Casimiro de Nascimento Martins, better known as Rei Zulu (born 9 June 1947), is a Brazilian former vale-tudo fighter that specialized in a traditional fighting style from his native Maranhão known as tarracá.[1] Rei Zulu had been and continues to be considered a legendary figure in the MMA scene in Brazil, particularly in the vale-tudo circuit. He is also the father of MMA fighter Zuluzinho.[2]
| Rei Zulu | |
|---|---|
 Rei Zulu (bottom) during his fight with Rickson Gracie | |
| Born | Casemiro de Nascimento Martins June 9, 1947 São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
| Weight | 207 lb (94 kg; 14 st 11 lb) |
| Division | Heavyweight |
| Style | Tarracá, Vale Tudo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Years active | 1963–2009 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 10 |
| Wins | 2 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 0 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 8 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 3 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Rei Zulu became famous for traveling throughout Brazil and challenging various fighters from Brazil and other parts of the world. In 1980, after 17 years of competition, his career had initially ended after approximately 150 fights after being caught in a guillotine move by Euclides Pereira.[3] It was then that Rei Zulu sent out a challenge to the Gracie family to prove who was the best vale-tudo fighter in Brazil. The undefeated Rickson Gracie fought Rei Zulu, who had to that point a 170–0 record and was alleged to have had up to 270 wins in the vale tudo circuit, in a televised fight that was historic for the development of the Brazilian MMA scene.[4][5] In a hard-fought fight, Rei Zulu lost to Gracie by decision.[6] In a reunion between the two, he was defeated again by decision. However, on 30 November 1984, he had his most major victory against competitor Sérgio Batarelli, a kickboxing fighter, during the JJ vs MA-Jiu-Jitsu vs Martial Arts event.[7]
After winning against Batarelli, continued to fight. In 1990, he was defeated by knockout by James Adler.[8] On 6 April 2000, in the state of Piauí, in a televised fight, Rei Zulu, at 55 years old, lost to kung fu fighter Wellington Dourado. Rei Zulu lost when he was pushed by Wellington out of the ring and fell, hitting his head and went unconscious.[5] Rei Zulu went on to allege that such a move was illegal and that Wellington should have been disqualified. Despite him getting older and into advanced age, he would continue on, having 3 wins due to knockouts at 62 years old. He began to instruct his son Zuluzinho and would accompany him to fights. He had mentioned of intentions to fight other fighters such as Skip Hall and Dan Severn. One of his last fights was against Santos Samurai in the Desafio de Giantes 10 event in 2008.[9]
For a long time, Rei Zulu had been considered worldwide as one of the fighters in the MMA scene with a brawler tactic, ones without a singular style and fought mainly with stronghanded fighting tactics. Years later, however, he revealed in an interview that he learned from his father a traditional fighting style from his home state of Maranhão, which he had also passed onto his son, called tarracá,[10][11][12] which is very popular in the regions of Pindaré and the lowland region of Maranhão.[13]
MMA career edit
Rei Zulu had a long career in vale-tudo, and before his emblematic duel with Rickson Gracie, he had came to been seen as invincible during the time in which he had 150 fights[1][14] in a span of 17 years,[15] but due to a lack of precise information, it was not possible to compile a complete list of his fight history.
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2-7 | Santos Samurai | Disqualification | Desafio de Gigantes 10 | 6 July 2008 | 2 | 5:00 | Macapá, Brazil | |
| Victory | 2-6 | Wesslan Evaristo de Oliveira | Submission | Zulu Combat 1 | 20 January 2007 | 1 | 0:28 | São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil | |
| Loss | 1-6 | Enson Inoue | TKO | Shooto: Reconquista 2 | 6 April 1997 | 1 | 0:45 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Loss | 1-5 | Kunta Kinte | Submission | BVF: Circuito de Lutas 7 | 1 August 1996 | 1 | N/A | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Loss | 1-4 | Ebenezer Fontes Braga | N/A | Freestyle de Belem 1 | 1 July 1996 | 1 | N/A | Belém, Brazil | |
| Loss | 1-3 | Pedro Otavio | Disqualification | Desafío - International Vale Tudo | 1 January 1995 | 1 | 11:54 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Victory | 1-2 | Sérgio Batarelli | Submission | Jiu-Jitsu vs Martial Arts | 30 December 1984 | 1 | 2:24 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Loss | 0-2 | Rickson Gracie | Submission | Independent promotion | 1 January 1984 | 1 | N/A | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Loss | 0-1 | Rickson Gracie | Submission | Independent promotion | 25 April 1980 | 1 | 11:55 | Brasília, Brazil |
References edit
- ^ a b Adriano Albuquerque and Raphael Marinho (24 October 2014). "Maracanãzinho consagra Rickson e vê aurora de nova geração histórica". O Globo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ Cruz, Guilherme (6 September 2022). "Zuluzinho 'shocked' by standup rule that led to brutal knockout, still plans to fight in late-September". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Euclides Pereira - O Diabo Louro do vale-tudo". GracieMag (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- ^ Fred Melo Paiva, Rei Zulu: "Isso de Carate, Kung-Fu, essa coisa de Jiu-Jitsu, eu arrebento é na porrada", Trip magazine, April 1999
- ^ a b De Jesus Saraiva 2015.
- ^ "RICKSON GRACIE CRAZY NO-RULES FIGHT VS. KING ZULU IN 1984". MixedMartialArts.com. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ "JJ vs. MA - Jiu-Jitsu vs. Martial Arts". Sherdog. Sherdog.com. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Do baú: Rei Zulu x James Adler no vale-tudo". GracieMag (in Brazilian Portuguese). 16 March 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ Lopes Müller Júnior, Mendes Capraro 2023.
- ^ "Portal do Vale Tudo: Zulu e Zuluzinho". Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ "Tarracá - Jogo/luta Maranhense: o Estilo de Rei Zulú". Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ "Rei Zulu e seu Estilo de MMA o Tarracá". Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ "Tarracá - O Estado". Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ "Sport Fino - Carta Capital: A lenda do Rei Zulu e o Brasil no MMA". Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ "Os Melhores Vídeos do Mundo: Vale-Tudo - Rei Zulu vs Rickson Gracie". Retrieved 30 November 2023.
Bibliography edit
- de Jesus Saraiva, Emmanuel (2015). A Influência Africana Na Cultura Brasileira (in Portuguese). Interativa.
- Lopes Müller Júnior, Ivo; Mendes Capraro, André (2023). ‘Rei Zulu’, um showman do vale tudo brasileiro (in Portuguese). León: Revista de Artes Marciales Asiáticas.