UFC commentator Laura Sanko has opened up about her short-lived fight profession.
The 42-year-old went 6-1 in amateur MMA before turning skilled with Invicta FC in 2013.
Laura Sanko locked up a rear-naked choke submission to beat Cassie Robb inside two rounds.
After that, the fan favorite never fought again, despite backing herself to have a ‘solid run’ if the UFC created an atomweight division.
Laura Sanko explains 1-0 MMA profession
12 years after her pro-MMA debut, Sanko is widely considered top-of-the-line broadcasters in MMA.
The previous fighter, who went by the nickname ‘Fancy’, is the one woman who currently commentates on UFC fights – but there’s widespread curiosity about what would’ve happened if she had fully committed to competing.
During a conversation with Sean Strickland’s recently axed coach, Eric Nicksick, Sanko discussed the thought process behind her one-fight profession.
“It’s at all times an issue to a level,” she said when asked if an absence of viable opponents prompted her retirement. “But by that time for, you understand, once I used to be fighting for Invicta, like, they were gonna do all of the work, they usually had a handful of excellent atomweights.”
“Really that was the highest of the mountain. For those who’re an atomweight, that is it. You were there, in order that was the vibe, I’m here. I’m gonna benefit from this.
“It’s not like I assumed I used to be gonna be some superstar. I knew what it was, but I loved it. It was never about being profitable or being known because that wasn’t even a possibility back then after I was fighting.”
Laura Sanko recalls first Charles Oliveira meeting
Over a decade ago, Sanko trained with Plinio Cruz, who has helped Alex Pereira grow to be a pound-for-pound UFC superstar.
As Sanko reminisced on her time working with Cruz, she told a tremendous story in regards to the first-ever time she saw Charles Oliveira within the training room.
“Comic story,” Sanko began.
“I remember he was teaching at a gym in the town, but he was a part of Macaco’s Gold Team system in Recent Jersey where all of the Brazilians lived so every every now and then, he’d be like ‘Hey, we’re going to take a gaggle and we’re going to go train at Macaco’s this weekend, so come take a train with us and go on the market’.
“And I remember one time, we went on the market and he was like ‘Do you see that child within the corner there? That child, that child goes to be champion in the future’… I look over, and there’s this skinny, dorky, coke-bottle glasses kid sitting there and I’m like ‘Okay, sure, looks prefer it’.”
