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UFC’s Laura Sanko snaps back at former MMA champion who says her commentary is ‘Ruining the fights’

UFC's Laura Sanko snaps back at former MMA champion who says her commentary is 'ruining the fights' While the UFC’s return to The APEX delivered some epic finishes, Laura Sanko may have scored the biggest knockout…

While the UFC’s return to The APEX delivered some epic finishes, Laura Sanko may have scored the biggest knockout of the night.

Sanko returned to the commentary table on Saturday night for a loaded UFC Vegas 89 card featuring the return of former two-time strawweight world champion ‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas. As usual, Sanko was a welcome addition to the broadcast, sharing her expertise through the 13-fight card. However, not everyone was appreciative of her efforts.

Crawling out of whatever hole he lives in these days, former WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner went on the attack, calling out Sanko and her “annoying” commentary in a pair of scathing posts online.

Varner expressed his disdain for Laura Sanko’s commentary on X, writing: “Leave the commentary to the people that have actually fought. A female UFC fighter should have that job, she is just annoying and it’s obvious she is trying so hard and doesn’t know what she is talking about.” Varner added in a follow-up post that Sanko is “a try-hard that speaks about things she knows nothing about. Talking about blast doubles and how tiring it could be in the first round of the fight, like what do you know about any of those things? Stay in your lane.”

Laura Sanko Reminds Jamie Varner of the time they fought on the same card

Clearly, Varner forgot that Laura Sanko is in fact a former fighter, having amassed a 5-1 overall record while competing for promotions such as Titan FC and Invicta. Responding to Varner’s criticism, Sanko even recalled details of when the two former fighters appeared on the same card together.

“It’s ok that you don’t like my commentary, but respectfully, I’ve been a part of this game and training since 2006,” Sanko wrote. I’m a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu and while I can’t compare my career to yours I have in fact fought. And if UFC had a 105 division I would have fought a lot longer.

“You and I actually fought on the same card in 2011 for Titan FC. We warmed up next to each other in the basement of the Memorial Hall building in KCK. My best friend braided your hair because you couldn’t find anyone to do it. I remember thinking how cool it was at the time to be on a card with you. I had followed your career in the WEC and was a little star-struck to be honest.”

For those curious, the event in question was Titan FC 20 in September 2011. Sanko won her bout against Kyla Potter in less than a minute via armbar while Varner lost his fight with current BKFC standout Dakota Cochrane.

Sanko put her mixed martial arts career to bed in 2013, but she was far from done in the sport. After earning her spot as a roving reporter for the UFC, she was given a shot at the commentary booth in 2021, joining the broadcast team for Dana White’s Contender Series. Two years later, Sanko made history at UFC 293 in Australia by becoming the first woman in the promotion’s Zuffa era to serve as a color commentator.

Sanko’s energetic and insightful commentary has been a welcomed addition to every broadcast she participates in and has quickly become a favorite among fight fans.

Laura Sanko set for commentary duty at UFC 293 in Australia, lands pay-Per-View debut

With UFC 293 taking place this weekend in Sydney, Australia – veteran color-commentator, Joe Rogan has taken a step back from continued international pay-per-view duty, allowing fan-favorite analyst and former professional fighter, Laura Sanko to make her long-awaited debut in a flagship booth. Sanko, a former atomweight fighter, competed once under the Invicta FC banner […]

Sanko, a former atomweight fighter, competed once under the Invicta FC banner back in 2013, landing a submission win over Cassie Rob under the scrutiny of the Shannon Knapp-led promotion.

Laura Sanko makes PPV commentary bow this weekend at UFC 293

And since switching her talents to broadcasting and analyst work, Sanko, who has already served in a commentary booth for ‘Fight Night’ billed cards this year, as well as on Dana White’s Contender Series most notably – will handle microphone duty from the booth this weekend at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia.

#UFC293 commentary team, broadcast plans set: Laura Sanko makes pay-per-view commentating debut (via @MikeBohn) https://t.co/M4pAjzVih7

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 4, 2023

Alongside the Kansas City native we have former two-weight UFC champion and Hall of Fame inductee, Daniel Cormier providing color-commentary, while stalwart caller, Jon Anik returns to the booth, replacing John Gooden as the play-by-play lead.

UFC 293 features the first of two championship fights for the promotion in the month of September, with undisputed middleweight kingpin, Israel Adesanya headlining ‘Down Under’ once again, as he takes on surging divisional contender, Sean Strickland over the course of five scheduled rounds.

In the night’s co-headliner, hometwon favorite, Tai Tuivasa makes his Octagon return as he welcomes towering Russian striker, Alexander Volkov to Sydney this weekend.

While Laura Sanko provides commentary duty, fellow broadcasting staple, Megan Olivi makes her return to a rovering reporter role as per MMA Junkie, prodiving real-time updates throughout the event at the Qudos Bank Arena, as well as conducting both pre and post-fight interviews with athletes competing on the UFC 293 card.

Travelling internationally last weekend for UFC Fight Night Paris at the Accor Arena, veteran Octagon announcer, Bruce Buffer is also slated to make the trip to Australia to provide fighter introductions before each and every clash.

Are you happy to see fan-favorite Laura Sanko call the action at UFC 293?

Laura Sanko denies rumor she’s enamored with UFC star Shavkat Rakhmonov: ‘I don’t have a crush on the man’

Laura Sanko is setting the record straight regarding her alleged crush on UFC welterweight contender Shavkat Rakhmonov. Earlier this year, a video of Sanko praising ‘Nomad’ for his impeccable work inside the Octagon went viral. Fans quickly began suggesting that the former fighter-turned-commentator was crushing all over the Kazakh. Rakhmonov even acknowledged the video during […]

Laura Sanko is setting the record straight regarding her alleged crush on UFC welterweight contender Shavkat Rakhmonov.

Earlier this year, a video of Sanko praising ‘Nomad’ for his impeccable work inside the Octagon went viral. Fans quickly began suggesting that the former fighter-turned-commentator was crushing all over the Kazakh. Rakhmonov even acknowledged the video during a UFC media event while speaking through a translator. “As a man, you always like when a woman adores you,” ‘Nomad’ responded when asked for his thoughts on Sanko’s comments.

Additional fuel was added to the fire during the official UFC 285 weigh-ins when Laura Sanko sported a traditional Kazakh hat, just as Rakhmonov does before and after his fights. Gently stroking the tail of the headpiece, speculation turned to full-blown allegations that Sanko was crushing hard on the undefeated fighter.

Laura Sanko Gained 20,000 Followers After Praising Shavkat Rakhmonov in Viral Video

As Laura Sanko was covering the UFC 287 weigh-ins last weekend, middleweight fighter Gerald Meerschaert offered to score Shavkat Rakhmonov’s phone number for her. The comment prompted Sanko to address the allegations that she had an infatuation with the Kazakh.

“Can we address this? I don’t have a crush on the man,” Sanko revealed. “I like his fighting style. An entire country thinks I do and I need to correct the record. I’m still a fan, I just don’t have a crush. The entire country of Kazakhstan is very excited about it because I got like 20,000 new followers. I have a husband.

In a sport surrounded by bitter rivalry and cringeworthy trash talk, fans were excited to jump on a storyline surrounded by admiration and affection. Fans had to push the narrative a bit, but Laura Sanko’s near-euphoric look while stroking her ‘Shavkat hat’ was all the additional ammo they needed. In reality, Sanko is a happily-married woman and a consummate professional who felt it was best to squash the rumors before they escalated any further.

“Passion And Skillset Pays Off” – Laura Sanko Talks UFC Commentary Role

Dana White’s Contender Series commentator Laura Sanko has shed some light on her new role in the UFC. For the first time in 30 years, the world’s premier MMA organization had a female color commentator present for one of its events. Before …

Continue Reading “Passion And Skillset Pays Off” – Laura Sanko Talks UFC Commentary Role at MMA News.

Laura Sanko impresses Dana White at the commentary table on Saturday night; ‘This was her destiny’

Laura Sanko has come a long way since her days as a roving reporter for the UFC. On Saturday night, Sanko made history by becoming the first female to commentate for a major UFC event in the Zuffa era. Emanating from The APEX in Las Vegas, Sanko joined John Gooden and former middleweight champion Michael […]

Laura Sanko has come a long way since her days as a roving reporter for the UFC.

On Saturday night, Sanko made history by becoming the first female to commentate for a major UFC event in the Zuffa era. Emanating from The APEX in Las Vegas, Sanko joined John Gooden and former middleweight champion Michael Bisping to call the action, which included the Road to the UFC tournament finals. In the main event of the evening, Serghei Spivak scored a first-round submission over perennial contender Derrick Lewis.

Laura Sanko’s performance was largely praised as she held her own alongside her more experienced counterparts. Following the event, UFC president Dana White shared his thoughts on her performance while speaking to Megan Olivi.

“This was her destiny and she’s been a savage since the day she walked in here, pushing for this hard,” White said. “Tonight was her big night. She delivered. I had tons of people texting me talking about what a great job she did and I’m happy for her.”

Dana White Confirms We Will Be Seeing More of Laura Sanko at the Commentary Table

Though Saturday’s card was the highest-profile event Laura Sanko has called for the Las Vegas-based promotion, she is far from a stranger to the commentary table. After receiving a cold call to commentate for Invicta FC in 2014, Sanko joined the UFC broadcast team two years later, operating as a backstage reporter and interviewer. She received the opportunity to call fights for Dana White‘s Contender Series in 2021. After receiving critical acclaim, it was just a matter of time before she made the leap from Tuesday nights to Saturday.

“Being elevated to this new UFC Fight Night role is exciting for many reasons,” Sanko said in an interview with AA. “Like most people in business, I set short-term and long-term goals. And being able to serve as the color commentator for a UFC card felt so distant when I started. But with each step in my career, I realized it was obtainable.

“So there is something very surreal about achieving a goal, and a reset that comes with adjusting your mindset from this being a goal to now being a reality. I can point to the hard work and know passion and skillset pays off. And that can help me as I create new goals for myself, both in short and long term.”

Laura Sanko was the first woman to sit in the booth since famed kickboxer Kathy Long did so at UFC 1 on November 12, 1993.

“Yeah, of course,” White said when asked if we would continue to see Sanko in the booth at UFC events.

UFC Commentator Questions If Valentina Shevchenko’s Age Will Play A Factor At Noche UFC 306

Laura Sanko recently pondered whether Valentina Shevchenko’s age might emerge as a crucial variable in her upcoming title fight against Alexa Grasso at Noche UFC 306. Shevchenko is set to challenge reigning UFC flyweight champion Grasso in a highly anticipated trilogy bout, serving as the co-main event of this Saturday’s pay-per-view spectacle at the Sphere […]

Continue Reading UFC Commentator Questions If Valentina Shevchenko’s Age Will Play A Factor At Noche UFC 306 at MMA News.

Laura Sanko recently pondered whether Valentina Shevchenko’s age might emerge as a crucial variable in her upcoming title fight against Alexa Grasso at Noche UFC 306.

Shevchenko is set to challenge reigning UFC flyweight champion Grasso in a highly anticipated trilogy bout, serving as the co-main event of this Saturday’s pay-per-view spectacle at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“Bullet” kicked off her dominant reign as the UFC’s 125-pound champion with a decisive unanimous decision win over Hall of Famer Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231 in December 2018, setting the stage for an unstoppable title run. Shevchenko went on to defend her title an impressive seven times, cementing her legacy. However, her historic run hit a roadblock at UFC 285 in March 2023 when she was stunned by Grasso, succumbing to a shocking fourth-round submission.

The two faced off once again in the main event of the inaugural Noche UFC last September. The result, still a hot topic of debate, ended in a polarizing split draw, with Grasso retaining her title. Despite the stalemate, Shevchenko appeared overwhelmed by the Mexican champion in parts, who got the better of most of the striking exchanges.

Even before her loss to Grasso, Shevchenko, who turned 36 this March, showed signs of vulnerability during her title defense against Taila Santos at UFC 275 in June 2022. However, the Kyrgyz-born Peruvian narrowly avoided an upset, escaping with a razor-thin split-decision victory.

All of this has sparked Sanko to question whether “Bullet’s” age might prove to be a deciding factor in the trilogy bout against Grasso…

Sanko Wonders If Shevchenko’s Best Days Are Behind Her

During a recent episode of One On One | MMA with Din Thomas, Sanko dove into a discussion about the upcoming Grasso vs. Shevchenko showdown. The UFC’s first female commentator posed an intriguing question to Thomas, asking whether the former flyweight queen could still maintain her razor-sharp edge at 36 or if time has begun to dull her once-dominant prowess.

“Can you make that adjustment at 36?” Sanko asked. “I can say that as a mature woman of nearly 42. 36 is, you know, it’s not old, but it’s the beginning of what we call old in MMA. It’s the beginning of that if we’re being honest. So, I guess my question to you is: Can she make those adjustments at this stage in her career?”

Thomas responded by acknowledging that while he’s not ruling out Shevchenko’s chances against Grasso, he believes 36 is the age when fighters often begin to struggle with the psychological demands of the sport, which could impact their performance.

“The hard part is, physically, I think you could make them, but at 36, what I’m talking about is more psychological. At 36, you’re just in a different place psychologically, and you’re thinking about vacation and bills and what you’re going to do after the fight. Now, that may not be what we admit to, but that’s just what happens. We don’t like to admit that, but you just don’t want to slap a person in the face anymore after 36. It just… I don’t know if she can make those adjustments, but I’m not gonna count her out.”

Prior to her defeat against Grasso, Shevchenko hadn’t lost to anyone in the UFC aside from Amanda Nunes. However, history has shown that many fighters over the age of 35 tend to exhibit signs of decline in their performances. This makes it all the more interesting to see how Shevchenko will rise to the challenge against Grasso, who is not only four years younger but brimming with momentum.

Read More: TUF 32 Fighter Hints At ‘Favoritism’ From Valentina Shevchenko Ahead Of UFC Vegas 97 Scrap

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