VTJ
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Poster
Established
1994 (32 years old)
First Recorded Event
1994-07-29
Current Season
2021
Current Round
1
Sport
FightingLocation
Japan
Gender
Male
TV Rights
| Upcoming | |
| None... | |
Results | |
 11 Dec | Vale Tudo Japan 1999 |
| 25 Oct | Vale Tudo Japan 1998 |
| 29 Nov | Vale Tudo Japan 1997 |
| 07 Jul | Vale Tudo Japan 1996 |
| 20 Apr | Vale Tudo Japan 1995 |
| 29 Jul | Vale Tudo Japan 1994 |
Description
Vale Tudo Japan (VTJ) (Japanese: ヴァーリ・トゥード・ジャパン, Hepburn: Vāri Tūdo Japan) was an annual mixed martial arts competition held in Japan. Originally it was 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. Until the Vale Tudo Japan tournament, Shooto did not feature striking in ground position. The fighters were composed of the best Japanese MMA fighters drawn from Shooto, the Shoot Wrestling circuit as well as foreign invitees, including illustrious names such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Rickson Gracie.
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. Afterwards, from 1996 to 1999 the events were invitationals.
Vale Tudo Japan returned in 2009, organized by the Vale Tudo Japan Executive Committee, with semi-annual events and three reunion events in 2009, 2012 and 2016. The new Vale Tudo Japan events ran from 2009 to 2016, with a last standalone event in 2021.
Early Vale Tudo Japan events were a huge success and led to a boom of popularity and development of MMA and Shooto in Japan. 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-style professional wrestler Nobuhiko Takada to headline Pride 1 in 1997.
Seasons
 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | ||||
Teams
  VTJ Mens  |
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