Mixed Martial Arts history begins in ancient Greece with the ancient Olympic sport of Pankration, which was introduced into the ancient Olympic games in 648 BC.

In Greek mythology it was said that the heroes Hercules and Theseus invented the pankration as a result of using both wrestling and boxing, were the two co-founders of panmahia, unarmed combat. The term "panmahia" would later become disused in favor of the term pankration. The ropalo (club) and lion skin armor would also become symbolic among Hellenic warriors due to the famed feats of Hercules. It had numerous forms such as kato pankration, in which the athletes could fall to the ground and continue the match, and ano pankration, in which athletes had to remain standing throughout the match. The competitors could use moves like the gastrizein, (stomach trick), which was a kick to the gut, as well as the apopternizein, (heel trick), where a foot was grabbed to throw an opponent off balance. Pankration, as practiced in the ancient world, combined elements of both boxing and wrestling to create a broad fighting sport similar to today's mixed martial arts. A match was won by submission of the opponent or if the opponent was incapacitated. A contestant could signal submission by raising his hand. Joint locks and choke holds were common techniques of accomplishing this. In fact, there were only two rules: contestants were not allowed to gouge eyes or to bite. Also one opponent could hold another and punch him during a match. Pankration was more than just an Olympic event, it formed the basis for all combat training for Greek soldiers - including the famous Spartan Hoplite warriors and Alexander The Great's Macedonian Phalanxes.

Modern mixed martial arts are rooted in two interconnected movements.

First were the vale tudo events in Brazil, followed by the Japanese shoot wrestling shows. Vale tudo (meaning 'anything goes') began in the 1920s with the famous "Gracie Challenge" issued by Carlos Gracie and Hélio Gracie and upheld later on by descendants of the Gracie family. The Gracie challenge refers to a challenge issued by some members of the Gracie family to have anyone come and fight them in a Vale Tudo style match. It was first issued by Carlos Gracie in the 1920's to promote and develop the Gracie's style of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and as an attempt to show that it was superior to other styles of martial arts. The matches typically featured a smaller Gracie versus a larger and/or more athletic looking opponent, and became increasingly popular. Carlos and later his brother Hélio Gracie and both of these men's sons defeated martial artists of many different styles such as boxing, judo, karate, and wrestling, while experiencing few losses.

 In Japan in the 1970s, a series of mixed martial arts matches were hosted by Antonio Inoki, inspiring the shoot-style movement in Japanese professional wrestling, which eventually led to the formation of the first mixed martial arts organizations, such as Shooto, which was formed in 1985.

Antonio Inoki was amongst the group of professional wrestlers who were tutored in the art of hooking and shooting by the professional wrestler Karl Gotch. Inoki then went on to stage a series of mixed martial arts matches against champions from numerous other disciplines of martial arts. Inoki named his method of fighting Strong style professional wrestling. This method of professional wrestling as taught to Inoki by Karl Gotch, which borrowed heavily from professional wrestling's original catch wrestling roots, is one of the most important influences of modern shoot wrestling.
 

Shooto (sometimes officially spelled SHOOTO) is a combat sport that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, as an organization and as a particular fighting system derived from shoot wrestling. Practitioners are referred to as shooters, similarly to practitioners of shootwrestling. Shooto competitions are often considered to be mixed martial arts competitions, since they share similar rules to several other mixed martial arts competitions.

The concept of combining various combat disciplines has gained some popularity in the late 1960's and early 1970's with the emergence of Bruce Lee and his theories of hybrid fighting. Lee believed that "the best fighter is not a Boxer, Karate or Judo man. The best fighter is someone who can adapt to any style. He kicks too good for a Boxer, throws too good for a Karate man, and punches too good for a Judo man."
 

Mixed martial arts gained real international exposure and widespread publicity in the US in 1993, when Royce Gracie won the first Ultimate Fighting Championship using Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, sparking a revolution in the martial arts. In Japan in 1997, the continued interest in the sport eventually resulted in the creation of the PRIDE Fighting Championships, which in 2007 was bought by the owners of UFC, creating strong ties between the two largest MMA promoters.