''Bloody Elbow'' is a news website that covers the sports of

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

(MMA),

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, and other traditional

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

and

combat sports A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent (''knocko ...

. Founded in 2007, the site has been notable for its

investigative reporting Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend m ...

, breaking news coverage, opinion and analysis. Bloody Elbow operated as part of the ''

SB Nation ''SB Nation'' (an abbreviation for their full name ''SportsBlogs Nation'') is a sports blogging network owned by Vox Media. It was co-founded by Tyler Blezinski, Markos Moulitsas, and Jerome Armstrong in 2003. The blog from which the netwo ...

'' network of sports blogging sites owned by

Vox Media Vox Media, Inc. is an American mass media company founded in Washington, D.C. with operational headquarters in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in November 2011 by CEO Jim Bankoff and Trei Brundrett to encompass ''S ...

until January 2023, when the blog separated from Vox and was acquired as an independent publication by its founding editor. One year later in March 2024 the website was sold to GRV Media. The website is a part of the growing collection of MMA focused media outlets and provides analysis as well as commentary of multiple aspects of MMA.

Overview

Founder Nate Wilcox (Kid Nate) recruited Luke Thomas to help run Bloody Elbow on May 21, 2007. Thomas worked as

editor in chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held account ...

of Bloody Elbow until 2011. Brent Brookhouse served as Bloody Elbow's managing editor from 2011 to 2015, before being replaced by Anton Tabuena from 2015 to March 2024. Called "critically acclaimed" by the ''New York Post'', Bloody Elbow was reviewed as one of the best MMA news & media blogs online. Currently it is the third most popular MMA media & news website in the US, according to Similarweb. In 2017, Bloody Elbow editor Karim Zidan appeared on an episode of HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel to discuss his work covering Chechen dictator

Ramzan Kadyrov Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov (born 5 October 1976) is a Russian politician and current head of the Chechen Republic. He was formerly affiliated with the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Chechen independence movement, through his father who was the ...

's influence in the world of mixed martial arts. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' cited Bloody Elbow in a June 2023 article detailing Meta CEO

Mark Zuckerberg Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born May 14, 1984) is an American businessman who co-founded the social media service Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms, of which he is the chairman, chief executive officer, and controlling sharehold ...

competing in a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu tournament. In the same month, Vox included statements from Wilcox on the MMA fans of younger generations in an editorial piece examining rumors of a future official cage fight occurring between Zuckerberg and

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

CEO

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...

. In July 2023, in an article about combat sports audiences, ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' quoted Wilcox while identifying the Ultimate Fighting Championship's predatory business practices aimed at their fighters. The following month, ''

Jacobin The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential political cl ...

'' quoted a Bloody Elbow featured post in an August article detailing UFC president

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...

's Power Slap fighting series and its integration into the UFC's event programming. A week later, Ariel Helwani cited Bloody Elbow on '' The MMA Hour'' when asked about the ongoing UFC

class-action lawsuit A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...

. Among Bloody Elbow's regular contributors was Eugene S. Robinson, lead singer of the band

Oxbow __NOTOC__ An oxbow is a U-shaped metal pole (or larger wooden frame) that fits the underside and the sides of the neck of an ox or wikt:bullock, bullock. A bow pin holds it in place. The term "oxbow" is widely used to refer to a U-shaped meand ...

. Other notable contributors to Bloody Elbow have included

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

veterans such as the late Josh Samman, women's MMA pioneer Roxanne Modafferi, and Ben Saunders. Over the years Bloody Elbow has featured interviews with hundreds of professional MMA fighters as well as characters outside of the sport including

Anthony Bourdain Anthony Michael Bourdain ( ; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author and Travel documentary, travel documentarian. He starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the huma ...

and Ed O'Neill. In October 2023, Bloody Elbow art director Chris Rini was featured in an article by the ''

Copenhagen Post ''The Copenhagen Post'', also stylized ''CPH Post'', is a newspaper providing Danish news in English both nationally and internationally; it is the only English-language newspaper printed regularly in Denmark. History and profile Founded by S ...

'' concerning Danish culture and female violence in the MMA sphere. In January 2023, Bloody Elbow almost became defunct when Wilcox and other Bloody Elbow editorial staff were laid off by Vox Media in a wave of company downsizing that primarily affected Vox-affiliated sports publications. Following a series of discussions with Vox, Wilcox acquired the rights to Bloody Elbow and purchased the site from its former parent media company in March. Bloody Elbow was removed from Vox's

content management system A content management system (CMS) is computer software used to manage the creation and modification of digital content ( content management).''Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy''. Ann Rockley, Pamela Kostur, Steve Manning. New ...

in the process, and Wilcox recruited seven web developers through a public online request for help with establishing the blog and its content on a new platform. During the redevelopment of Bloody Elbow, the payroll and operation expenses of the site were funded by reader donations, paid subscriptions, and Wilcox himself. After the site's migration and transfer of ownership, most of the original Bloody Elbow editorial staff were retained and continued to publish content for the mixed martial arts blog. In March 2024, GRV Media acquired the website and social media assets of Bloody Elbow. No staff or contributors moved across to GRV following the sale. A month after the acquisition, GRV Media hired Donagh Corby and announce the formation of a Bloody Combat Sports Group which incorporated Bloody Elbow (MMA/UFC), Bloody Knockout (Boxing) and Bloody Slam (Wrestling). Following the acquisition, the popularity of Bloody Elbow continued to grow. In October 2024 the site achieved a record high of over 4.3m unique users Known for investigative reporting, Bloody Elbow has been among the first to uncover and report in-depth on the finances of MMA promotions such as the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

, and

ONE Championship ONE Championship, formerly ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) until January 2015, is a Multinational corporation, multinational combat sports Promoter (entertainment), promotion founded on 14 July 2011 by Chatri Sityodtong and Victor Cui. Origi ...

. Bloody Elbow was also first to report and go in-depth on the major

class-action A class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage R ...

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

lawsuit filed against the UFC by its fighters, who are calling for "fair" business practices and better pay. Bloody Elbow is among a number of media organizations and professionals that are currently

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

by the

. The website has been a useful resource for academics studying MMA culture and trends.

Awards

Bloody Elbow has been nominated as Media Source of the Year at the

World MMA Awards The World MMA Awards are awards presented by ''Fighters Only'' magazine to honor exceptional performance in various aspects of mixed martial arts. Winners are presented with the ''Fighters Only silver statuette''. The World MMA Awards are divided ...

in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 2019 and 2023. Brent Brookhouse was nominated for MMA Journalist of the Year at the

in 2016. Karim Zidan was nominated for MMA Journalist of the Year at the

in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

References

{{Vox Media Mixed martial arts websites Internet properties established in 2001

Overview

Awards

See also

References