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Pancrase

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pancrase Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryMixed martial arts promotion
PredecessorPro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi
World Pancrase Create Inc.
Founded1993;31 years ago(1993)
Founders
Ken Shamrock
Headquarters
Tokyo
,
Japan
Key people
Hidetaka Fukui (chief chairman)
Owner
  • Pancrase Executive Committee
Websitehttps://pancrase.co.jp

Pancraseis a Japanesemixed martial arts(MMA)promotion companybased inTokyo.It was founded in 1993 by professional wrestlersMasakatsu FunakiandMinoru Suzuki.

The name was based onpankration,a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki practicedcatch 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.

History

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Establishment and first event

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In 1993,Masakatsu Funaki,Minoru Suzuki,Ken Shamrock,Takaku Fuke,and others from the shoot-styleFujiwara Gumiwrestling promotion left the company, due to (mentor and promoter)Yoshiaki Fujiwara's decision to cooperate with the likes ofUniversal Lucha Libreand W*ING and favoring showmanship over in-ring work. As suggested byKarl Gotch,Pancrase was formed by Funaki, Suzuki and Fuke, and the promotion would focus on pure shoot-stylewrestlingwith limited gimmicks and no predetermined outcomes.

Funaki and Suzuki were students of wrestlerAntonio Inoki.They were inspired by the 1976Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inokievent that pit a boxer against a wrestler.[1][2]

On May 16, 1993, they establishedWorld Pancrase Create Inc.(WPC) with the capital of 30,000,000 Japanese yen.[3][4]

On September 21, 1993, Pancrase promoted their first event atTokyo Bay NK Hall.All the matches were finished with knockout and submission.

Early era

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The first King Of Pancrase Open Weight champion wasKen Shamrock(later becoming famous for his exploits in theUltimate Fighting Championship), who had previous experience in the newbornUWFand Fujiwara Gumi. Over the years, Funaki and Suzuki held the title alongside other big names, such asBas Rutten,Frank ShamrockandGuy Mezger.

Pancrase now recognizes King of Pancrase titles in the super heavyweight, heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight and welterweight divisions, and there are plans to award new lightweight and featherweight champions in the future. The open weight title was recently restored and is currently held byJosh Barnett,who formerly competed inPRIDEand theUltimate Fighting Championship.Minoru Suzuki no longer competes for Pancrase, as he returned to regular professional wrestling in 2003 as a freelancer, but he primarily competes inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling.

Founding of Pancrase Korea

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Pancrase Korea is theSouth Koreansubsidiary of the Pancrase Inc. and held several events from 2007 to 2010. The first Pancrase Korea event was an amateur one held on March 10, 2007, inBusanand the last one was the semi-professionalNeo-Blood Tournament 2 & Hybrid Challenge 12held on September 12, 2010, inSeoul.[5][6]

Changes in management

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In May 2008, "Pancrase Inc."was established as a new management company for Pancrase, and WPC alienated Pancrase Inc. their all of business as on May 27, 2008. When Pancrase Inc. was established, Yasushi Sakamoto, a managing director of WPC, was installed as the executive president.

On October 14, 2008, Pancrase Inc. moved its office toNishi Ikebukuro in the ward of ToshimainTokyo.[7]

In September 2009, Pancrase Inc. moved its office fromNishi IkebukurotoAobadai in ward of Meguroin Tokyo, and moved again toKameido in the ward of Koto.[8]

On October 1, 2010,Ryo Kawamura,who was the currentmixed martial artistwas installed as the executive president. Yasushi Sakamoto, the former president, had become a managing director.

Kawamura held a press conference inYokohama, Kanagawa,on October 22, and explained about restructuring and announced that "Commission Council"had been established as a third party .[9][10]

On June 1, 2012, Pancrase announced that the promotion had been sold to Masakazu Sakai and hisSmashorganization, with Sakai taking over as the new president and his partnerYuji Shimadaas the event producer of the promotion. As part of the reconstruction of Pancrase, the new owners intend to replace rings with cages, holding events to test the new format in 2013.[11][12][13]

Pancrase 257 on March 30, 2014, was the last event where Pancrase used a ring, and by Pancrase 258 on May 11, 2014, Pancrase adopted the decagon or the ten-sided cage of their American partnersWorld Series of Fighting.[14][15]

Organizational change

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On March 9, 2022, the Smash Martial Arts Department Pancrase Business Headquarters will be reorganized and operated as the "Pancrase Executive Committee".

In addition, the King of Pancrase Executive Committee will also be reorganized and operated as the "King of Pancrase Council".[16]

Rules

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Original rules

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Aside from the traditional grappling rules (e.g., no biting, no eye-gouging) the rules were formerly as follows:

  • No elbows to the head (neither while standing nor on the ground).
  • No closed-fist strikes to the head (neither while standing nor on the ground).
  • No knees to the head on the ground.
  • No kicks/stomps to the head on the ground.
  • If a participant gets too close to the ropes, he is stood back up on the feet. (as opposed to PRIDE's re-centering in the middle of the ring)
  • Non-title matches consist of one 15 minute round, while title matches consist of one 30 minute round.
  • If a participant is caught in a submission and taps out (whether unable to reach the ropes or not), it is a loss.
  • Five "escapes" are given to each fighter at the start of every match. An escape can be used when caught in a submission near the ropes, in which case the participant can grab them, be stood back on the feet and have one point deducted. Once a participant has used all of his escapes, it is a loss.
  • For knockouts, a ten-count similar to boxing and kickboxing is used. If the participant is unable to answer the ten-count, it is declared a TKO and that fighter has lost the match. However, if the participant is able to answer the ten-count, the fight resumes and one point is deducted.
  • If, at the end of regulated time, neither fighter has submitted, been knocked out, or lost all their points, a decision is rendered based on who lost fewer points. If neither fighter lost any points, or both lost the same number of points, the fight is declared a draw.
  • In the 1994 King of Pancrase tournament, the rules were slightly different, in that the first round had one 10-minute round and three rope escapes, and the finals had one 20-minute round with three rope escapes.
  • For a short period of time whenBas Ruttenwas the King of Pancrase, heelhooks were banned because of the frequency of injuries.
  • Strikes on the ground – whether closed fist to the body or open hand to the head – were discouraged by the fans, but still legal.

Present-day Japanese rules

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AfterPancrase: Breakthrough 1held on January 19, 1999, Pancrase began to use a ruleset similar to that ofPride FC,but prohibits knees to the head of grounded opponents.

In May 2016, Pancrase adopted theAssociation of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sportsrules, better known as theUnified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.

Weight classes

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Weight class name Weight limit
Until 2008 Until 2016 Present
Atomweight N/A N/A 105 lb (47.6 kg)
Strawweight N/A 50 kg (110.2 lb) 115 lb (52.2 kg)
Light Flyweight N/A 54 kg (119 lb) N/A
Flyweight N/A 58 kg (127.9 lb) 125 lb (56.7 kg)
Bantamweight N/A 62 kg (136.7 lb) 135 lb (61.2 kg)
Featherweight 65 kg (143.3 lb)[n 1] 66 kg (145.5 lb) 145 lb (65.8 kg)
Lightweight N/A 70 kg (154.3 lb) 155 lb (70.3 kg)
Welterweight 75 kg (165.3 lb)[n 2] 77 kg (169.8 lb) 170 lb (77.1 kg)
Middleweight 85 kg (187.4 lb) 84 kg (185.2 lb) 185 lb (83.9 kg)
Light Heavyweight 95 kg (209.4 lb) 93 kg (205 lb) 205 lb (93 kg)
Heavyweight 105 kg (231.5 lb) 120 kg (264.6 lb) 265 lb (120.2 kg)
Super Heavyweight Unlimited N/A N/A
Openweight No weight restrictions N/A N/A
  1. ^Named as Lightweight from 2006 to 2008
  2. ^Named as Lightweight until 2006

Current Pancrase champions (King and Queen of Pancrase)

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Main article:List of Pancrase champions

The current weight division system of Pancrase is based upon theUnified Rules of Mixed Martial Artssince December 4, 2007. At this time, Pancrase also announced establishment ofFlyweightandBantamweight,and abolition ofSuper heavyweight.On March 18, 2011, Pancrase restructured their weight classes adding several more lower weight classes. In addition, they introduced the Queen Of Pancrase title which will be used for women's fights in the future.[17]

Men's division Champion Title Defenses
Heavyweight
(120 kg (264.6 lb)) 		Vacant
Light Heavyweight
(93 kg (205 lb))
Middleweight
(84 kg (185.2 lb)) 		JapanYura Naito 0
Welterweight
(77 kg (169.8 lb)) 		JapanRyuichiro Sumimura 0
Lightweight
(70 kg (154.3 lb)) 		JapanTatsuya Saika 0
Featherweight
(66 kg (145.5 lb)) 		JapanSuguru Nii 0
Bantamweight
(61 kg (134.5 lb)) 		JapanTokitaka Nakanishi 0
Flyweight
(57 kg (125.7 lb)) 		JapanSeiichiro Ito 1
Strawweight
(52 kg (114.6 lb)) 		JapanKeito Yamakita 0
Women's Bantamweight
(61 kg (134.5 lb)) 		Vacant
Women's Flyweight
(57 kg (125.7 lb)) 		JapanShizuka Sugiyama 0
Women's Strawweight
(52 kg (114.6 lb)) 		JapanHaruka Hasegawa 0
Women's Atomweight
(47.6 kg (104.9 lb)) 		JapanSatomi Takano 0

Former Pancrase champions

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Notable alumni

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See also

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References

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  1. ^"What role did boxer Muhammad Ali play in early MMA? Let 'Ali vs. Inoki' author Josh Gross explain".MMAjunkie.June 13, 2016.RetrievedSeptember 4,2016.
  2. ^Grant, T. P. (May 2, 2013)."MMA Origins: Fighting For Pride".BloodyElbow.RetrievedSeptember 4,2016.
  3. ^"パンクラス: PANCRASE Official Site | chu thức hội xã ワールドパンクラスクリエイト".Archived from the original on 2011-07-22.Retrieved2011-02-20.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^Company Profilepancrase.co.jp Retrieved on 2011-02-20
  5. ^PANCRASE KOREA."PANCRASE KOREA OFFICIAL BLOG".
  6. ^"Daum ī".
  7. ^Sự vụ sở を nam ma bố から tây trì đại に di 転 Moving office from Minamiazabu to Nishi Ikebukuroboutreview.com Retrieved on 2011-02-20
  8. ^パンクラス sự vụ sở, trung mục hắc から quy hộ に di 転 The office of Pancrase moves from Nakameguro to Kameidoboutreview.com Retrieved on 2011-02-20
  9. ^(Japanese)Chu thức hội xã パンクラス đại biểu thủ đế dịch の dị động ( xã trường giao đại )に quan するお tri らせ Announcement of personnel changes in Executive president of Pancrase Inc.(Change of president)boutreview.com Retrieved on 2011-02-20
  10. ^(Japanese)Xuyên thôn lượng, chu thức hội xã パンクラスの tân xã trường に tựu nhậm Ryo Kawamura was installed as the new Executive president of Pancrase Inc.Archived2010-10-25 at theWayback Machineboutreview.com Retrieved on 2011-02-20
  11. ^"パンクラスがSmashに kinh 営権譲 độ “Thế giới tiêu chuẩn” へケージ đạo nhập も ".Sports Navi(in Japanese).Yahoo!.June 1, 2012. Archived fromthe originalon July 17, 2012.RetrievedJune 1,2012.
  12. ^Sakai, Masakazu (June 1, 2012)."Smashからのお tri らせ".Smash(in Japanese).RetrievedJune 1,2012.
  13. ^パンクラスの "Thế giới tiêu chuẩn" hóa kế họa.Pancrase(in Japanese). June 1, 2012.RetrievedJune 1,2012.
  14. ^"PANCRASE 258 – Koyama Talked About Why He Chose PANCRASE".Abu Dhabi Combat Club.May 1, 2014. Archived fromthe originalon May 29, 2014.RetrievedMay 1,2014.
  15. ^"Full Results: PANCRASE 257".FightSport Asia.March 30, 2014.RetrievedMarch 30,2014.
  16. ^"パンクラス・オフィシャルサイト | Pancrase - thế giới tiêu chuẩn - リリース".
  17. ^"Have A Great Time Working Out With TreadmillsNightmare".
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