The Octagon will arrive in Belem, Brazil for the first time on Feb. 3, but there’s a chance mixed martial arts wouldn’t exist the way we know it today if not for one fateful meeting that happened there 101 years ago.
Back then, Belem — the capital of Para, a state in the north area of Brazil — was a city rich with immigrants due to the need for tens of thousands of men to work in the area. Japanese immigrants flooded into the region, and some brought with them their knowledge in martial arts, including jiu-jitsu and judo.