Valdemar Santana

From OTMWiki

Valdemar Santana (sometimes referred to as Adema Santa) was a Brazilian fighter, who trained in Capoeira, Judo, Boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is famous for defeating his former master Hélio Gracie in 1955, in a record-breaking 3 hours, 45 minutes long match. Valdemar had fought for the Gracie academy for many years but had a falling out with Hélio Gracie. Gracie and Santana decided to settle their differences on a Vale-tudo (no holds barred) match. After nearly 4 hours of combat, Santana struck Gracie with a kick to the head. Gracie passed out from the blow and Santana was awarded victory by TKO. After defeating Hélio, Santana was challenged by Carlson Gracie, Hélio´s nephew. Carlson and Santana had four fights, with Carlson winning 2 and the other 2 being declared a draw.