Sherdog

Sherdog is a leading online platform dedicated to mixed martial arts (MMA), providing comprehensive coverage including news, fighter profiles, event results, live updates, rankings, videos, and the Fight Finder database, which catalogs over 100,000 bouts from promotions worldwide.^[1][2] Founded in 1997 by photographer and MMA enthusiast Jeff Sherwood while he worked at Boeing in Huntington Beach, California, Sherdog began as a simple UFC fan page on GeoCities before evolving into a full-fledged resource for the burgeoning sport.^[3][4] Over the years, it introduced key features like fighter interviews starting in 1999, official rankings, and the Fight Finder in 2001, which quickly became the most extensive MMA fight database available.^[3][5] Sherdog was acquired by CraveOnline Media in 2007, marking a period of expansion that included partnerships with ESPN and radio programming, and it generated tens of millions of monthly page views by the late 2000s.^[3] Sherwood departed the company in 2016 after nearly two decades at the helm. In 2022, ownership transitioned to Evolve Media (Australia) PTY LTD, which relaunched the site in 2023 with a modernized design, enhanced mobile functionality, social media integration, and expanded community forums to better serve its global audience of MMA fans.^[2][1] Today, Sherdog remains the industry's pioneer, boasting the largest independent MMA community and serving as an essential reference for fighters, promoters, regulators, and enthusiasts tracking everything from UFC and Bellator events to regional circuits.^[1][2]

Overview

Founding and Purpose

Sherdog was founded in 1997 by Jeff Sherwood, a photographer and avid mixed martial arts (MMA) enthusiast nicknamed "Sherdog" from his high school days, as a personal project while he worked in information technology at Boeing in Huntington Beach, California.^[3] Initially launched as a simple website titled "Sherdog's UFC Fan Page" on a free GeoCities server, it began as a hobby to organize and share information on the burgeoning sport during downtime at his job.^[6] Sherwood, then 29 years old, had no formal web development experience but drew on his passion for MMA to create this early online hub.^[7] The original purpose of Sherdog was to serve as a centralized resource for MMA fans in an era when the sport operated largely underground with scant mainstream coverage and no dedicated digital databases. It aimed to catalog fighters, events, bout outcomes, and related news, starting with basic event lineups and results to fill the void left by the absence of reliable, accessible information.^[3] This focus on comprehensive fighter profiles and records addressed the challenges of tracking a niche combat sport still recovering from early controversies surrounding events like the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which debuted in 1993 but remained far from mainstream acceptance.^[6] Sherwood's early motivations stemmed from his background in MMA photography, where he began capturing events with an amateur camera to document the fighters and atmosphere of shows that drew limited media attention. As a fan immersed in the sport's raw, unregulated phase before its commercialization in the early 2000s, he sought to build a reliable repository amid the sport's obscurity and the difficulties in verifying records from disparate promotions.^[3] The site was later refined with contributions from collaborator Garrett Poe, who helped expand its database features.^[8]

Scope and Audience

Sherdog functions as a premier digital platform exclusively dedicated to mixed martial arts (MMA), serving as an essential resource for enthusiasts, professional fighters, event promoters, and sports journalists across the globe.^[1][9] Its content emphasizes comprehensive coverage of the sport, positioning it as a centralized hub for both archival data and contemporary developments in MMA.^[1] This focus distinguishes Sherdog from broader sports media outlets by maintaining a specialized scope on MMA-related topics, including fighter profiles, bout outcomes, and industry analysis.^[10] The platform's primary audience consists of dedicated MMA fans, with a strong emphasis on a U.S.-centric user base that accounts for the majority of its traffic, alongside notable international engagement from regions such as Canada and Brazil.^[11] Demographically, visitors are overwhelmingly male (75.34% as of October 2025), with the 25-34 age group representing the largest segment (as of October 2025), reflecting the sport's appeal to young adults immersed in combat sports culture.^[12] This worldwide draw extends to professionals within the MMA ecosystem, including fighters who rely on its detailed records for career tracking and promoters who utilize the site for event visibility and talent scouting.^[10] In terms of scope, Sherdog encompasses reporting on all major global promotions, such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA, and ONE Championship, while also documenting regional leagues and independent events to provide a holistic view of the MMA landscape.^{[1][13][14][15]} Established as an industry pioneer since 1997, it uniquely blends historical archival functions—through its extensive fighter database and bout records—with real-time features like live event updates and play-by-play coverage, enabling users to access both past legacies and current happenings in one MMA-exclusive environment.^[1][10][16] This dual role solidifies Sherdog's position as a foundational tool in the sports media ecosystem, fostering informed discourse among its diverse international community.^[1]

History

Origins and Early Years

Sherdog began as a modest hobby project in August 1997, when Jeff Sherwood, a Boeing employee and photography enthusiast nicknamed "Sherdog" from his high school days, launched a simple Geocities page titled "Sherdog’s UFC Fan Page" to share UFC event lineups, results, and rumors during his work downtime.^[3] Operating in an era when mixed martial arts (MMA) was still a fringe sport far from mainstream acceptance, the site initially attracted limited traffic, relying on word-of-mouth promotion within niche fighting communities to build a small but dedicated audience.^[3] Sherwood's early efforts were rudimentary, focused on basic HTML learning rather than commercial viability.^[3] In the late 1990s, Sherwood collaborated with Garrett Poe, a Mississippi State University student and MMA enthusiast, to refine the platform into a more structured dot-com with potential for remuneration. Poe joined as an informal partner around 1998, contributing digitized fight highlights from global events that significantly boosted the site's visibility despite occasional technical overloads.^[3] Together, they expanded features, including exclusive interviews—such as one with Bas Rutten on January 25, 1999—and user prediction contests, while addressing the growing demand for organized data in MMA's pre-UFC explosion phase.^[3] A pivotal milestone came by 2000 with the launch of basic forums and news sections, transforming Sherdog into a community-driven hub where fans discussed events and shared insights amid the sport's underground status. Poe's initiative further elevated the site when he proposed and led the development of a comprehensive, searchable fighter database known as Fight Finder, which launched in 2001 after months of manual data entry by a small team using VHS tapes and DVDs to catalog historical bouts from UFC 1 onward.^[6] This collaboration not only added depth through features like rankings and regional coverage but also established Sherdog's reputation for accuracy in an era of scarce reliable MMA resources, fostering organic growth despite ongoing hurdles like unmoderated forum content and limited resources.^[3]

Expansion and Partnerships

In the mid-2000s, Sherdog underwent significant expansion through strategic acquisitions and partnerships that enhanced its distribution, revenue streams, and integration into broader media ecosystems. In March 2007, founder Jeff Sherwood sold Sherdog to CraveOnline, a lifestyle media network, which integrated the site into its portfolio to leverage MMA's growing popularity among male audiences.^[17][3] This move provided Sherdog with expanded advertising opportunities and broader reach across CraveOnline's platforms, professionalizing its operations while allowing Sherwood to continue leading content development with a dedicated team.^[3] A pivotal alliance followed shortly thereafter with ESPN in May 2007, when the sports network announced a content syndication agreement with Sherdog.^[18] Under the deal, Sherdog's comprehensive Fight Finder database—containing fighter statistics, records, and personal details—was embedded into ESPN.com's MMA coverage, enabling users to access the largest online MMA fighter repository directly through ESPN's interface.^[18] This partnership also facilitated the sharing of Sherdog's editorial content, including news and analysis, across ESPN's platforms, marking a key step in mainstreaming MMA information.^[3] These collaborations had a profound impact on Sherdog's growth, coinciding with the UFC's ascent to mainstream prominence in the mid-2000s. Traffic surged as a result, with the site and its forums generating over 75 million page views in January 2009 alone, reflecting heightened user engagement driven by syndication and enhanced visibility.^[3] The partnerships professionalized Sherdog's content production by providing access to live event data and resources from major broadcasters, solidifying its role as a authoritative MMA hub amid the sport's rapid commercialization.^[18][3]

Modern Developments

In 2016, Jeff Sherwood, the founder of Sherdog, departed the organization after nearly two decades of involvement, marking a significant leadership transition. This change prompted a rebuild of the Sherdog Radio Network, which discontinued longstanding programs such as "Beatdown after the Bell" and introduced new shows including "TJ & The Tooth," hosted by TJ De Santis and Nick "The Tooth" Gullo, to maintain engaging MMA discussions. The network continued to evolve, incorporating additional formats like "The Neutral Corner" with Yves Edwards, ensuring a steady stream of audio content focused on fight analysis and interviews.^[19] Throughout the 2010s, Sherdog enhanced its digital infrastructure to improve user experience, adopting the XenForo platform for its forums in December 2015 to support robust community interactions among MMA enthusiasts.^[20] Mobile optimization became a priority with the launch of the Sherdog iOS app in October 2015 and the Android version in early 2016, providing on-the-go access to news, fighter profiles, and event updates.^[21] By the 2020s, the site expanded its multimedia offerings, integrating more video content such as fight highlights, interviews, and live recap shows to cater to growing demand for visual MMA coverage.^[22] In 2022, Sherdog was acquired by Evolve Media (Australia) PTY LTD, which relaunched the site in 2023 featuring a modernized design, improved mobile functionality, enhanced social media integration, and expanded community forums.^[2] As of 2025, the platform emphasizes innovative features, including live streams for select promotions such as M-1 Global events to deliver real-time fight access and analysis.^[23] Additionally, Sherdog introduced annual Fantasy MMA Drafts starting in 2023, where staff members select UFC fighters across divisions for a season-long competition, engaging users through standings updates and recaps that extend into the 2025-2026 season.^[24]

Content and Features

News and Multimedia

Sherdog has delivered comprehensive news coverage on mixed martial arts (MMA) since its inception in 1997, featuring daily articles that include event previews, post-fight reviews, fighter updates, and in-depth analysis of ongoing developments across promotions like the UFC and Bellator.^[1] This journalistic output emphasizes narrative-driven reporting on key storylines, such as fighter earnings challenges and tournament outcomes, establishing Sherdog as a primary source for timely MMA insights.^[25] The platform's multimedia offerings extend beyond text to include exclusive interviews, event videos, and photo galleries that capture the sport's intensity. Notable interviews feature UFC co-founder Art Davie discussing the origins of the inaugural UFC event, providing firsthand accounts of its conceptual evolution and fighter selection process.^[26] Videos encompass post-fight press conferences, such as those from UFC Vegas 111, and promotional embeds like UFC 321 episodes, while photo collections document live event moments from weigh-ins to knockouts.^[27][28] Sherdog's audio content is anchored by the Sherdog Podcast Network, which hosts discussion-based shows offering expert commentary on MMA news and events as of 2025. Active programs include "Shillan & Duffy," featuring hosts Keith Shillan and Ben Duffy providing UFC event previews and recaps, and "The Sheehan Show" with in-depth conversations on fighters, promotions, and historical topics.^[29] As a pioneer in MMA-specific storytelling, Sherdog produces annual "Story of the Year" features that highlight pivotal narratives shaping the sport. For instance, the 2022 award recognized the gambling scandal surrounding the UFC Fight Night 214 bout between Darrick Minner and Nuerdanbieke Shayilan, underscoring broader implications for integrity in professional fighting.^[30] These recurring selections, part of Sherdog's year-end awards, prioritize cultural and regulatory impacts over individual performances.^[31]

Fighter Database and Records

Sherdog's fighter database centers on the Fight Finder tool, a robust searchable platform that compiles individual fighter records, win/loss statistics, and comprehensive bout details spanning the origins of mixed martial arts. Launched as the pioneering MMA database, it enables users to filter results by criteria such as fighter names, nicknames, events, referees, organizations, and weight classes, providing access to historical data from early events like those in the 1990s. This tool has documented over 300,000 fighters, nearly 70,000 events, and approaching one million bouts, establishing it as a foundational resource for tracking career trajectories and fight outcomes across global promotions.^[5][10][32] Fighter profiles within the database offer detailed biographical information, including birthdates, nationalities, and professional associations, accompanied by photographs and multimedia elements like videos to illustrate career milestones. Each profile delineates weight class histories, showing the divisions in which fighters have competed over time, often ranging from strawweight to heavyweight across amateur and professional bouts. Career timelines are presented chronologically through full fight records, listing opponents, results (wins by KO/TKO, submission, or decision; losses similarly categorized), event names, dates, locations, rounds, and methods of victory or defeat—for instance, Conor McGregor's profile details his progression from Cage Warriors to UFC dominance, with breakdowns of his 22-6 record (19 KOs/TKOs, 1 submission). These features support thousands of profiles from major promotions like UFC, Bellator, and ONE Championship, emphasizing statistical depth without exhaustive listings.^[33] Renowned as the gold standard for MMA statistics, the database prioritizes accuracy through historical verification against primary event records and real-time post-fight updates to reflect the latest results immediately after events conclude. Maintenance involves cross-checking submissions from fighters, promoters, and official sources to mitigate discrepancies common in MMA record-keeping, ensuring reliability for researchers, coaches, and regulators. Through a longstanding content integration agreement with ESPN since 2007, Sherdog's database extends its reach by sharing fight data across platforms.^[34][18][6]

Community and Forums

Sherdog's forums serve as a central hub for interactive community engagement within the MMA ecosystem, hosting over 175,000 registered members who participate in discussions across various dedicated sections.^[35] The platform, powered by XenForo since its adoption in the 2010s, features categories such as UFC Discussion for event analysis and news commentary, The War Room for fight predictions and strategic debates, Mayberry Lounge for off-topic MMA-related conversations, and Worldwide MMA Discussion for coverage of non-UFC promotions.^[35] These sections collectively encompass more than 1.2 million threads and 58 million messages, reflecting sustained user contributions since the site's inception.^[35] The community plays a pivotal role in cultivating vibrant fan discourse, where members exchange insights on fight outcomes, share insider rumors about potential matchups, and occasionally interact directly with professional fighters who join threads to address queries or clarify statements.^[36] Originating as basic bulletin board-style forums in the late 1990s alongside Sherdog's 1997 founding, these spaces evolved from unmoderated early 2000s boards—characterized by raw, enthusiast-driven exchanges—to a structured, moderated environment that enforces rules against inflammatory content while preserving open debate.^[3] This progression has positioned the forums as a longstanding venue for global MMA enthusiasts to dissect techniques, celebrate undercard talents, and speculate on the sport's future trajectories.^[35] Engagement surges notably during major events like UFC pay-per-views, where threads in fight-specific sections can accumulate thousands of posts in real-time, underscoring the forums' function as a dynamic nexus for worldwide MMA conversation.^[37] For instance, the UFC Discussion area alone boasts over 493,000 threads and 25.7 million messages, illustrating peak activity around high-profile cards that draw international participation and foster collective analysis post-event.^[35]

Rankings and Event Coverage

Sherdog maintains official mixed martial arts rankings that encompass divisional lists across major weight classes, a pound-for-pound top 10 for male fighters, and a separate women's pound-for-pound ranking. These rankings are compiled by the Sherdog editorial staff based on fighters' recent performances, records, and overall impact in the sport, with updates typically issued following significant events such as UFC pay-per-views.^[38][39] The system plays a notable role in shaping perceptions within the MMA community, often referenced by fighters and analysts as an independent benchmark alongside official promotion rankings.^[40] The platform provides extensive event coverage, delivering full fight results, detailed play-by-play commentary, and round-by-round scoring for bouts across numerous promotions. This includes major organizations like the UFC, Bellator, ONE Championship, PFL, and Cage Warriors, with live updates during events and post-event recaps.^[16][41][42] Sherdog's historical archives offer in-depth access to thousands of past events dating back to the late 1990s, preserving outcomes, fighter matchups, and contextual details that support long-term analysis of the sport's evolution.^[16][43] In addition to standard coverage, Sherdog has historically offered free live streams for select regional promotions, such as the Palace Fighting Championships (PFC), where it broadcast events like PFC 11: All In in 2008 and PFC: High Stakes in 2009 to broaden accessibility for smaller leagues.^[44][45][46] Sherdog's analytical tools, primarily through its Fight Finder database, enable users to query statistics on event outcomes, such as win methods, knockout rates, and submission frequencies, while tracking individual fighter trajectories via career records and performance trends. These features stand out for their depth in non-UFC leagues, aggregating data from over 70,000 events and nearly a million fights to highlight patterns in promotions like Bellator and PFL that receive less attention elsewhere.^[10][16]

Ownership and Operations

Founders and Leadership

Sherdog was founded in 1997 by Jeff Sherwood, a photographer whose longtime nickname "Sherdog" directly inspired the site's name.^[47][8] Sherwood, based in Huntington Beach, California, initially created the platform as a personal resource for tracking mixed martial arts events and fighters while pursuing his photography career at events.^[47] He served as the site's primary designer, programmer, and leader, guiding its growth into the premier MMA database over nearly two decades until his departure in April 2016.^[47][48] Garrett Poe emerged as a key early collaborator in the late 1990s, significantly refining Sherdog's functionality and business model during his time as a doctoral student at Mississippi State University.^[3] Poe digitized and uploaded fight footage from around the world, creating highlight compilations that enhanced the site's multimedia appeal and helped establish its reputation for comprehensive coverage.^[49] As co-owner, he played a pivotal role in partnerships, such as the 2007 content agreement with ESPN.com, which expanded Sherdog's audience and integrated its data into mainstream sports platforms.^[18] Poe's technical contributions, including early database improvements, were instrumental in transforming the hobbyist site into a professional operation.^[6] Following Sherwood's 2016 exit, Sherdog's leadership transitioned to a team of experienced editors and radio hosts who have driven content production and community engagement as of 2025. TJ De Santis, who joined the site in December 2005 after a background in FM radio, became program director of the Sherdog Radio Network in 2007 and has since hosted key shows like "Beatdown," focusing on interviews and event previews.^[50][51] Current editorial leadership includes Managing Editor Mike Fridley, who oversees writing and editing with a focus on MMA media excellence, and News Editor Tristen Critchfield, a full-time staffer since 2011 who contributes in-depth analysis and rankings.^[52][53] Associate Editor Jay Pettry, an attorney and statistician, handles features on fight statistics and officiating since joining in the mid-2010s, ensuring the site's data integrity and editorial rigor.^[54] These figures, along with radio hosts like Keith Shillan and contributors such as Marcelo Alonso, have maintained Sherdog's position as a leading MMA resource through consistent, high-quality output.^[55][56]

Corporate Structure and Ownership

Sherdog is currently owned by Evolve Media (Australia) PTY LTD, an Australian-registered digital media company. As an unfunded independent operation within Evolve Media's portfolio, Sherdog functions as a specialized property dedicated to mixed martial arts coverage, without external venture funding or major corporate infusions.^[4][57] The platform's ownership evolved from its early independent status to integration within larger media networks. Initially under private control following its 1997 launch, Sherdog was acquired by CraveOnline Media in March 2007, which incorporated it into a broader ecosystem of male-oriented lifestyle and entertainment sites. CraveOnline itself operated as a division of Evolve Media LLC, established in 2004, thereby placing Sherdog under Evolve's umbrella from that point onward. In 2023, following the 2022 announcement, Evolve Media relaunched Sherdog with updated features and enhanced user experience, solidifying its role as a flagship brand in the company's holdings.^[3][58][59] Operationally, Sherdog is based in Los Angeles, where Evolve Media's team focuses on content creation, including news, databases, and multimedia production tailored to MMA audiences. The business model remains ad-supported, relying on advertising revenue from sponsors in the combat sports industry, with no reported major changes to its corporate structure or ownership as of November 2025.^[60][1]