Mark
Coleman truly wanted to introduce ground-and-pound to the
world.
One month after defeating five opponents and winning two
consecutive tournaments at UFCs 10 and 11, NCAA wrestling champion
Coleman and his team traveled to Rio de Janeiro. Coleman went to
the birthplace of Brazilian jiu-jitsu to corner his pupil,
Kevin
Randleman, at
Universal Vale Tudo Fighting 4. This event also brought the
likes of
Dan
Severn and
Dan Bobish to
the Metropolitan Concert Hall, and Americans largely dominated on
Oct. 22, 1996.
Coleman and Randleman Take to Rio
Even with Coleman in peak form in 1996, more stories developed from
his time in the nation rather than him being cageside. The week the
Americans arrived for UVF 4, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu national
championship and luta livre state championships took place. Master
Joao
Alberto Barreto, a disciple of Helio Gracie and one of the
event promoters, had the idea of bringing the American wrestlers to
see the “martial atmosphere” of Rio de Janeiro. Two drastically
different experiences unfolded that week.
Coleman and Randleman began their tour at the Brazilian jiu-jitsu
championship, where they were received with an embarrassing
coldness. The horrible atmosphere for these foreign competitors
came largely following the release of Tatame Magazine no. 15, which
featured Coleman on the cover. At the end of UFC 11, Coleman
famously challenged
Rickson
Gracie,
Royce Gracie
and
Renzo
Gracie, confidently claiming he could beat them all on the same
night. Brazilian fans were not thrilled by this show of
bravado.
Upon arriving at Iate Clube Jardim Guanabara, the club where the
event occurred, Coleman and Randleman were introduced to Carlos
Gracie Jr., Ze Moraes and
Wallid
Ismail. Noticing the unfavorable atmosphere, the fighters moved
to a more secluded area, where they played soccer with some
children. With locals looking on with disdain, the two wrestlers
soon asked to go to their next destination, the State Luta Livre
Championship.
During the van ride, Sherdog spoke to both Americans, who revealed
the poor reactions would not deter them and still enjoyed Rio de
Janeiro greatly.
“I thought I was going to find a violent and dangerous city and, in
the end, I saw the most beautiful city of my life,” Randleman
explained. The man later known as “The Monster” continued,
discussing his feelings for his vale tudo debut the next day. “I
spent my life competing in wrestling. Lately, I help Mark with his
training almost daily. Surely, having three fights in one night
won’t be worse than that.”
An excited Coleman first noted that he couldn't wait to explore the
local beaches. After receiving a copy of Tatame Magazine no. 14,
where
Rickson
Gracie stated Coleman was not special, Coleman reiterated the
challenge made after UFC 11.
“I respect him and his entire family a lot, but if he said that
here about me, why doesn’t he stop talking and fight? I can beat
him, and I will,” Coleman boasted.
A man who typically lets his work speak for itself, Coleman did
muster up a few thoughts on the rivaling style of jiu-jitsu
compared to his wrestling.
“It’s a great fight[ing style], but it’s very monotonous,” Coleman
noted. “They have to learn to throw punches and headbutts. The
jiu-jitsu technique is nullified against very large opponents who
know a little about [fighting].”
Upon their arrival at the Luta Livre event, the wrestlers were
stunned. Neither man spoke a lick of Portuguese, and they were met
with a massively different reaction than before. Having introduced
himself to the combat sport-following masses with two tournament
victories earlier in the year, Coleman was instead greeted like a
hero. Even with wrestling the “enemy” sport, the Americans were met
with loud applause, and fans followed them in droves, asking for
photographs and autographs.
After serving the fans, Coleman and Randleman took dozens of photos
with luta livre icons
Hugo Duarte,
Eugenio
Tadeu and
Marco Ruas.
They returned to their hotel to enjoy the late afternoon and went
on to take a trip to Leme Beach. The fighters relaxed, other than
Severn—who was preparing for a superfight that did not materialize
as he expected.
Randleman Reigns Supreme
The formation of the UVF 4 card generated plenty of controversy for
the jiu-jitsu practitioners and the fans of the sport. At a time
when wrestling was beginning to gain a foothold in the mixed
martial arts scene, it appeared to be an insult to the sport’s
history. The meat-and-potatoes Americans, who largely relied on
their skills on the mat instead of the microphone, were viewed as
inferior by some in Brazil. To others, it seemed like bringing
wrestlers to the country for a tournament felt improper without any
noteworthy representatives of the “gentle art” on the other side of
the bracket.
“What these promoters are doing is absurd,” remarked Ismail about
UVF 4 on the event day. “They used expressionless guys to represent
Brazil. They are making a name for the foreigners.”
Fabio
Gurgel, who competed at UFC 11 with Coleman, was approached a
few days before the event. Gurgel was allegedly offered $10,000 to
compete at UVF 4, but he angrily declined.
“It is very unprofessional for them to call me under these
conditions. It is jiu-jitsu that attracts the public and brings
profit to the event,” the 1996 Brazilian World Champion grappler
told Sherdog.
The event’s technical director and matchmaker, Barreto, countered
Wallid and Gurgel’s criticisms.
“Brazilians are funny; they go abroad and fight for nothing, but
here, at home, they want exorbitant purses,” Barreto said with a
laugh. “I spoke to Hugo [Duarte],
Ricardo
Morais, ‘Carlao’ Barreto,
Murilo
Bustamante, Wallid and
Roberto
Traven, and they all asked me for more than
Dan Severn. The
only Brazilians who can ask big money today, because they won
abroad, are Rickson, Royce and
Marco Ruas. The
rest have to build their history.”
There was no bluster from Randleman, who went to Brazil strictly
for business and not pleasure. Throughout the evening, Randleman
ran through his opposition by earning three knockouts. That night,
Brazilian
Luis
Carlos Maciel was first up to face him, a boxer known as “He
Man.” By all accounts, Maciel handled himself well enough until he
hit his back. From there, Randleman pounded away on him until
Maciel surrendered to strikes before referee Fernando Yamasaki
could intervene.
In his second appearance of this one-night tourney, Randleman had
his way with
Geza Kalman,
one of two participants from Canada—the other early
Ultimate Fighting Championship vet
Dave
Beneteau. The Hammer House fighter had the advantage on the
feet immediately, and he did work until taking Kalman to the
ground. Once on top, it was merely academic, as Randleman took
advantage of the vale tudo ruleset—or lack thereof—by smashing the
Canadian with headbutts and punches.
On the other side of the bracket,
Dan Bobish, the
heaviest fighter in the tournament who weighed 145kg or a little
under 320 pounds, dominated the opposition he encountered. Bobish
strangled Brazil’s
Mauro
Bernardo in under two minutes with his forearm, and he
overwhelmed Beneteau en route to a cut stoppage to line up against
Randleman in the final for the UVF 4 title.
After showcasing his better-than-expected boxing again in the final
showdown, Randleman took down Bobish and concluded the fight with
punches while still in closed guard. A delighted Coleman stormed
the cage after the victory, where he celebrated with his pupil and
carried the heavyweight on his shoulders. At night’s end, Randleman
earned a cool $10,000 for his handiwork, amassing 18:41 in total
combat time for his professional debut.
At the end of the event, Randleman spoke about how the event did
not meet his expectations. Namely, he did not get to take on any
noteworthy jiu-jitsu practitioners.
“I thought that because I was in the Gracie family’s land, I would
have the chance to beat some big name in jiu-jitsu, but they
preferred to make excuses,” Randleman remarked. “I hope that at the
next event, one of them will have the courage to try to steal my
belt.”
Three Men Answer Coleman’s Challenges
Before the grand final between Randleman and Bobish, Coleman went
up to the cage and challenged any Brazilian present. “Carlao”
Barreto and Duarte followed closely behind. Even though some
declared they would gladly face him, “The Hammer” did not compete
for any organization other than the UFC or
Pride Fighting Championships, while not meeting
a Brazilian until
Pedro Rizzo in
1999.
“I'm here representing the real jiu-jitsu, the Carlson Gracie team.
I challenge you, Coleman,” shouted “Barreto.”
Hugo
Duarte took the microphone and gave his message afterward,
declaring, “I will fight in the name of Brazil. Let’s put an end to
the arrogance of these Americans.”
“Carlao” regained the microphone and took it further, proposing an
elimination event between him and Duarte to determine who would
represent Brazil against the foreign wrestler. Duarte accepted
immediately. Before anything came of that, Ismail, a fighter who
competed in the 185-pound range, crashed the cage, where he issued
a message from his coach, Carlson Gracie.
“Tell the foreigners to make a list of those who want to fight with
us, and we will take them one by one,” claimed the boisterous
Gracie student.
Ismail and Coleman locked eyes for a time, and Coleman, who did not
speak Portuguese and had no translator in sight, stood and clapped.
When Ismail departed the cage, Sherdog asked him his intentions
since all the American wrestlers he wanted to face were
heavyweights.
“If size matters, the elephant would be the king of the jungle,”
the black belt wisely replied.
When women's MMA was not even being considered, Severn's coach,
Becky
Levi—who stood six feet tall and weighed around 215 pounds-
challenged Brazilian women to combat. The crowd responded by
chanting the name of boxer Nary Tyson, but options were limited for
women in that era of the sport. The judoka went on to compete eight
times as a professional from 1996 to 2000, losing once when
Marloes
Coenen landed a flying armbar on her.
A Late Replacement Shines
To complete the dominant night of American wrestling, veteran
Dan
Severn topped
Mario Neto,
the latter a purple belt in jiu-jitsu. Neto, also called “Sukata,”
replaced
Pedro Otavio,
who injured his finger the day before the event. With Severn
already in Brazil, the organization made several proposals for
replacements. When the bout was on the verge of cancellation, Neto
appeared on fight night, accepting the offer and competing against
the 1986 Wrestling World Cup gold medalist for a whopping 40
minutes.
The man from Paraiba acquitted himself on his feet, and when Severn
took him down, Neto protected himself effectively from damage.
“Sukata” attempted a triangle choke during their encounter, and
Severn, who tapped out from the same maneuver from
Royce Gracie
two years earlier, had learned the proper defense. When the
40-minute period elapsed, judges decided in favor of Severn. “The
Beast” grabbed the microphone but did not use his time to call out
opponents. Instead, he showered his short-notice replacement
opponent with praise.
“He is a warrior,” Severn stated gladly. “I only knew he would
fight me 10 minutes before the fight, and he fought very well. He
certainly has a future.”
Severn was not wrong in that regard, as “Sukata” went on to fight
17 more times professionally. Of note, Neto represented Brazil in
UVF 6, defeating
Gary
Goodridge and facing Randleman in the semifinals. He,
Ebenezer
Fontes Braga and the aforementioned “Carlao” battled Randleman
on that March 3 show in 1997, and the third of the bunch managed to
beat the wrestler.