Laura Sanko wants to become the first female commentator in the UFC

Laura Sanko has quickly made a name for herself in the media game. And she has made her career goal pretty clear: She wants to become the first female commentator in the UFC and call the fights cageside.

Sanko is a former professional MMA fighter and has the capability of contributing to the analysis and coverage of the fight game.

Following her fighting career, Sanko transitioned to the media game and reported for Invicta FC, FOX Sports, and ESPN.

You might recognize her from Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday nights.

“I would do it in a heartbeat,” Sanko recently told MMA Junkie Radio. “I would do it in a heartbeat because that’s my dream.

If I’m being honest, and that’s my goal, and it’s a tough case to make because I don’t have the resume that the UFC fighters do, and that’s who they really like to use in those roles.

But there aren’t hundreds of women that have fought and who are also – this is the thing: I see these arguments online. ‘Oh she beat this person, she beat that person,’ and I’ll flat out say X, Y or Z women has more fights than I do, she’s really fun and interesting, and I’m a huge fan, but talking on television and doing live analysis during fights is a different animal.”

Sanko understands there is stiff competition for the commentary seat considering the UFC has former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, Hall of Famer Michale Bisping, and former two-division champion Daniel Cormier as commentary staples.

“It’s not even can you articulate the moves; it’s a lot of the stuff that happens behind the scenes in terms of the prep work and doing things appropriately,” Sanko said.

“There’s just so much more that goes into the job that I do feel like I’m capable of doing, it’s just can I get past the hump of – here’s the thing: I don’t really fit any mold.

But my point is they’ve never had a reporter in the past with fight experience and who I think over the years I’ve been able to build at least – probably among the diehards – some amount of reputation for knowing what I’m talking about.”