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Home » Organizations » Pancrase

Pancrase

Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling is a mixed martial arts organization founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Per its custom, its champions are named King of Pancrase rather than the title of Champion.

The promotion had a rule-set more similar to that of professional wrestling than those used in contemporary fighting organizations such as Shooto. Just as in professional wrestling, closed-fists to the face were illegal and submission holds had to be broken when a competitor made it to the ropes. However, beginning in 1998, it began adopting a rule set more in line with other mixed martial arts organizations, with most fights transitioning to the new ruleset by 2000.

200 Pancrase events.