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Demian Maia Grapples an Amazon Indian

Demian Maia Grapples an Amazon Indian

BJJ black belt and UFC welterweight Demian Maia recently tried something different. He tried his hand at Huka-Huka.

Huka-huka is a Brazilian folk wrestling style of the indigenous people of Xingu, in the state of Mato Grosso. It is performed as a ritual fight during the ceremony of Kuarup.
Huka-huka starts with the fighters on their knees. It begins when the owner of the fight, a male chief, walks to the center of the arena and calls his opponents by name. The fighters kneel rotating clockwise in a circle facing the opponent, until they look at each other and cling, trying to lift the opponent and knock him to the ground. The fight is performed by either men and women.

Huka huka is being introduced, experimentally, in the formation of São Paulo State Military Police. The fight is also being studied by mixed martial arts practitioners. Source: wiki.

Maia stated:

Huka Huka is a traditional ritual fight of brazilian indigenous people from Xingu. Here I’m about to fight Tacumã (native from Xingu). As their tradition, he painted us as jaguar before start the fight.

Another famous Brazilian MMA fighter also famously tried his hand at Huka Huka, Anderson Silva: