separate event.[13]
Vale Tudo Japan returned in 2009 after a ten-year hiatus, organized by the Vale Tudo Japan Executive Committee in association with Shooto. The revival featured several veterans of the original series, including Takanori Gomi, Rumina Sato and Alexandre Franca Nogueira, while also serving as an opportunity for Shooto officials to test potential changes to its rules, including five-round fights, smaller gloves, and knees and stomps to grounded opponents.[14][4] The revived series ran from 2009 until 2016.[5][3]
After a five-year hiatus, VTJ was revived in 2021 as a special standalone event intended to restore its original "Japan vs. the world" concept. According to Sustain (the company responsible for promoting Professional Shooto) representative Kazuhiro Sakamoto, the COVID-19 pandemic had created a lack of opportunities for Japanese fighters to compete against foreign opponents, and the organizers saw the revival as an opportunity to test ways of bringing international fighters back to Japan. The event was therefore held as a one-off alongside a Professional Shooto card, with the aim of providing Japanese fighters with international competition. The event also used a mixed martial arts cage rather than the traditional Shooto ring used in former editions.[15][16]
Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 3rd (also known as VTJ 3RD) was held on October 5, 2013, at Ota City General Gymnasium in Ota, Tokyo, Japan. The main event featured longtime # 1 ranked Megumi Fujii in her retirement bout.
Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ in Okinawa (also known as VTJ in Okinawa) was held on October 3, 2015, at Okinawa Prefectural Budokan in Naha, Okinawa, Japan.[17]
Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ in Osaka was held on June 19, 2016, at Edion Arena Osaka in Osaka, Japan. In the main event, Daichi Takenaka defeated Alan Philpott by rear-naked choke in the first round.[18]
Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 8th was held on September 19, 2016, at Maihama Amphitheater in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan. ISAO defeated Yutaka Saito by split decision in the main event.[19][20]
VTJ 2021 was held on November 6, 2021, at USEN Studio Coast in Kōtō, Tokyo. In the main event, Tatsuro Taira submitted Alfredo Muaiad with a rear-naked choke in the first round.[5]
Urayasu, Chiba, Japan
Rickson Gracie
Bud Smith
Jan Lomulder
Igor Zinoviev
Eric Lavigne
Mushtaq Abdullah
Alex Cook
Carlos Newton
João Roque
Vladimir Matyushenko
Jesse Taitano
Jung Min Kang
Kuntap Weerasakreck
Jessica Aguilar
