Oh, the world of UFC! Laura Sanko, a commentator for UFC, has some thoughts on how fighters should behave. She’d rather see them scuffle than get personal with their trash talk.
The upcoming fight between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis is a prime example. The two are set to face off in the main event at UFC 297 on January 20 in Toronto. But things got ugly at a seasonal 2024 press conference.
“Stillknocks,” as Strickland is known, brought up the champ’s abusive childhood. This definitely triggered Strickland. He admitted as much later.
The next day, at UFC 296, Strickland attacked Du Plessis. He was seen leaping over chairs and throwing punches before police separated them. He was then escorted out of the T-Mobile Arena.
Sanko, interestingly, preferred this physical scuffle to ugly trash talk. She feels it saves the fighters’ families from getting involved.
“I realize what game we’re in,” she said in an interview with Michael Bisping. “I actually prefer guys have physical fights than do this s—t, if I’m being honest. That way the family doesn’t get dragged into it.”
Strickland recently appeared on comedian Theo Von’s “This Past Weekend” podcast. He shared details of his traumatic childhood. Sanko appreciated Strickland showing a more vulnerable side.
“Listen, I’m a huge fan of Sean as a fighter and as a person,” Sanko said. “I commended him for it, I thought it was incredibly moving. I think he will help a lot of people by being as vulnerable as he was.”