Abstract: Perceiving and anticipating opponents' actions to make responsive decisions is fundamental for athletes in combat sports. This study employs a systematic review method to summarize the research on the perceptual-motor behavior of athletes in combat sports over the past decade. It outlines the characteristics and cognitive neural mechanisms of specialized and non-specialized perceptual-motor behaviors in athletes across three stages: perception, anticipation, and decision-making. The study finds that athletes invest more cognitive resources during the perception and anticipation stages to acquire key visual cues and handle conflicting situations. In the decision-making stage, they activate internal models to complete automated decisions, demonstrating a higher neural efficiency and different brain activity characteristics throughout the perceptual-motor process. With the advancement of emerging technologies such as cognitive neuroscience, computing, and wearable devices, future research can use machine learning and big data models to simulate and predict athletic behaviors, reveal the plasticity of the brain in response to sports training, and enhance the explanatory power of research findings.