Pancrase
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Poster
Established
1993 (33 years old)
First Recorded Event
1993-09-21
Current Season
2025
Current Round
5
Sport
FightingLocation
Japan
Gender
Male
TV Rights
18 May 
Description
Pancrase (パンクラス, Pankurasu) is a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Tokyo. It was founded in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki.
The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki practiced catch wrestling. They based the promotion and its rules on professional wrestling. The promotion's champions were called "King of Pancrase".
The rules allowed closed-fisted punches, except to the head, and palm strikes to the head. A wrestler must break a submission hold when the opponent reaches the ropes, but a wrestler who claims a rope break loses a point. A wrestler who claims a specified number of rope breaks (between 3 and 5) was disqualified. From 1998 to 2000, the promotion changed its rules to resemble other mixed martial arts promotions.
Beginning in 2007, Pancrase: Legends of Mixed Martial Arts aired weekly on ImaginAsian TV. The network folded in 2011.
In 2008, the Fight Network began airing Pancrase events in Canada and the United Kingdom.
Seasons
 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||
Teams
  Pancrase Mens  |  Pancrase Womens |
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