Mixed Martial Arts in Brazil
MMA (Mixed Marshal Arts) is an extremely popular sport in Brazil, and it’s not only the men who are watching it. Incorporating elements of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (shortened to “BJJ”), Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Taekwondo, Karate and Judo among other styles, MMA is an art form as much as it is a sport. This full contact sport requires intense mental concentration as well as physical strength. (How do you get out of a hold? When/where do you strike your opponent?) Becoming an MMA champion requires years of study and training, and some of the most infamous MMA trainers happen to be Brazilian, with a strong background in Jiu-Jitsu.
Brazilian UFC Champions
MMA is becoming more and more popular worldwide, but this sport is dominated by Brazilians more than any other culture. UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is one of the most notorious Brazilian UFC Champions of all time. Other famous names of Brazilian UFC fighters include Junior Dos Santos, José Aldo, Lyoto Machida, Maurício Rua, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva and José Aldo. And of course everyone who is interested in Brazilian martial arts knows of the legendary Royce Gracie, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master and UFC Hall of Fame Champion. Gracie’s family is responsible for the international popularization of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and he revolutionized mixed martial arts with his techniques (Gracie’s father and older brother are the founders of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu – Modern Brazilian Jiu Jitsu).
UFC In Brazil
UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) is the largest MMA promotion company worldwide. Brazil is a country that has a long-standing tradition of specialization in martial arts, which has produced some of the most talented martial artists, fighters and trainers that the world has ever seen. So it is no surprise that watching UFC fights is becoming increasingly popular in Brazil. In 2011, when UFC hosted in Rio de Janeiro, the event completely sold out in just 74 minutes. Pretty impressive.
About Laurena
I never realised how big UFC was until I got here and somehow found myself with job of writing the subtitles for the TUF Brasil reality show that is currently being aired.
From what I gather the program has been a massive success rating wise and it has even gone done well in the States despite it not being in English.
Hopefully I can blag some free tickets for the live show in June!
Wow, congrats on landing that job! I didn't even know that Globo had a reality show about ultimate fighters. I was planning on making a vocab list of Portuguese terms related to luta & vale tudo, and you are probably the perfect person to ask! Do you happen to have some of the terms in Portuguese (i.e. the Portuguese word for grapple, etc.) that you could share? Feel free to post here, or to email me portugueseblogger@gmail.com. And thanks for the comment!
Well, when I say I'm translating I should say that really my wife is. I'm just tidying things up to make it sound ok for an American audience (even though I'm English). But if you put together a list I'll ask her to translate and I'll send to you!
As with a lot of things in Brazil we got the job through someone we know here. My wife's brother-in-law is the series writer and the company they hired to do the subtitles were rubbish so they asked my wife. I'm just helping. I'm actually a social worker so never expected this would be my first job in Brazil! haha