Freestyle wrestling vs Pankration
Freestyle wrestling and Pankration side by side, from the facts recorded for each art.
| Freestyle wrestling | Pankration | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | — | Ancient Greece |
| Founder | British Empire | — |
| Type | amateur wrestling | martial arts |
| Competition at the Olympics | Yes – 30 Olympic events recorded | — |
| Notable practitioners here | 562 | 2 |
| Top countries of practitioners | Russia, Soviet Union and Iran | Thasos and Russia |
| Weight classes | Yes | — |
Freestyle wrestling
Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. It is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman. High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the United States are conducted under different rules and termed scholastic and collegiate wrestling. U.S. collegiate women's wrestling is conducted under freestyle rules.
From the Wikipedia article Freestyle 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): Q327223, 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.