[MUSEUM] Vale Tudo Japan 1997 Official Event Program - Autographed

July 19, 2023

The first item in our Combat Kingdom Museum is:

My Vale Tudo Japan 97 Event Program.

I managed to get a few autograph on it via various private signings during the 2010's

The program is a typical large format program like the early Pride programs, K-1 programs or UFC Ultimate Japans. It measures approximately 36x26cm (14 1/4 x 10 1/4 inches)

It is signed on the Cover by Carlos Newton, Tom Erikson, as well as Headliners Enson Inoue and Frank Shamrock.

It is signed inside by Carlos Newton and Enson Inoue on their Fighter profile pages

The program has 32 pages and includes a separate A4 bout sheet

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

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, now organizing by the "Vale Tudo Japan Executive Committee", with semi-annual events and three reunion events in 2009, 2012 and 2016.

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.

The Main Card of VTJ 97 consisted of: