What sherdog.com does

Sherdog.com is a digital media platform dedicated to mixed martial arts (MMA) coverage, founded in 1997 and operating as one of the longest-tenured outlets in the combat sports media category. The platform delivers news articles, fighter profiles, live event coverage, official divisional and pound-for-pound rankings, podcasts, videos, and community forums covering UFC, PFL, women's MMA, boxing, and regional MMA organizations. Its core technology stack centers on a proprietary fighter database (Fight Finder), editorial CMS, and ranking systems built and maintained since the late 1990s, with content distributed across the Evolve Media network of properties.

The business is monetized exclusively through advertising — display ads, targeted behavioral advertising via cookies and analytics, and content syndication across Evolve Media sister sites including Wrestlezone — and is offered free to end users with optional account creation for community participation. Sherdog operates as a property of Evolve Media (Australia) PTY LTD, with US operations governed by Evolve Media Holdings, LLC (headquartered at 11390 West Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles); the firm was previously acquired by CraveOnline in 2007 and has remained under private ownership since. Customer segments include MMA fans (primary), professional fighters and camps (secondary, for opponent research), and combat sports bettors (secondary, for odds and fight data).

The platform maintains an 11–50 employee footprint and pursues a multi-channel go-to-market combining organic SEO, social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, VK, Threads), podcasts, and email newsletters. No subscription or paywall model exists, no AI or ML capabilities are documented in the source data, and there is no disclosed revenue, venture funding, or institutional ownership.

Name

sherdog.com

Legal name

Evolve Media Holdings, LLC

Website

https://sherdog.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sherdog.com is a free, ad-supported digital media platform founded in 1997 that delivers MMA news, fighter databases, official rankings, live event coverage, and community forums to global mixed martial arts fans, operating as a property of Evolve Media.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Media

NAICS

Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (5162), Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (519290)

akta.pro primary industry

Social/UGC Feed Aggregators (Multi-Source Feeds) (MPACAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Combat Sports Event Series & Tournament Operators (Grand Prix, leagues) (MPAKAHAI), Gaming Community, Chat & LFG Platforms (BPAMAKAK)

Keywords

• MMA news media
• Fighter database
• Combat sports coverage
• MMA rankings
• Fighting event coverage

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbus

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Advertising Revenue: Sherdog generates primary revenue through display and targeted advertising. The site displays advertisements to provide free access to content, with targeted ads based on user browsing behavior and demographics collected through cookies and analytics.
2. Content Syndication: Sherdog content is syndicated across the Evolve Media network of properties, including Wrestlezone, providing cross-promotional advertising opportunities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Sherdog.com is an advertising-supported digital media platform that publishes MMA news, features, interviews, and event coverage while operating the Fight Finder fighter database, official divisional rankings, event calendars, podcasts, videos, and a community forum. Content is provided free to consumers and monetized through display advertising and content syndication across the Evolve Media network.

Product overview

Sherdog.com is a unified MMA media platform providing comprehensive mixed martial arts coverage. The core product portfolio consists of news and articles, the Fight Finder database, official divisional rankings, and an event calendar with fight cards. Supporting modules include podcasts (Shillan & Duffy Podcast, The Sheehan Show, After The Bell, Check The Kick), video content, a community forum, boxing coverage, and fight odds. The platform serves as the world's largest MMA outlet, founded in 1997, covering UFC, PFL, and regional MMA organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MMA News & Articles Editorial coverage of mixed martial arts news including UFC, PFL, women's MMA, previews, opinion pieces, and interviews, targeted at MMA fans and the broader combat sports audience.
• Fight Finder Fighter Database Searchable database of MMA fighters, fight histories, events, and statistics that can be queried by name, organization, weight class, and association.
• Official MMA Rankings Sherdog's proprietary divisional rankings, pound-for-pound rankings, and women's pound-for-pound rankings for mixed martial arts, regularly updated based on fighter performance.
• Fight Card & Event Calendar Event listings for UFC, PFL, and other MMA organizations including full fight cards, matchups, scheduling, and live results.
• Sherdog Community Forums User-to-user discussion platform with sections for UFC Discussion, Worldwide MMA Discussion, Off-Topic Discussion, and a Photoshops community area.
• Sherdog Podcasts Audio programming including the Shillan & Duffy Podcast, The Sheehan Show, After The Bell, and Check The Kick, covering MMA analysis, interviews, and commentary.
• Sherdog Video Library Hosted video content including fight highlights, fighter interviews, event coverage, and MMA analysis.
• Boxing News Coverage News and editorial coverage of boxing events published alongside MMA content on the Sherdog platform.
• Fight Odds Coverage Betting odds and fight prediction information for upcoming MMA events.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• WrestlezoneminorGTM or Marketing PartnerWrestlezone is a sister site under the Evolve Media umbrella, sharing cross-promotional content with Sherdog. The partnership allows content syndication and audience expansion across combat sports media properties.
• Evolve Media (Australia) PTY LTDcoreOthersSherdog is a property of Evolve Media (Australia) PTY LTD and its owned and operated subsidiaries. Parent company providing corporate structure and branding across the media network.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bloody Elbow: Bloody Elbow is a SB Nation/Vox Media MMA news, analysis, and opinion site. It is a direct editorial competitor covering UFC, MMA, and combat sports with overlapping audience.
• MMA Weekly: MMA Weekly is a long-running independent MMA news and events outlet. It targets the same MMA fan and bettor segments with similar news and fighter coverage.
• MMA Fighting: MMA Fighting is a major MMA editorial outlet owned by Vox Media/SB Nation. It produces news, opinion, and video content targeting the same MMA fan base as Sherdog.
• Tapology: Tapology is a leading MMA fighter database, event listings, and community forum. It is the closest direct analog to Sherdog's Fight Finder and event-calendar functionality, serving the same MMA fan and fighter-research use cases.
• MMAjunkie: MMAjunkie is a long-running MMA news, results, and rankings site now under the USA Today Sports network. It competes directly with Sherdog for the same MMA news audience with deeper network distribution.
• Combat Press: Combat Press covers MMA and broader combat sports (boxing, kickboxing, grappling). It competes with Sherdog for combat sports news and rankings readers.
• Cageside Press: Cageside Press is a digital MMA news and editorial outlet serving WWE/UFC crossover and MMA-specific readers. It is a comparable independent combat sports publisher.

Broad incumbents

• Wrestlezone: Wrestlezone is a pro-wrestling editorial site under the same Evolve Media parent as Sherdog. It shares cross-promotional syndication and serves the adjacent combat-sports audience.
• UFC.com: UFC.com is the official digital destination of the UFC, the largest MMA promotion. While not a third-party media outlet, it is the first-party source for fighter and event data that defines the editorial landscape Sherdog covers.
• ESPN MMA: ESPN's MMA vertical aggregates news, rankings, and video for MMA as part of the broader ESPN sports platform. It is a broad incumbent with overlapping MMA coverage rather than a niche specialist.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sherdogdotcom
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCW3KTagNuyADCijmSwuaNJA
• Facebookfacebook.com/officialsherdog
• Instagraminstagram.com/mmaconnoisseur
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gilbert-smith

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about sherdog.com