Driven by passion and knowledge, Laura Sanko has unlimited opportunities to break more barriers
If you looked up the fighter profile of Laura Sanko, the resume would be short but the timing of her career would prove that she’s been around the sport since women began making an impact in MMA, and she hasn’t stopped making her impact.
Having experience as a fighter gives Sanko a different perspective in the way she covers and discusses the sport in her broadcasting role, but a deeper look into her passion and knowledge, Sanko is fit for any role she sets out for. In a recent interview with MMA Junkie she revealed that she is setting out to become the first female color commentator for the UFC, and it’s not hard to see Sanko would be a perfect fit.
Recently making an appearance with the ‘On The Mic’ podcast, Sanko went in-depth about some of the most important things in the fight game, including the growth of women’s MMA and her career following and covering younger fighters on their respective paths to the UFC.
With the first fight of her career happening in 2010 and her professional fight coming in 2013, Sanko has been around since the beginning, seeing the rise of women’s MMA and how it is tougher for even the most elite female fighters to have records similar to some of the top male fighters.
“It’s really fascinating to study the female side of things and oppose it to the men side of things because they’re two different tales in a lot of ways.” Sanko said, “Amanda Nunes is a perfect example, I definitely think she has every right to be in the conversation of the greatest fighter of all-time…what’s crazy to think about is back in the day when she was fighting in Invicta FC or other smaller organizations, she took some losses from some fighters that I would definitely say are not up to her par at this point. She has been in this game for a very long time and you see this with other female fighters as well, they don’t have the shiniest record. You don’t end up with the Khabib Nurmagomedov [28-0] because there were so many years spent taking whatever you can get.”
The path to success for female fighters has not been an easy one since they started out and as Laura Sanko pointed out, some of the very best female fighters in the world stand out above the rest, but the gap in talent between the rest of the group isn’t far off, because they’re all still growing.
“The female side of things, the gap between excellent and really really good is not that big. You’ve got outliers like Valentina Schevchenko and Amanda Nunes, but even then, Amanda mops the floor with a lot of people but there’s sometimes where you see her in moments where you’re like ‘Oh’. You don’t have these fighters that look completely invincible on the female side of things and frankly, in a lot of ways, I think it makes it a lot more exciting but it speaks to the fact that women have had to claw their way into their careers. As a result you have a lot of women who have 10-6 or 10-5 record but they’re really, really good.”
Knowing and experiencing firsthand the growth of women’s MMA speaks to the knowledge Laura Sanko has not just about the sport but in the evolution of it, and it is within the evolution of fighters that she shows her passion. As both a reporter for Dana White’s Contender Series and Invicta FC, Sanko notes that following the journey of these fighters is one of her most favorite things about her job.
“Oh, you have no idea. Contender Series is probably my favorite thing that I do even though it’s not necessarily the ‘high-profiled’ of the different roles that I play but it’s definitely my favorite. I get so attached to those guys and girls because I spend probably even more time researching them than I do when I do a UFC fight…You get really attached to the emotion that is included in such a huge moment. That’s what I think makes Contender Series so special, not only is this by definition the biggest of these fighters’ careers, when they win that contract, it is truly life-changing. It’s so incredible to physically be there in their presence when they get that news, I can’t help but get swept up in the emotion.”
That emotion and passion that she covers every event, no matter what level it is, is just another way of Sanko showing that she’s right where she belongs in covering MMA, and she’s not afraid to show emotion either.
“Honestly, it’s only a matter of time before I full out ugly-cry on television but I can’t help it because I genuinely care about every single one of those men and women, win or lose, honestly. The same thing with Invicta, it’s so cool when I’ll see someone that I’ve known forever in Invicta and we’re in some random city and they run up to me and we have this huge hug and it’s like ‘How are we both here? Not just you, but how am I here?’ That journey is near and dear to my heart and I feel it with them.”
As she continues to progress and move forward in her career, there should be no doubt why Laura Sanko is in the place she is at and the success that is ultimately headed her way. She’s well respected among her peers and the MMA media and is without a doubt an authentic and genuine personality in a sport that fits her perfectly. First, it was about fighting, then it became about Invicta, and now her aspirations to become a color commentator for the UFC display the same work ethic from Sanko, that she sees in the fighters that she cares so passionately about. The best part about it, from the fighters to herself, they’re all supposed to be here.
