| Date | Event | Alternate Name/s | Location | Attendance | PPV Buyrate | Notes |
| January 8 | UFC 18: The Road to the Heavyweight Title | — |  New Orleans, Louisiana, United States | — | — | This event featured the American debut of Bas Rutten. Who previously fought exclusively for Pancrase in Japan. |
| March 5 | UFC 19: Ultimate Young Guns | — | Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, United States | — | — | Following the main event, Tito Ortiz insulted the Lion's Den team. This led to a long rivalry between Ortiz and Ken Shamrock. |
| April 29 | Pride 5 | — |  Nagoya, Japan | — | — | First Pride FC event to be promoted by Dream Stage Entertainment, who took over Kakutougi Revolution Spirits. |
| May 7 | UFC 20: Battle for the Gold | — | Birmingham, Alabama, United States | — | — | — |
| July 4 | Pride 6 | — | Yokohama, Japan | — | — | Event featured seven MMA bouts and one karate bout between Hiroki Kurosawa and Nobuaki Kakuda. |
| July 16 | UFC 21: Return of the Champions | — | Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States | — | — | UFC rule change, Introduction of five-minute rounds. preliminary bouts consist of two rounds, non-title bouts consist of three rounds, and title bouts consist of five rounds. Introduction of 10-point must system. |
| September 12 | Pride 7 | — | Yokohama, Japan | 10,031 | — | — |
| September 24 | UFC 22: Only One Can be Champion | — | Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States | — | — | Following this event, UFC parent company SEG stopped releasing events on home video until UFC 30 with new owners Zuffa. |
| November 19 | UFC 23: Ultimate Japan 2 | — | Tokyo, Japan | — | — | This event featured a four man "Japanese" tournament, held to crown the first ever UFC Japan Champion. The tournament was the first in the UFC since UFC 17, and the last tournament held by the UFC. |
| November 21 | Pride 8 | — | Tokyo, Japan | — | — | — |
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