Amateur wrestling vs Pankration
Amateur wrestling and Pankration side by side, from the facts recorded for each art.
| Amateur wrestling | Pankration | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | — | Ancient Greece |
| Type | wrestling and amateur sports | martial arts |
| Competition at the Olympics | Yes – 1 Olympic event recorded | — |
| Notable practitioners here | 3306 | 2 |
| Top countries of practitioners | United States, Iran and Japan | Thasos and Russia |
Amateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced at Olympic, collegiate, scholastic, and other levels. There are two international wrestling styles performed at the Olympic Games, freestyle and Greco-Roman, both of which are governed by the United World Wrestling (UWW).
From the Wikipedia article Amateur wrestling (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Pankration
Pankration (; Ancient Greek: παγκράτιον [paŋkráti.on]) was an unarmed combat sport introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC. The athletes used boxing and wrestling techniques but also others, such as kicking, holds, joint locks, and chokes on the ground, making it similar to modern mixed martial arts. The term comes from the Ancient Greek word παγκράτιον (pankrátion), meaning "all of power" (from παν- (pan-) 'all-' and κράτος (krátos) 'strength, might, power').
From the Wikipedia article Pankration (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Facts from Wikidata (CC0): Q838089, Q201252. Practitioner counts are the people with a profile on this site. Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.