Laura Sanko’s path to becoming the first woman to commentate on a UFC pay-per-view in 30 years wasn’t planned out as a kid. There was no five-year roadmap. It was fraught by personal struggles, finding therapy through fighting, and a stubborn refusal to accept that MMA belonged only to men.
Laura Sanko
“Mixed martial arts saved me at three different points of my life,” Sanko said in an earlier interview. When she first stepped into a gym in 2006, she just needed an escape. MMA became therapy for me because you literally can’t think about anything else when someone’s trying to punch you or when you’re doing jiu-jitsu and you’re in the middle of a physical puzzle. It made me feel powerful.”
For her first seven years training, Sanko was usually the only woman in the gym. The men around her weren’t always sure she belonged there. “The hardest part was figuring out how to fit in with the team without making it about being different,” she told BBC Sport in December. She didn’t ask for respect, she earned it by showing up every day, grinding, and never letting them see her quit. “It was about showing up consistently, putting in the effort, and not demonstrating any weakness.”
After seven amateur fights and a stint with Invicta FC starting in 2013, Sanko left the cage to raise a family. But that didn’t mean leaving MMA behind. She saw an opening and took it. Shannon Knapp, president of Invicta FC, was the one who opened that door with a phone call out of nowhere. “I really need to credit Invicta FC’s president Shannon Knapp for starting my broadcast career. She called me out of the blue and asked me to do a live sideline interview during an upcoming show.” Sanko had no broadcast experience, but Knapp believed in her.
The real opportunity came with Dana White’s Contender Series. “I got a call from the UFC, ‘We’re thinking of launching this new show,’ and I knew when they approached me that it was a really special opportunity,” Sanko recalled. She started on the sidelines doing post-fight interviews, but she wanted more. “I immediately had my eyes set on what’s the most I can achieve. My ultimate goal was commentary. I knew I could do it. I just started asking for more and more.”
September 2023 at UFC 293 was the moment. Sanko became the first woman in the modern era to call a PPV when she commentated Sean Strickland’s shock win over Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title. “It wasn’t because I was rooting for anyone in particular, but being able to be part of that moment, and being the first woman to call a PPV in 30 years, it was and is a big deal,” she told BBC Sport. Kathy Long, a kickboxing champion, had done it at UFC 1 in 1993. That was almost three decades ago.
“It’s a different standard for the fans. I feel like I have to get it right, and not just for me,” she said. “I have to get it right because if I suck, then all women suck. That’s just how it is.” It’s a brutal truth she’s accepted. The social media pile-on hits harder. The bar sits higher.
“On one hand, you want to celebrate it and it is special, but on the other, I look forward to the day when it is not unique and it’s not news,” she said in the BBC interview. Her real goal is simple: she wants women in MMA broadcasting to become so common that nobody writes about it anymore.
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari – Zuffa LLC
Contract talks are part of the game now that she’s proven herself. In December 2025, Paul Felder signed a five-year commentary deal with the UFC. Fans online suggested that both Felder and Sanko represent where UFC broadcasting is headed. No official word has come out about Sanko’s contract situation as of late 2025, but her track record speaks for itself. The UFC clearly values what she brings to the booth.
When she talks to young girls interested in sports or fighting, she keeps it direct: “First, even though you’re young and it’s hard to do when you’re young, try and think about long-term success and your goals. Second, put in the effort. It’s not glamorous for a long time, and that’s OK.”
