Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin, the main event of UFC 131 in Vancouver in 2011

A Chinese martial artist preparing to throw his opponent during a lei tai contest in ancient China

The Pancrastinae: a statue portraying the pancratium, an event which took place in the Roman Colosseum. Even as late as the Early Middle Ages, statues were put up in Rome and other cities to honor remarkable pankratiasts. This statue, now part of the Uffizi collection, is a Roman copy of a lost Greek original, circa 3rd century BC.

Bruce Lee popularized the concept of mixed martial arts via his hybrid philosophy of Jeet Kune Do during the late 1960s to early 1970s.