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Signings, matchmaking, injuries, commission rulings. Fast, sourced, and correct — in that order of difficulty, not importance.
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Write for
Write for
MMA Zone
We are an independent outlet, which means we are not chasing whatever the promotion put in a press release this morning. If you watch the tape, know the regional scene, or have a story nobody else is telling — we want to read it.
Free account · No pitch email · An editor reads everything
Commissions
What we're looking for
Analysis
Why a fight went the way it did. Film-room breakdowns, stylistic matchups, the adjustment nobody else noticed between rounds two and three.
Features
The people around the sport. Cutmen, matchmakers, coaches, fighters six months out from a debut nobody has written about yet.
The regional scene
The part of the sport that gets covered least and matters most. If you know a local circuit, that is a beat we cannot cover without you.
Sections currently open
UFC
Results
Matchmaking
Features
Analysis
Business
Save yourself the time
What we turn down
- Rewrites of a press release. If the promotion already published it, we do not need it again in different words.
- Aggregation of somebody else's reporting without adding anything. Credit and link the original instead.
- AI-generated copy. Research with whatever you like; the reporting and the writing have to be yours.
- Unsourced rumour. "People are saying" is not a source. Name it or leave it out.
- Personal attacks on fighters, staff or other writers. Criticise the performance, not the person.
Straight answer
Contributing is unpaid for now
We are not going to dress that up. MMA Zone is independent and early, and there is no contributor budget yet. If being paid is the point for you — and that is a completely reasonable position — this is not the right place to spend your writing time today.
What you do get is a real byline on a real masthead, your work in the feeds and on your profile, an editor who actually edits, and clips you own and can show anyone.
You keep your work. Publishing here is not exclusive — you are free to republish anything of yours elsewhere, and to take it with you.
If and when there is a budget, the people who have been writing here are the first people we come to. That is an intention, not a contract, and we would rather say it that way round.
How it works
From draft to published
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Write it
Draft in your own time. Markdown for headings, quotes and emphasis. Save as often as you like — nothing is sent until you say so.
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Send it
One button. Your piece goes into the editors' queue and locks so nobody is editing the same text from two directions.
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3
We read it
Every submission is read by a person. Accepted work moves into our drafts for a normal edit; rejected work comes back with a written reason.
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4
It publishes
Under your byline, on your profile, in the feeds and the sitemap — the same treatment as anything staff write.
Non-negotiable
How we handle facts
Every claim needs a source, and we publish them. Submissions carry a source list that appears under the finished article. If the only source is a person who will not be named, say that in the copy and tell your editor who they are.
We correct in public. When we get something wrong we add a dated correction to the article rather than quietly editing it. That is the whole point of a correction — a silent fix is indistinguishable from having never been wrong.
You keep the byline. Editing is for clarity, length and house style. If an edit would change what the piece actually says, we come back to you first.
Before you ask
Questions
Do I need to be a journalist?
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No. We care whether you can report accurately and write clearly, not where you trained. Plenty of the best MMA writing comes from people who simply watch more tape than everyone else.
How long should a piece be?
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There is no word count. A breaking story might be 300 words; a feature might be 3,000. Make it as long as the story needs and no longer.
What happens after I submit?
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An editor reads every submission. If it is accepted it moves into our drafts for editing, and you keep the byline. If it is not, you get a written reason and can revise and resubmit.
How long does review take?
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It depends on the news cycle. Time-sensitive breaking stories are looked at first; features can take longer. You can see the status of everything you have sent from your submissions page.
Can I edit a piece after sending it?
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Not while an editor has it — approving text that has since been changed would not be fair on anyone. Drafts stay editable, and a rejected piece unlocks again so you can act on the feedback.
Do you accept AI-written articles?
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No. Use whatever tools help you research, but the reporting and the writing have to be yours. Submissions that read as machine-generated are rejected.
Is contributing paid?
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Not at the moment. MMA Zone is independent and early, and there is no contributor budget yet. You keep a real byline, your work is not exclusive to us, and you are free to republish it anywhere.
Ready
Got a story?
You do not need to pitch it first. Write the piece, send it, and an editor will read it.