Muay Thai in MMA

Disclaimer 1: For the purpose of honoring the time period for which this article covers, we will refer to Mixed Martial Arts in the United States as No-Holds-Barred, or simply NHB. We will also refer to to Martial Arts Competitions in Brazil from the 1960s to 1990s as Vale Tudo.

Disclaimer 2: This article may seem to end abruptly, but it is only the first part in a multi-part series on how Brazilian Muay Thai made its way to America.

UFC 7 took place on September 8, 1995. At this time, the sport that would later become known as Mixed Martial Arts was in its infancy. Commonly referred to as “No Holds Barred”, “Vale Tudo”, or even “Bare Knuckle Fighting”, this form of professional fighting was unique - it had very few rules. In fact, just one year prior at UFC 3, a referee stoppage was allowed for the first time in a UFC fight. By the time UFC 7 aired on PPV, viewers who tuned in to watch the UFC had seen it all. This included, but was not limited to: unanswered groin shots, good old fashioned strangling, and one of the most boring professional fights of all time (to this day). Remember, the only rules in the UFC at this time were no biting or eye gouging.

Back to UFC 7 and its championship fight. Outweighed by 90 pounds, Brazilian "King Of The Streets" Marco Ruas is standing across the cage from a 300 pound striker, Paul Varelans. While Marco is known for his jiu jitsu prowess at this time - he is actually a seasoned striker. Having competed in Boxing, Muay Thai, and mixed rules bouts throughout the 80s and 90s in Brazil, Marco came to the United States as one of the very first fighters to have a well rounded skill set. Varelans is more of a striker, having trained in Taekwondo and Boxing. Both of these fighters have competed twice on this evening, defeated their opponents, and are now facing each other in the championship fight. The bell rings and Varelans charges towards Ruas. After a brief exchange, Marco does something unusual - he kicks Paul Varelans’ leg. That’s right. Marco Ruas takes his own leg and whips it - right into the meat of Varelans’ hamstring muscle. It doesn’t seem to affect Varelans too much, as he keeps pressing forward looking for openings to land strikes.

Eventually Varelans takes notice of these kicks, switching to a southpaw stance after Ruas lands several early on. At a few points, Varelans even attempts to “check” these kicks of Ruas by simply lifting his lead leg. This doesn’t seem to discourage Marco from throwing them, as he continues to slam these kicks into Varelans’ thigh.* After some clinching and work in close, the two fighters are separated and back to striking. Again, Ruas starts crushing Paul’s lead leg. Varelans’ leg gives out and he hits the mat. Ruas swarms him and at the same time, Varelans’ corner is throwing in the towel. Marco Ruas just won the UFC 7 tournament.

Now you might be asking yourself, what just happened? In a fight with only two rules, there are a thousand ways to lose. Punches or kicks to the head. A flying armbar. Elbows on the ground. Hell, a piledriver that results in a knockout. Instead, we got a guy who fell over from being kicked in the leg a bunch of times. This technique is called a “low kick”. By this point, low kicks had been around for a long time. They were commonly used in American kickboxing throughout the 1980s. Low kicks were also employed in Japanese kickboxing of the 1970s, then again in the 90s with the rise of K-1. A lot of these bouts were televised in their respective countries, and this technique is historically part of Kyokushin Karate and Muay Thai.

Maurice Smith landing a low kick on Steve Tremblay in 1987

However, Marco Ruas stopping Paul Varelans is the first notable example of low kicks being displayed in ALL of their destructive glory during early NHB competition. Marco was already 34 when he made his UFC debut, so you might be asking, how did he learn all of these skills, and become so proficient at them so early on? To understand this in a historical context, we have to travel back in time. Before the UFC came along and put all of the arts on display, Brazil was a melting pot of Martial Arts. By the late 1960s, the coastal regions of Brazil had been practicing many disciplines. This included Capoeira, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Luta Livre, Kyokushin Karate, Judo, and Boxing. Taekwondo made its way to Brazil in 1970, when Master Sang Min Cho arrived in Sao Paulo. Many martial artists became interested in learning this art, and a select few championed the spread of this discipline. Within a few short years, Taekwondo had spread across the coastal regions of Rio De Janeiro and Curitiba.

Left to right: Founder of Chute Boxe Academy Rudimar Fedrigo and Nelio "Naja"

A young Rio man by the name of Nelio Borges De Souza dedicated himself to Taekwondo, and received his black belt in the early 1970s. He went by the nickname "Naja". He wanted to continue growing as a martial artist, and decided to travel and learn about other disciplines. In the mid 1970s, Naja’s globetrotting led him to Thailand, where he spent two years learning Thai culture and the art of Muay Thai. Satisfied by the skills he learned and eager to teach this new art to his countrymen back home, Naja made his return to Brazil. He arrived in Curitiba and started teaching Muay Thai to a few martial artists he knew. These students included names like Luiz Alves, Flavio Molina, and Rudimar Fedrigo. All three of these men would go on to have a massive impact on Martial Arts in Brazil, and would ultimately carve out a framework for Brazilian Muay Thai that still stands today.