Pancrase
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Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling is a sport wrestling organization founded in Japan in 1993 by Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki.
Its founders were pro wrestlers with particular skill in the art of shoot wrestling and it began as essentially a professional wrestling promotion consisting of shoots rather than works, with a rule-set more similar to that of professional wrestling—closed-fists to the face were illegal and submission holds had to be broken when a competitor made it to the ropes—than those used in contemporary fighting organizations such as Shooto. 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. The name 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.
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[edit] History
In 1993 Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzuki, Yusuke Fuke and others from the Fujiwara Gumi wrestling promotion left that company, apparently in opposition to mentor Yoshiaki Fujiwara cooperating with leagues like Universal Lucha Libre and W*ING, where showmanship was the rule. These men formed Pancrase, which would focus on pure shoot style wrestling with few gimmicks and no predetermined outcomes (though there are rumors that a handful of the earlier bouts were fixed, most notably Ken Shamrock versus Matt Hume and the first meeting between Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki).[citation needed] The first King Of Pancrase Open Weight champion was Ken Shamrock, famous for his exploits in the Ultimate Fighting Championship circuit and who had previous experience in the Newborn UWF and Fujiwara Gumi. Over the years, Funaki and Suzuki took turns holding the title alongside other big names, such as Bas Rutten.
Today, Pancrase recognizes King of Pancrase titles in the super heavyweight, heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, and welterweight divisions, with plans to award new lightweight and featherweight champions in the future. The open weight title has been recently restored and is held by Josh Barnett, who also competes in PRIDE. Minoru Suzuki also has stopped competing for Pancrase and is currently performing in many Japanese pro-wrestling organizations.
[edit] King of Pancrase Title Holders
| Division | Champion |
|---|---|
| Openweight | Josh Barnett |
| Super Heavyweight | none, vacated by Tsuyoshi Kosaka 1/24/2006 |
| Heavyweight | Kestutis Arbocius |
| Light Heavyweight | Yuki Kondo |
| Middleweight | none, vacated by Nathan Marquardt 10/2006 |
| Welterweight | Daizo Ishige |
| Lightweight | TBD |
| Featherweight | Yoshihiro Maeda |
[edit] Former KOP Title Holders
- Masakatsu Funaki
- Ken Shamrock
- Bas Rutten
- Minoru Suzuki
- Sanae Kikuta
- Kiuma Kunioku
- Tsuyoshi Kosaka
- Frank Shamrock
- Yuki Kondo
- Nathan Marquardt
- Semmy Schilt
- Guy Mezger
- Katsuya Inoue
[edit] Other notable fighters
- Ikuhisa Minowa
- Jason Delucia
- Ryushi Yanagisawa
- Manabu Yamada
- Yoshiki Takahashi
- Osami Shibuya
[edit] See also
- List of professional wrestling styles
- Pride Fighting Championships
- Puroresu
- Shootfighting
- Shooto
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Vale tudo
- Pankration
[edit] External links
| Professional mixed martial arts organizations | |
|---|---|
| Major promotions: | Ultimate Fighting Championship | PRIDE Fighting Championships | HERO's |
| Other promotions: | Pancrase | KOTC | Rumble on the Rock | EFC | WEC | MFC | ZST | WFA | DEEP | Cage Rage | FFC | IFL | TKO | Strikeforce | WWCN |
| Defunct promotions: | IVC | RINGS |
| Sanctioning bodies: | Shooto | International Sport Combat Federation |
