Pancrase will always be unique in MMA history due to rules that allowed grappling and submissions but greatly limited the types of strikes. Any closed fist strikes (no gloves were worn) to the ...

'El Guapo' began his MMA career with the Japanese-based promotion and competed there for the majority of his career from 1993-1998 before departing to the UFC for the remainder of his career. The ...

It had been a question asked by many over the decades. On September 21, 1993, we finally got our answer—and it was glorious and the beginning of MMA.

Japan’s Pancrase, a seminal MMA institution, was launched in May 1993 and held its inaugural event later that September.

It began in early 1993, a few months before the UFC and gave a good view into what was to come. Some of the most famous among those stars produced were Bas Rutten and Ken Shamrock.

In the night’s main event, Kazuo Takahashi, who made his professional debut at Pancrase 1 in 1993, stepped into the ring one last time to face middleweight King of Pacrase Ryo Kawamura.