Bloody Elbow

At a glance

• Founded in February 2007 by Nate Wilcox
• Acquired by GRV Media in March 2024, newsroom led by Donagh Corby
• Over 4.3 million unique users in October 2024

Overview

Bloody Elbow is an English-language MMA news site founded in February 2007 by Nate Wilcox. For years it was part of the SB Nation network, and its editors in chief included Luke Thomas until 2011, then Brent Brookhouse and Anton Tabuena.

In 2023 the site split from SB Nation and its founder bought it back. In March 2024 it was sold to GRV Media. With that sale, the existing staff was laid off and part of the archive was deleted. Donagh Corby has run the newsroom since April 2024.

What you'll find

The site covers the UFC and MMA at large, with a section on boxing. You get event results, fight announcements, post-card reactions and retrospectives on fighters' careers.

Stories go up every day and track UFC events closely. That includes pieces on fighters who have been cut or are on losing streaks, so you can keep tabs on names who have dropped out of the spotlight. Other MMA promotions get covered when their fighters make news, and boxing has its own section for the big fights. The format is built for fast reading: a headline, the key facts and the quotes that matter, rather than long breakdowns of a single bout.

Why follow

Bloody Elbow is one of the oldest MMA sites still publishing. In October 2024 it hit a record of more than 4.3 million unique users, which puts it in front of a large share of the English-speaking fan base.

If you come for its history, keep in mind that the current editorial line dates from the GRV Media purchase. Not all of the long-form analysis that built its name under SB Nation is still online, since part of the archive was removed in 2024. If you are after the work of its former writers, follow Luke Thomas, Brent Brookhouse or Anton Tabuena at the outlets where they publish today. For current news, the site remains a quick way to see what happened on a card and who is next.

MMA Official's take

Bloody Elbow is for fans who want daily UFC and boxing news in English, with results and the fallout from every card. It works best if you already know the UFC roster and want quick updates.

Start with the stories that run the day after a UFC event: they cover results, reactions and what happens next for the fighters who lost. Then use the retrospectives to put a fighter's current run in the context of their career.