Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. The first documented use of the term mixed martial arts was in a review of UFC 1 by television critic Howard Rosenberg in 1993.
Daniel Jeffery Henderson is an American retired mixed martial artist and Olympic wrestler, who last competed as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the last Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion and was the last Welterweight and Middleweight champion of Pride Fighting Championships. Henderson was the Brazil Open '97 Tournament Champion, the UFC 17 Middleweight Tournament Champion, the Rings: King of Kings 1999 Tournament Champion and the Pride Welterweight Grand Prix Tournament Champion. Henderson also challenged for the UFC Middleweight Championship (2x), the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship and the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship. Henderson was the first mixed martial artist to hold two titles in two different weight classes concurrently in a major MMA promotion. At the time of his retirement after UFC 204, he was the oldest fighter on the UFC roster.
World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was made up of 3 weight classes: 135 lb (61 kg), 145 lb (66 kg) and 155 lb (70 kg). To accommodate the smaller fighters, WEC's cage was 25 feet (7.6 m) in diameter—5 feet (1.5 m) smaller than the standard UFC cage. The smaller cage is now used by UFC for selected events.
Mixed martial arts weight classes are weight classes that pertain to the sport of mixed martial arts.
Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a United States-based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization owned and operated by ProElite. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks and ProElite and officially announced on December 14, 2006. It was headquartered in Los Angeles.
Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion primarily operating in the Northeastern United States. Founded by Felix and Amy Martinez, they promoted their first shows in Atlantic City, New Jersey, launching the careers of fighters such as Kimbo Slice. The last-minute cancellation of its sixth event under the ownership of Felix and Amy Martinez in 2007 signaled its temporary demise; however, it resurfaced nearly four years later when Vineland, New Jersey native Robert Haydak Jr. purchased the organization and began promoting shows. Since then Haydak has re-invented the CFFC brand, bringing it to be considered one of the top regional MMA promotions in the United States.
Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish-owned mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002.
Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki better known by its initials KSW, is widely considered to be the premiere mixed martial arts organization in Poland and one of the leading in Europe.
Shane Darryl Campbell is a Canadian Welterweight Muay Thai kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and a former W.K.A. Muay Thai World Champion. Campbell is also the current WMA World Pro Muay Thai Champion, Aggression MMA World Champion, and Unified MMA World Champion. Campbell is by far one of the most decorated Muay Thai fighters in North America and is also current W.M.A. Muay Thai Middleweight World Champion. Campbell currently holds the Lightweight title of the Unified Fighting Championship.
M-1 Global (Mixfight-1) or MMA-1 is a mixed martial arts promotion based in St. Petersburg, Russia which organizes between 10 and 20 competitions per year.
The International Vale Tudo Championship (IVC) was a Vale Tudo and mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting promotion based in Brazil starting in 1997. The IVC was a fundamentally important platform in the promotion of Brazilian MMA in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Daniel Thomas Kelly is an Australian former judoka and mixed martial artist. Known for his unconventional style, the four-time judo Olympian formerly competed in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) between 2014 and 2018.
Cage Force is a defunct Japanese Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organization operated by Greatest Common Multiple (GCM) Communication. It was the first Japanese MMA organization to feature an octagon cage instead of a ring. Yushin Okami, Eiji Mitsuoka, Kuniyoshi Hironaka and Keita Nakamura experienced a cage match in D.O.G before contract with UFC. It enforced the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts when the changed name to "Cage Force" from "D.O.G.", to prepare Japanese MMA fighters for the UFC. Cage Force tournament winner was entitled to a contract with UFC. Yoshiyuki Yoshida and Takeya Mizugaki have been contracted to the UFC and WEC by winning the tournament.
The Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Houston, Texas. It was created as a result of the Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance merger in 2016.
Mixed martial arts (MMA) has developed in Australia from a wide cross-section of sporting and martial arts disciplines to become the most popular combat sport in Australia.
While mixed martial arts is primarily a male dominated sport, it does have female athletes. For instance, Female competition in Japan includes promotions such as DEEP Jewels. Now defunct promotions that featured female fighters were Valkyrie, and Smackgirl. Professional mixed martial arts organizations in the United States that invite women to compete are industry leader Ultimate Fighting Championship, the all female Invicta Fighting Championships, Resurrection Fighting Alliance, Bellator Fighting Championships, and Legacy Fighting Championship. Now defunct promotions that featured female fighters were Strikeforce and EliteXC. There has been a growing awareness of women in mixed martial arts due to popular female fighters and personalities such as Amanda Nunes, Megumi Fujii, Gina Carano, Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Holly Holm and Joanna Jędrzejczyk and among others. Carano became known as "the face of women's MMA" after appearing in a number of EliteXC events. This was furthered by her appearances on MGM Television's 2008 revival of their game show American Gladiators.
Rizin Fighting Federation is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara.
World Lethwei Championship was a Lethwei promotion based in Yangon, Myanmar. The promotion brought to the millennia-old Burmese martial of Lethwei to UFC Fight Pass and showcased it to the world. The WLC events combined the historic traditions of Lethwei with modern entertainment.
TKO Major League MMA is a Canadian mixed martial arts promotion established in 2000, it was originally broadcast on RDS and later on Fight Network. Formerly known as the Universal Combat Challenge (UCC), it was the first mixed martial arts promotion in Canada, before eventually rebranding to TKO Major League MMA in 2003. For years it was the largest MMA promotion in Canada, before eventually going on hiatus for 8 years. Returning in 2016, since then it has signed a deal with the UFC to be broadcast on the promotion's streaming service UFC Fight Pass.
Rameau Sokoudjou 
Glenn Sparv
Jacob Marszal
Gustavo Falciroli 
