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brazilians have been putting on mma style fights (all be it with less rules and no time limits more often then not) for a LONG time. helio gracie, carlson gracie, rickson gracie, the machados and so on where fighting vale tudo since the early 50's if not before. the rest of the world has just not caught up.
Right on..Additionally, these guys train, train, train. They don't care what time of the day it is, or where it is.
A few reasons (most have been mentioned by other posters):
1) The long history of Vale Tudo (which was more of a spectacle than a sport for most of its history) and NHB competitions. While other countries also had these events, they seemed to be more common in Brazil than other countries.
2) The influence of BJJ which was the dominant style in the early years of MMA. A lot of Brazilian fighters had a head start over competitors from other countries.
3) Considering that soccer is played by many Brazilians and is taken quite seriously, they have a lot of fighters who have the conditioning and training that develops agility and strong legs.
4) It is a pretty tough country and a lot of fighters originally took up a martial art or combat sport to learn how to defend themselves and a lot of martial arts gyms run programs to keep youth off the streets. Plus, regional level kickboxing, Muay Thai, TKD, karate, and other martial arts competitions are pretty popular as well.
Some countries just specialize in certain things....i.e. kenyan's at running.
I was watching some of the french open, completely different make up of players than brazilians in MMA. Different upbringing, different socio-economic factors.
I think brazil was a tough country for a long time. Didn't they have 500 or 1,000% inflation at one point, maybe 20-25 years ago? Over population, high poverty rates, tough economic factors, etc.
The brazilians seem to be able to take on anybody...i.e. a 5'10 180 lb guy fighting a guy much bigger. It might go back to scraping against tougher enemies. Making the best out of a dim situation, with limited resources.
Having lived in Brazil, and meeting some very good local fighters, it is because Martial arts are very popular in brasil and many fighters start training very young, as a kid, and put in lots of time and effort into getting good for years. We are talking about MJ and Tiger woods type practice and dedication as a kid. When they are adults they make great MMA fighters. Same thing with a lot of Brazilian soccer players.
A few reasons (most have been mentioned by other posters):
1) The long history of Vale Tudo (which was more of a spectacle than a sport for most of its history) and NHB competitions. While other countries also had these events, they seemed to be more common in Brazil than other countries.
2) The influence of BJJ which was the dominant style in the early years of MMA. A lot of Brazilian fighters had a head start over competitors from other countries.
3) Considering that soccer is played by many Brazilians and is taken quite seriously, they have a lot of fighters who have the conditioning and training that develops agility and strong legs.
4) It is a pretty tough country and a lot of fighters originally took up a martial art or combat sport to learn how to defend themselves and a lot of martial arts gyms run programs to keep youth off the streets. Plus, regional level kickboxing, Muay Thai, TKD, karate, and other martial arts competitions are pretty popular as well.
A lot of criminals in Brazil are armed. MMA is better than nothing, but the crimes I know about while living in Brazil, usually involved a gun, and if not a knife or another weapon. Martial arts are very popular. In my wifes city there is a martial arts gym every 50 feet.
There's very little opportunities in Brazil for the poor to move up, other than crime. Even though Brazil's economy is pretty good. A possibility of making decent money and earning some fame and glory is to train to fight MMA. Education is always better, but a lot of kids in poor areas don't see the big picture. Just like Thailand where you see something real crazy like an 18 year old kid having already had more than 100 full contact fights. They just don't have much else to strive for.
There's very little opportunities in Brazil for the poor to move up, other than crime. Even though Brazil's economy is pretty good. A possibility of making decent money and earning some fame and glory is to train to fight MMA. Education is always better, but a lot of kids in poor areas don't see the big picture. Just like Thailand where you see something real crazy like an 18 year old kid having already had more than 100 full contact fights. They just don't have much else to strive for.
That is only half true. There is actually a lot of opportunity for people willing to work hard in Brazil right now, even the extreme uneducated unskilled poor. Millions and millions of Brazilians have climbed out of extreme poverty in the last decade.
By US standards they would still be considered VERY poor, but compared to how they had it years ago their situation is vastly improving. Up to a few months ago, Brazil was booming.
So there opportunity to move up in Brazil if you are at the bottom. However, by move up we are talking about moving up from a bad situation to a slightly better but still hard situation. Often their situation is gradually improving.
However, you are right about kids training and having dreams of going pro. Soccer is king in Brazil, but many try out MMA, or traditional martial arts. Such gyms are common in Brazil, and many people devout all their time and energy to training, and most of them are from the lower classes.
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