First female UFC commentator Kathy Long praises Laura Sanko for "carrying the torch"

Laura Sanko was recently showered with compliments by Kathy Long for being a trailblazer in mixed martial arts. Long served as a member of the commentary team at UFC 1, the promotion's first pay-per-view event, and is widely known as the first female UFC commentator.

At UFC Vegas 68, Sanko notably became the first-ever female broadcaster in modern history to call an event live. The former MMA fighter previously played the role of color commentator on Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS) and hosted the UFC's pre-and post-fight shows.

In a recent interview with Laura Sanko on the One On One YouTube channel, Kathy Long opened up about being the first woman commentator in the UFC and being known as a pioneer of the sport.

The former kickboxing world champion also took the time to praise Sanko for her achievements and for "carrying the torch" forward, stating:

"You truly are, in my mind... They call me a pioneer, but you're the one carrying the torch, and you're the one who's giving the color commentating on the current fighters... You're right there with the top-notch people color commentating and I'm super proud of you."

Laura Sanko graciously thanked Kathy Long for the high praise and humbly stated that Long's accomplishments made hers look insignificant. In response, Long said:

"You deserve it. You didn't start right away doing the UFC... You were given an opportunity, and you've blossomed from that... Anything that's good about women in color commentating, if there's anyone that can hold weight in that, it's you."

Watch the interview below (2:20):

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Laura Sanko sends a positive message to future female broadcasters

Laura Sanko created history when she became the UFC's first female color commentator in the promotion's modern era. After 13 years of hard work and dedication in the sport of mixed martial arts, Sanko made her commentating debut at UFC Vegas 68 alongside Michael Bisping and John Gooden on February 4.

After the announcement of her addition to the commentary team, the former MMA fighter reflected on her career and opened up about the challenges of being a broadcaster for MMA.

In an interview on MMA on SiriusXM, Laura Sanko stated that despite the difficulties of sports broadcasting, there were plenty of opportunities that women could grab. She stated:

"It's a tough thing to be in broadcasting in any sports industry, let alone one that is so incredibly macho like MMA... But now I wanna show like that not only can you be in those lanes like you can be in this other lane too if you have the experience and the knowledge and the broadcast ability necessary to do it."