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Luta Livre

Brazil’s no-gi submission wrestling.

Brazilian no-gi submission wrestling, born in Rio de Janeiro as a rival to jiu-jitsu, known for strong leg locks.

Fact file

Country
Brazil
Founder / origin
Euclydes "Tatu" Hatem
Year / period
1920s–1930s
Type
Grappling & wrestling
Main federation
Federação Internacional de Luta Livre (International Luta Livre Federation) — ILLF
Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica

History

Luta Livre is a Brazilian grappling art from Rio de Janeiro, created in the 1920s and 1930s by Euclydes "Tatu" Hatem from catch wrestling. It is trained without the gi and mixes takedowns, ground control and submissions, with a "vale tudo" version that includes strikes.

For decades Luta Livre was the great rival of the Gracies' jiu-jitsu, and the 1991 "Desafio" event between the two styles became legendary in Brazil.