Vale tudo /

Vale tudo (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvali ˈtudu]; meaning "anything goes" or "No rules") are full-contact unarmed combat events, with a limited number of rules, that became popular in Brazil during the 20th century. Vale tudo has been considered a combat sport by some observers. Fighting sideshows, termed "vale tudo" or "anything goes", became popular in Brazilian circuses during the 1920s. Examples of such bouts were described in the Japanese-American Courier on October 4, 1928: However, this circus term did not enter popular use until 1959-1960, when it was used to describe the style-versus-style bouts featured in a Rio television show called Heróis do Ringue ("Heroes of the Ring"). The matchmakers and hosts of the show included members of the Gracie family, and the participants were all legitimate practitioners of their styles. One night, João Alberto Barreto (later a referee for UFC 1) was competing against a man trained in Luta Livre. Barreto caught his opponent in an armbar. The man refused to tap out. Barreto subsequently broke the man's arm. Consequently, this show was soon replaced by another show, Telecatch, that featured more theatrical contests. Heroes of Telecatch