Sherdog’s Top 10: MMA Rivalries

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4. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu-Luta Livre

The Rundown: These two adversaries have a long history, which begins in the 1940s, when Luta Livre founder Euclydes Hatem defeated George Gracie in a contest that allowed the upstart martial art to gain popularity in Brazil. If BJJ was the affluent family living comfortably within a gated community, then Luta Livre was the black sheep cousin from the other side of the tracks. Loosely defined as “free fighting,” Luta Livre was derived from Brazilian judo and wrestling. Unlike BJJ, it was an art practiced without a gi.

Over time, BJJ would assert its dominance, with the extended run of success by the Gracie family as evidence. The rivalry would develop over the course of several decades and included street fights between some of the camps’ most prominent members, the most famous of which was a scrap between Rickson Gracie and Hugo Duarte. Legend has it that Duarte insulted Rickson’s family on a Brazilian beach, and Rickson responded by slapping the Luta Livre disciple. The fracas that followed concluded with Rickson dominating Duarte from a mounted position. The whole thing was caught on tape by a tourist, which the Gracies would later use as a selling point for the virtues of jiu-jitsu.

Things got more formal at the historic 1991 Jiu-Jitsu-Luta Livre challenge event. Three BJJ practitioners (Wallid Ismail, Murilo Bustamante and Fabio Gurgel) locked horns with three Luta Livre specialists (Eugenio Tadeu, Marcelo Mendes and Denilson Maia). It was a resounding victory for BJJ that day at the Grajau Country Club in Rio de Janeiro, as Ismail, Bustamante and Gurgel all emerged victorious.

It was a sign of things to come because Luta Livre fighters never achieved the success in modern MMA as their BJJ counterparts. Still, it was a feud that sparked riots (see Tadeu-Renzo Gracie in 1997) and evoked passion from all involved.

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