Kansas City, Mo. — Invicta Fighting Championships has a new partner in the growth of women’s mixed martial arts.

Joining the world’s top women’s only-promotion in an exclusive talent-sharing partnership will be Japanese promotion Pancrase. Formed in 1993, Pancrase is one of the sport’s oldest promotions. The deal will provide fighters from both organizations with opportunities to fight in both Japan and the U.S. It will also help promote women’s MMA on a global scale.

“It’s an honor to be able to partner with Pancrase, one of MMA’s most storied promotions,” said Invicta President Shannon Knapp. “In addition to all past and present ‘Kings and Queens of Pancrase,’ pioneers and contemporary stars alike have passed through the Pancrase organization at one time or another. Through our talent-sharing agreement, we hope to be able to capitalize on the wealth of female fighters being developed by both Invicta and Pancrase in a mutually beneficial way.”

Pancrase President Masakazu Sakai also shared his thoughts on the agreement, “From this partnership, the world’s best fighters from Invicta will get an opportunity to fight in Pancrase, and at the same time, Japanese fighters will get to experience fighting Invicta fighters that are at the world level. In addition, Japanese fighters would get a chance to fight in Invicta. This might open the door for fans in Japan to see Japanese fighters under the Invicta contract, such as Mizuki and Takayo Hashi to fight in Japan as well. Both Invicta FC and Pancrase are currently on UFC Fight Pass and by exchanging fighters we are looking to increase opportunities for fighters to compete more often.”

Look for fighters from both organizations to compete against one another in the near future.

About Invicta FC:

Invicta Fighting Championships is a world championship, all-pro mixed martial arts (MMA) fight series dedicated to providing female athletes with a major platform to hone their skills on a consistent basis. Founded in 2012 by longtime MMA executive Shannon Knapp, Invicta is committed to pioneering the future growth of women’s MMA by promoting the best possible match-ups between female competitors and identifying and developing future superstars of the sport. Follow Invicta on Twitter (@InvictaFights), Facebook (Facebook.com/InvictaFights), and Instagram (@InvictaFC) for all the latest information.