Vale Tudo Japan 1994 - Official Event Program

Vale Tudo Japan 1994 

Official Event program

1st VTJ Event!

Vale Tudo Japan (VTJ) is 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

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.

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

Results:
Brazil Rickson Gracie    def.    United States Bud Smith    Submission (punches) 
Japan Naoki Sakurada    vs.    Japan Yasushi Warita    Draw 
Brazil Rickson Gracie    def.    United States David Levicki    Submission (punches) 
Brazil Rickson Gracie    def.    Japan Yoshinori Nishi    Submission (rear naked choke)
United States David Levicki    def.    Japan Kazuhiro Kusayanagi    KO (punches) 
Netherlands Jan Lomulder    def.    Japan Kenji Kawaguchi    KO (punch)     
United States Bud Smith    def.    Netherlands Chris Bass    TKO (straight punch)