Bart Vale (born May 4, 1957) is an American former

kickboxer Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid martial art and boxing type based on punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouth guards, shorts, and ...

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

and

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. He is known for his "old school" American martial arts look, consisting of a mustache, mullet and American flag trunks.

Career

Bart Vale began his martial arts training in 1970 with kenpo. He later traveled to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

where he was a

in the

Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Group (''Purofesshonaru-resuringu Fujiwara-Gumi'', プロフェッショナルレスリング藤原組) was a shoot style professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan, operating from 1991 to 1996. It was formed b ...

(a shoot-style professional wrestling organization) champion for close to three years. In Japan, he also studied a number of other styles and coined the term "

shootfighting Shootfighting is a martial art and combat sport, with competitions governed by the International Shootfighting Association (ISFA). It incorporates techniques from a multitude of traditional martial arts, the most principal of these being wrestlin ...

", a martial art that combines striking and

grappling Grappling is a fighting technique based on throws, trips, sweeps, clinch fighting, ground fighting and submission holds. Grappling contests often involve takedowns and ground control, and may end when a contestant concedes defeat. Shou ...

. He co-founded the International Shootfighting Association and in 1992, began the Shootfighting World Championships. Vale began participating in events for Fighting Network Rings in March 1993. He appeared in five matches for Rings, four of which took place during the organization's pro wrestling period. Rings began promoting

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

bouts rather than shoot-style works in 1995. In October 1995, Vale competed in the World Combat Championships. In the first round of the tournament he defeated Mike Bitonio via first-round submission. Fighting at 260 lbs, Vale outweighed Bitonio by 45 lbs. Vale was to face

Renzo Gracie Renzo Gracie (; born March 11, 1967) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and 7th degree coral belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and coach. A third generation member of the Gracie family, he is the grandson of Gracie jiu-jitsu co-founder C ...

in the semifinals, but wasn't able to continue due to head lacerations. He had two further MMA bouts, in which he lost to

Kazunari Murakami (born November 29, 1973) is a Japanese professional wrestler and retired mixed martial artist currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah. Murakami is best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) during the late 1990s and early 2000 ...

and

Dan Severn Daniel DeWayne Severn (born June 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Beast", is an American retired professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Severn is considered one of the leading pioneers of ...

. He also competed in the

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the worl ...

kickboxing promotion twice. In 1996, he was invited into the

K-1 World Grand Prix K-1 World Grand Prix, also known as the K-1 ''WORLD'' GP, is an elimination kickboxing tournament that was originally held annually from 1993 by the K-1 organization, under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG). Each year, ...

and was defeated by

Andy Hug Andreas "Andy" Hug (7 September 1964 – 24 August 2000) was a Swiss karateka and kickboxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight kickboxers of all time, Hug was renowned for his ability to ex ...

. His next bout, against Nobuaki Kakuda in 1998, also ended in defeat. In the early days of MMA, when it was still called NHB, Vale was introduced as the man who beat

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock ( né Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract, under the ring name Ken Shamrock. He is best known ...

in reference to a pro wrestling bout that occurred in

on May 15, 1992.cagematch.net
/ref> Bart Vale was submitted 10 times by David Action Acton in the summer of 2010 in Greensboro NC.

Kickboxing record

, - , , Loss , Nobuaki Kakuda , K-1 Japan '98 Kamikaze ,

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , align="center", 1 , align="center", 2:09 , 0-2 , , - , , Loss ,

K-1 Grand Prix '96 Opening Battle This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a Japanese kickboxing promotion. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993, at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Since its inception, K-1 events were organized by the Fig ...

Yokohama, Japan is the second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a population of 3.7 million in 2023. It lies on Tokyo B ...

, TKO (3 knockdowns) , align="center", 1 , align="center", 2:24 , 0-1 , , - , - , colspan=10 , ''Legend'':

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 1–2 ,

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , CFA 1: Collision at the Crossroads , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:36 ,

Corinth, Mississippi Corinth is a city in and the county seat of Alcorn County, Mississippi, Alcorn County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,622 at the 2020 census. Its ZIP codes are 38834 and 38835. It lies on the state line with Tennessee. His ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , Extreme Fighting 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:37 ,

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Mike Bitonio , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , World Combat Championship 1: First Strike , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 7:10 ,

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, United States ,

References

External links

* *
Official K-1 profile

YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vale, Bart 1957 births Living people American male karateka American male kickboxers Kickboxers from Florida Heavyweight kickboxers American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Florida Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing American Kenpo Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing shootfighting American male professional wrestlers Boxers from Miami 20th-century American sportsmen Professional wrestlers from Miami

Career

Kickboxing record

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links