ONE Championship has entered into an exclusive partnership with Pancrase. This is the second deal the promotion has agreed in recent weeks after coming to a similar agreement with Shooto.
Under the terms of the partnership all Pancrase champions will receive the opportunity to compete in ONE Championship while fighters from the Neo-Blood Tournament will be given a chance to compete in ONE Warrior Series.
Promising young amateur talent from Pancrase will be also be selected to train at Evolve MMA in Singapore for a one-year period. ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sitodtong says this deal will help herald a new era for Japanese MMA,
“We are fully committed to developing Japan’s martial arts ecosystem from the amateur up to the professional level. Our partnership with Pancrase once again marks the world’s top martial arts organizations coming together to create a new era of martial arts in Japan.”
Pancrase President Masakazu Sakai said,
“Our partnership with ONE Championship will help to raise the profile of our athletes, as well as provide them with greater development opportunities on a global stage. We believe that this partnership is the start of a long-term relationship with ONE Championship, and we look forward to shaping the future of martial arts both in and outside Japan together.”
Next up for his promotion is Pancrase 303 which is set for Shinkiba this Sunday and will be headlined by a bantamweight title match.
Meanwhile ONE: ‘A New Era’ takes place in Tokyo on March 31st and features four title fights and a star studded line up that includes Shinya Aoki, Eddie Alvarez, Demetrious Johnson and Angela Lee.
