Issue 107

November 2013

Joao Alberto Barreto was the original UFC referee, and he relives that night in Denver for FO.

In Brazil he was known as one of the greatest vale tudo fighters to have ever stepped foot into the ring. But Joao Alberto Barreto’s name is rarely mentioned in connection with recent MMA history, despite his part in the founding moment of the modern era.

Hand-picked for the role as referee for the very first UFC card in Denver, Colorado, in 1993, Barreto is now nearing his 80th year. A huge man with an imposing figure, his hands are large and fingers gnarled, yet his handshake is gentle, like most fighters. And he speaks with rich authority. 

It’s almost hard to believe the lifelong resident of Rio de Janeiro is a former undefeated bareknuckle vale tudo fighter and ninth-degree red belt grand master of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. A student of brothers Carlos and Helio Gracie, the founders of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Joao Alberto was one of their top representatives in the 1950s and defended the Gracie Academy in no-holds-barred contests from the tender age of 15. 

When Rorion Gracie, Helio’s eldest son, and his partners staged the first UFC 20 years ago they knew they needed trustworthy and capable men to enter the ring alongside the motley crew of fighters from all styles. The event would be similar to the ‘vale tudo’ matches popular in Brazil, freestyle fighting events with few prohibitions. The lack of rules would have fazed most prospective referees, but not Joao Alberto. 

“I did not see the written rules,” he recalls. “But what wasn’t allowed? No biting. But pulling the hair and punching the testicles — even that was allowed. Only specific rules against things to be considered immoral.” 

With only the most rudimentary of rules and little knowledge of what to expect, one might think the event would be chaotic, but Joao Alberto says things were smooth enough. “Everything went well, the weigh-ins and so on. With our direction, the fighters knew very well what they could and couldn’t do.”  

It seems almost nonsensical to require a referee in a fight with ‘no rules,’ but Joao Alberto’s presence was justified within seconds of the very first bout of the event, when Hawaiian sumo wrestler Teila Tuli met Dutch savate stylist Gerard Gordeau. “I stopped the fight when his teeth flew out and he started bleeding,” says Joao Alberto, although technically his intervention was not permitted. 

The rules of the first event meant the referee did not have the power to stop the fight – the only way to signal defeat was for a fighter to submit or their corner to throw in the towel. 

Saving the battered Tuli caused confusion among the event staff, commentators and even the fighters themselves, but his act of protection created the standard for all refereeing to come. “’Big’ John McCarthy saw the fight and he said to me it was then he understood the importance of the referee being there to stop the fight,” says Joao Alberto. 

Another famous moment that Joao Alberto refereed was Royce Gracie’s first fight in the Octagon, against one-gloved boxer Art Jimmerson. The memory of the underwhelming fight prompts him to laugh. “A boxer with one glove? I think he had the wrong idea to knock out Royce. He took off the glove to fight and to knock him out but only used that hand to tap out!  

“I didn’t think the fights were difficult for Royce. Nobody knew anything about fighting on the floor, nothing about jiu-jitsu. Like in the era I fought, the opponent didn’t know about jiu-jitsu and we didn’t have any problems with them, and neither did Royce. Only later did he have problems, against opponents much bigger and with good wrestling.”  

In the USA Barreto is almost unheard of, but in Brazil he is considered one of the godfathers of MMA. A semi-retired clinical psychologist who has worked with Brazilian Olympic athletes and high-level fighters, he would go on to officiate events in Japan where he opened the door for many Brazilians to compete. 

As one of a handful of men to have seen the sport evolve from its earliest inception to the global sensation it is today, Joao Alberto is happy with his contribution to the development of the sport and remains pleased with the progress of the industry. 

“The event is fantastic, I take my hat off to Dana White, a great promoter and great executive,” he adds. “He created a great brand; not a brawl, but a brand. The name of the fight was vale tudo, but today everybody knows the sport as MMA.”