| Ancient Greece |
|
– Pankration |
| Late 19th century |
|
– Hybrid martial arts |
| Late 1880s |
|
– Early NHB and Mixed Style contests |
| 1899 |
|
– Barton-Wright and Bartitsu |
| Early 1900s |
|
– Merikan contests |
| 1920s |
|
– Early vale tudo and Gracie Challenge |
| 1960s and 1970s |
|
– Bruce Lee and Jeet Kune Do |
| 1970s |
|
– Antonio Inoki and Ishu Kakutōgi Sen |
| 1985 |
|
– Shooto forms |
| 1989 |
|
– First professional Shooto event |
| 1991 |
|
– First Desafio (BJJ vs. Luta Livre) event |
| 1993 |
|
– Pancrase forms |
| 1993 |
|
– UFC forms |
| Mid/Late 1990s |
|
– International Vale Tudo |
| 1997–2007 |
|
– PRIDE FC and UFC era |
| 2000 |
|
– New Jersey SACB develops Unified rules |
| 2001 |
|
– Zuffa buys UFC |
| 2005 |
|
– The Ultimate Fighter Debuts |
| 2005 |
|
– US Army begins sanctioning MMA |
| 2006 |
|
– UFC dominance and international growth |
| 2006 |
|
– Zuffa buys WFA and WEC |
| 2006 |
|
– UFC 66 generates over a million PPV buys |
| 2007 |
|
– Zuffa buys PRIDE FC |
| 2008 |
|
– EliteXC: Primetime gains 6.5 million peak viewers on CBS |
| 2009 |
|
– Strikeforce holds 1st major card with female main event |
| 2011 |
|
– WEC merged with UFC |
| 2011 |
|
– Zuffa buys Strikeforce |