Rei Zulu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (February 2008)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Rei Zulu
Statistics
Nickname	King Zulu
Height	6feet 4inches
Weight	220lbs.
Nationality	Brazilian
Born	1945
Town of birth	unknown
Fighting style	Vale Tudo
Mixed martial arts record
Wins	144
Losses	9

Rei Zulu (born 1945) is a legendary mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter from Brazil. Zulu was born of poverty, and decided to seek a career as a professional Vale Tudo fighter. Zulu had his first fight at age 18 in 1963.

Zulu made a name for himself by challenging local tough guys from Brazil, as well as tourists from around the world. In 1980, after 17 years of competition, Zulu was reportedly undefeated in 140 fights. It was during this time, Zulu issued a challenge to the Gracie Family to prove who was the best Vale Tudo fighter in the nation.

Undefeated Rickson Gracie met Zulu in a televised match which made headlines in Brazil. In a hard fought battle, Zulu lost his undefeated streak when Gracie choked him out. In a rematch a few years later, Zulu again lost by choke. However, on November 30th, 1984, Rei Zulu scored his biggest victory, an upset over Full Contact Kickboxing practicioner Sergio Batarelli at JJ vs MA-Jiu-Jitsu vs Martial Arts, as an alternate match.

Zulu was still a legendary figure in the world of Mixed Martial Arts and continued to fight on. In 1990, he lost back-to-back knockouts to James Adler. On April 6, 2000 in Piaui, Brazil in a televised match, Zulu, 55 years old, lost via knockout to Wellington Dourado. Zulu lost the match when he was pushed out of the ring and knocked out when his head hit the floor.

However, Zulu continued to fight on, as it was the only profession he knew. In 2007, at 62, Rei Zulu had three fights in Brazil and won all of them by knockout. He was also an adviser to his son Zuluzinho. The younger Zulu streaked to a 39-0 (39 knockout) record before making his PRIDE Fighting Championships debut.

In a February 7, 2008 interview on Sherdog.com, Zulu says he will continue to fight on. He hopes to fight American fighters Skip Hall (MMA), 63, and former UFC World Heavyweight Champion Dan Severn, 49.

[edit] MMA Record (incomplete)

Date	Opponent	Result	Method	Event
04/25/1980	Rickson Gracie	Lost	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	IE-Independent Event
01/01/1984	Rickson Gracie	Lost	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	IE-Independent Event
11/30/1984	Sergio Batarelli	Won	Submission (Choke)	JJ vs MA-Jiu-Jitsu vs Martial Arts
??/??/1990	James Adler	Lost	Knockout	Vale Tudo
??/??/1990	James Adler	Lost	Knockout	Vale Tudo
01/01/1995	Pedro Otavio	Lost	Disqualification	Desafio-International Vale Tudo
07/01/1996	Ebenezer Fontes Braga	Lost	unavailable	FDB 1-Freestylede Belem 1
08/01/1996	Kunta Kinte	Lost	Submission (Choke)	BVF 4-Circuito de Lutas 7
04/06/1997	Enson Inoue	Lost	Knockout (Elbows)	Shooto-Reconquista 2
04/06/2000	Wellington Dourado	Lost	Technical Knockout (fell out of ring)	Independent Promotion, Teresina-Piaui Brazil, Lindolfo Monteiro Gym
01/20/2007	Evaristo de Olivira	Won	Submission (Strikes) 1 round	Sao-Luis-Marahao Brazil, Castelinho Gym: Zulu Combat 1
??/??/2007	opponent unavailable	Won	Knockout 1 round	Independent Promotion
??/??/2007	opponent unavailable	Won	Knockout 1 round	Independent Promotion