“In 1930 in Brazil, it was still, ‘The Law of the Strongest Man,

There are many who consider Brazil the birthplace of mixed martial arts, but on Aug. 27, when UFC returns to the country after a 13-year absence with a show at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, it will be presenting something far different from the legendary vale tudo matches that are the sport’s roots.

As far as where the sport started, like most early sports histories, there is a combination of fuzzy memories and legends passed down by generations. The idea of mixed styles fighting may really date back to the sport of Pankration at the original Olympics in Greece some 2,800 years ago. There were also fights of this type in the late 1800s in Japan. But the UFC itself was the brainchild of Rorion Gracie, son of Helio Gracie, a sports legend in Brazil for his vale tudo fights dating back to 1930. The term translates roughly from Portuguese as “anything goes.”
To know more details click here MMA to return to Brazilian

By Dave Meltzer 
Aug 19, 11:21 pm EDT