Short answers, pulled from the story.
The first video game to feature fist fighting was Heavyweight Champ, released by Sega in 1976. Although it showed characters throwing punches, it was classified as a sports game rather than a fighting game.
The true birth of the one-on-one fighting game genre occurred in May 1984 with the release of Karate Champ by Technos Japan. This arcade cabinet introduced a dual-joystick control scheme and established the best-of-three matches format.
Konami released Yie Ar Kung-Fu in October 1984, which introduced the health meter system that remains the genre's defining visual element. The game replaced the point-scoring system with a health bar that depleted as characters sustained blows.
The Evo Moment 37 match held at Evolution Championship Series 2004 is frequently described as the most iconic moment in the history of competitive video gaming. Daigo Umehara made an unexpected comeback by parrying 15 consecutive hits of Justin Wong's Super Art move using Chun-Li.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch became the best-selling fighting game of all time with 36.55 million copies sold. It was released in 2018 and set a new record in sales for the genre.
The controversy surrounding the violence in Mortal Kombat led to the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). This organization changed how video games were marketed and regulated in the United States.