Vale Tudo Japan

Satoru Sayama, a former professional wrestler who had founded the hybrid martial arts organization Shooto in 1985, was impressed by the early Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events. He subsequently sought to organize an event inspired by both the UFC and the vale tudo competitions held in Brazil.

In 1994, Sayama arranged Vale Tudo Japan (VTJ), with the inaugural event, Vale Tudo Japan Open 1994 taking place at the Tokyo Bay NK Hall. The events featured fighters from a variety of martial arts backgrounds and emphasized matches between competitors with different fighting styles. The events were presented as legitimate martial arts competitions, with rules designed to allow techniques from multiple disciplines. 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 being the older brother of UFC champion Royce Gracie, Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Rickson Gracie. The first events held in 1994 and '95 were single-elimination tournaments, both of which were won by Gracie. Afterwards, from 1996 to 1999 the events were invitationals. 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 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. Prior to this tournament, Shooto rules did not feature striking in ground position and Sayama would subsequently introduce ground striking into Shooto. 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 wrestler Yumiko Hotta and Dutch kickoxer Margot Neyhoft.

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-style professional wrestler Nobuhiko Takada to headline Pride 1 in 1997. 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.

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. The revived series ran from 2009 until 2016, with a standalone event in 2021.

Vale Tudo Japan 1994

Vale Tudo Japan 1994 was held on July 29, 1994, at the Tokyo Bay NK Hall in Urayasu, Japan.

Vale Tudo Japan 1994 bracket

* = Lomulder was unable to continue.

Vale Tudo Japan 1995

Vale Tudo Japan 1995 was held on April 20, 1995, at the Nippon Budokan Hall in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.

Vale Tudo Japan 1995 bracket

* = Hays was unable to continue. Kimura defeated Emons to claim his place.

Vale Tudo Japan 1996

Vale Tudo Japan 1996 was held on July 7, 1996, at the Tokyo Bay NK Hall in Urayasu, Japan.

Vale Tudo Japan 1997

Vale Tudo Japan 1997 was held on November 29, 1997, at the Tokyo Bay NK Hall in Urayasu, Japan.

Vale Tudo Japan 1998

Vale Tudo Japan 1998 was held on October 25, 1998, at the Tokyo Bay NK Hall in Urayasu, Japan.

Vale Tudo Japan 1999

Vale Tudo Japan 1999 was held on December 11, 1999, at the Tokyo Bay NK Hall in Urayasu, Japan.

Vale Tudo Japan 2009

Vale Tudo Japan 2009 was held on October 30, 2009, at the JCB Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 1st

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 1st (also known as VTJ 1ST) was held on December 24, 2012, at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 2nd

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 2nd (also known as VTJ 2ND) was held on June 22, 2013, at the Tokyo Dome City Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 3rd

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 4th

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 4th (also known as VTJ 4TH) was held on February 23, 2014, at Ota City General Gymnasium in Ota, Tokyo, Japan.

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 5th in Osaka

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 5th in Osaka (also known as VTJ 5TH IN OSAKA) was held on June 28, 2014, at Bodymaker Colosseum in Osaka, Japan.

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 6th

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 6th (also known as VTJ 6TH) was held on October 4, 2014, at Ota City General Gymnasium in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan.

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ in Osaka

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ in Osaka (also known as VTJ in Osaka) was held on June 21, 2015, at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium in Osaka, Japan.

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 7TH

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 7TH (also known as VTJ 7TH) was held on September 13, 2015, at Maihama Amphitheater in Urayasu, Japan.

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ in Okinawa

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.

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ in Osaka (2016)

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.

Vale Tudo Japan: VTJ 8th

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.

VTJ 2021

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.