Pancrase 257 Will Be Promotion’s Last in a Ring, Features Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Isao Kobayashi

Pancrase 257 will be the last event that the two-decades-old Japanese promotion ever holds in a ring and is headlined by a match-up between two top lightweights in the shape of Kuniyoshi Hironaka and Isao Kobayashi.

The historic event is set for the Yokohoma Cultural Gymnasium on March 30 and the 13-fight card will feature Japanese veterans Yuki Kondo and Shungo Oyama, as well as some Japanese stars from the modern era.

Kobayashi (14-1-4) is the current Lightweight King of Pancrase and has not lost a fight since 2010 when he was outpointed by current ONE FC 145-pound champion Koji Oishi, a defeat he would successfully avenge two years later.

His opponent, Hironaka (22-8), is the reigning Shooto 154-pound World Champion and is riding a six-fight win streak, meaning he brings plenty of momentum into this bout, which is set for three rounds and will not have either fighter’s title on the line.

The Pancrase 125-pound title will be up for grabs when reigning champion Kiyotaka Shimizu (13-9-3) takes on Atsushi Yamamoto (17-7-3) in a bout that was initially scheduled to take place last year, but was postponed when the challenger suffered a serious injury in training.

There will also be three Brazilian fighters in action at Pancrase 257 with Thiago Goncalves (17-3) meeting Akihiro Murayama (14-5-9) in a welterweight match-up, Leandro Silva (13-1-1) facing Yoshiaki Takahashi (10-4-2) at lightweight, and Marcio Cesar (18-8-3) taking on Taichi Nakajima (8-3-1) in the final of the four-man bantamweight tournament.

Pancrase 257
Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium
Yokohama, Japan
Sunday, March 30

Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Isao Kobayashi
Kiyotaka Shimizu vs. Atsushi Yamamoto
Thiago Goncalves vs. Akihiro Murayama
Yoshiaki Takahashi vs. Leandro Silva
Taichi Nakajima vs. Marcio Cesar
Eiji Ishikawa vs. Yoichiro Sato
Guy Delumeau vs. Yuki Baba
Yuki Kondo vs. Masayuki Naruse
Junpei Chikano vs. Tomonari Kanomata
Isao Hirose vs. Yusuke Kitago
Shungo Oyama vs. Handong Kong
Juntaro Ushiku vs. Yutaka Shimamura
Hiroshi Ono vs. Shohei Masumizu