During the UFC 279 weigh-in show, Sanko joked that Shavkat “gives me chills” — in regards to his perfect 16-0 (at the time) record, which included a 100% finish rate.

Back at UFC 285 in March, Rakhmonov was asked by Cageside Press about Sanko saying she was “impressed” by the Kazakh fighter. In response, via translator, Shavkat stated that “as a man, you always like when a woman adores you.”

Things sort of blew up from there.

“I almost forgot you were responsible for that. You asked one question and the whole world lights on fire,” Sanko told us at this year’s 15th Annual World MMA Awards, assuring us that no apologies were necessary. “It was certainly blown out of proportion, but that’s okay, I got quite a bit of Instagram following out of it. I will say this, the Kazakh fans are absolutely amazing, and I’ve kind of fallen in love with the idea of Kazakhstan and even Shavkat related.”

The larger following is a bonus, but Sanko’s profile was expected to grow anyway. She’s become the second female analyst to appear on UFC events as part of the on-air commentary team, and the first to do so on multiple occasions, following in the footsteps of Kathy Long.

That said, she also understands critics who were reluctant to embrace her addition to the broadcast team.

“We all like things to stay the same way, especially if we like the way things are. And something new can feel unwanted. Unnecessary. Why are we doing this? I get that, I genuinely understand it,” stated Sanko. “But for a sport that puts its female athletes on the same platform as its male athletes, for a sport that I think has done the best job creating equity between the athletes, it only makes sense to have representation in the broadcast booth.”

“It wasn’t necessarily about me being a woman. Obviously that’s part of the story, but I really just wanted to go out there and a be the voice of a fan, and it just so happens to be a female voice.”

Watch our full interview with UFC analyst Laura Sanko above.

The post Laura Sanko Feels MMA Has Done “Best Job Creating Equity” Between Male and Female Athletes appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I have no official announcements as of yet, but I think there’s a strong chance,” Sanko told Cageside Press at UFC X on Friday.

Could we be looking at Sanko in Salt Lake City next to Joe Rogan and Jon Anik?

“I will not be in Salt Lake City, I’ve got family vacation, but maybe shortly thereafter,” she said.

The teaser is in as Sanko fans wait for an official announcement of her first PPV commentary gig.

A popular UFC staple for official weigh-ins has been the weigh-in show that features Laura Sanko and Daniel Cormier. During the show panelists compete in challenges with an actual belt on the line.

The heated rivalry on that show between DC and Sanko is something that’s taken on a life of it’s own.

“I think I’m the most dominant champion. I’ll let popularity be decided by the people, but I think if we were to go back and count up the number of times that I have won that belt I would far surpass everyone on the show specially my main nemesis DC,” Sanko said.

On a more serious note Sanko was a part of the Glory MMA gym in Kansas City that had been lead by James Krause. The gym is no longer under his management and has a new name, but the controversy that has involved Krause and the gym has not been lost on fans and fighters alike.

“I don’t really have a statement because so much of it doesn’t really involve me so I’m not going to comment on that, but there’s a lot of good people in Kansas City. There’s still a lot of good people in Kansas City,” she said.

“I think there are always lots of sides to every story and the people that I know, all of them, all of them are good people.”

Watch the entire UFC X interview with Laura Sanko above.

The post Laura Sanko Teases PPV Commentary Debut, Talks Rivalry With DC appeared first on Cageside Press.

Promotion officials announced the news in a press release distributed on Monday.

Sanko, 40, competed as an amateur in the early 2010s, later turning pro in 2013 and winning her lone fight against Cassie Robb. She then made the transition to the broadcast booth, first for Invicta FC, and later under the Zuffa banner.

In recent years, she’s kept a high profile, providing commentary on Dana White’s Contender Series while interviewing competitors and UFC President Dana White on each episode of the show.

Sanko will be the first female color commentator on a UFC broadcast since UFC 1, where kickboxer Kathy Long appeared in the booth. No female analyst has appeared during the promotion’s broadcasts since, though several have worked pre- and post-show duties at the desk as hosts and analysts, while others have featured in backstage interview segments.

“Taking the next step to join the UFC commentary team has been a goal of mine since I began my broadcast career,” Laura Sanko said in Monday’s press release. “It is an honor to walk in the footprint of Kathy Long 30 years after her appearance on UFC 1. I consider it a true privilege to be part of the team that is a voice to our incredible fans, communicating the fighting art of each man and woman who steps inside the UFC Octagon.”

Sanko first appeared before the UFC audience in 2016, when the promotion was still broadcast on FOX.

“I can’t think of anyone better to be the first female color commentator for the modern UFC era than Laura,” Dana White was quoted as saying as part of Monday’s announcement. “She has worked incredibly hard to prove herself and get to this position and I couldn’t be prouder to have her calling the action.”

UFC Vegas 68 (UFC Fight Night 218) takes place this Saturday, February 4, 2023 at the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card is headlined by heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Serghei Spivac.

The post Laura Sanko to Make UFC Color Commentary Debut at UFC Vegas 68 appeared first on Cageside Press.

It’s an honor that was just starting to sink in ahead of the show. “Honestly I’m kind of having a hard time absorbing this moment right now,” Sanko, a former fighter herself, told Cageside Press. “I was in a rush to get ready, I’m alone in my hotel room and had no one to zip up my dress, little things like that. Then I get here, and it’s kind of starting to sink in now.”

“It’s been a really, really special year. A very special year. And I’m very honored to be the first female to be nominated in this category.”

If Joe Rogan calls in sick some day, you’d better believe Sanko is ready to step up. “Yes. Yes. I’m in,” she replied before we could even finish the question.

There’s no question Sanko’s broadcast career has been looking up of late. While she didn’t take home Personality of the Year in the end, in September, she became the first woman in history to provide color commentary in the Zuffa era, working the booth during Dana White’s Contender Series.

She’s come a long way, in other words, from the days where people thought she was too fancy to fight. In fact, that’s exactly how she got her fighting nickname: Laura “Fancy” Sanko.

“When I first started fighting — this is going to make me sound really stuck up, but I’m not — I was driving a Porsche Boxster. This little yellow convertible, and I’d be ripping around town, show up to practice, do my thing or whatever,” Sanko recalled. “One of the guys I knew found out I was going to take a fight, not just train anymore. We were out on the town, I was out with a friend at a bar, we ran into him and he was like ‘you’re not going to fight, you’re too fancy to fight!’ And so I was like, that was my middle finger to that moment, was adopting that as my nickname. I’m like ‘I am fancy— and I fight!'”

Watch our full interview with Laura Sanko ahead of the 2021 World MMA Awards above.

The post Laura Sanko Explains Origins of “Fancy” Nickname, Discusses “Very Special Year” in Her Career appeared first on Cageside Press.

Laura Sanko will finally be getting her opportunity in the commentary booth as she is set to call the action for Dana White’s Contender Series.  Previously only the in-cage/backstage reporter, Sanko will be making history as the first woman to fill a commentary role for the UFC in any capacity in the Zuffa or Endeavor era. Kathy Long commentated at UFC 1 — but did not return for any subsequent events.

Sanko’s broadcast career has seen her go from being a reporter at Invicta events to being one of the most popular talents on the mic for the UFC.  Sanko has taken on multiple on-camera roles for the company with Contender Series, being an analyst during the UFC’s weigh-in show before pay-per-view events, and being the backstage reporter for the UFC’s Quick Hits on YouTube and Facebook.  She has also notably been a commentator for both Invicta and LFA, most recently working LFA 114 last week.

Aside from her broadcast work, Sanko carries her credentials as a former fighter who competed once as a professional and five times as an amateur.  “Fancy” won her professional debut for Invicta in 2013 and was scheduled for a second bout before withdrawing after finding out she was pregnant with her son.  Sanko went 4-1 as an amateur.

Sanko is one of a handful of women to be part of the UFC’s broadcast team in recent years with Megan Olivi, Karyn Bryant, Heidi Androl, and Angela Hill being her contemporaries in the company.

The post Laura Sanko Makes History in Commentating Debut at Contender Series appeared first on Cageside Press.

Las Vegas, NV — It’s easy to forget that Laura Sanko, who currently handles interviews and in-cage announcing duties for the Contender Series (not to mention her role with Invicta), was once a fighter herself. In the early 2010s, Sanko made appearances for Titan FC and Invicta.

The MMA landscape has changed a fair bit since those days, but the more things change, the more they stay the game. Fight night jitters. The highs of winning and the lows of losing. Ahead of the third season premiere of Dana White’s Contender Series, Sanko told reporters including Cageside Press that “every time I see a fighter walk out, I get almost nauseous to be honest with you. It reminds me of the times I was able to do that. I feel the excitement for every single one of those fighters, every single winner, and my heart aches for every single loser.”

“I feel a lot of ownership over this show in a lot of ways,” she added.

The new Apex facility gives a bit of a movie-set quality feel to the production this season. “I think that’s fair to say,” Sanko said of the suggestion. “I think you’re right, the TUF Gym feels a little bit more Fight Pass-y, a little bit more like Invicta. If I screw up, maybe I won’t lose my job. In here, it’s ‘oh man, it’s go time. It’s go time!'”

Still, she said Tuesday at the UFC Apex, “I love doing live interviews, I love doing live hits. It kind of just is what it is. I thrive off that. It feeds the adrenaline of not fighting anymore.”

As for the fights on her radar, “I think the ladies fight tonight is going to be really interesting. You’ve got Kali Robbins and Hannah Goldy coming in here. Goldy is undefeated, Kali Robbins has done a lot of good in a number of organizations. I remember watching her first hand in Invicta. I always like to watch the ladies throw down, so that’s one I’m definitely looking forward to.”

As well, Hawaii’s Punahele Soriano stands out. “You can’t get a guy who at least on paper is just [more] perfect for this show. 5-0, all finishes, all in the first round,” she noted. “If he can do that, you’ve got to believe he’s going to get the contract.”

The post Laura Sanko Gives Her Picks On Who to Watch in Contender Series Season 3 Premiere appeared first on Cageside Press.