"A very valid opinion" - When Laura Sanko surprisingly defended Khabib Nurmagomedov's controversial take on UFC ring girls
UFC analyst and commentator Laura Sanko once defended Khabib Nurmagomedov's controversial take on ring girls in MMA.
In the eyes of the former UFC lightweight champion, the ring girls serve no purpose. While the comments made by Nurmagomedov led to a huge backlash, he surprisingly received support from Laura Sanko.
During an interview with James Lynch, Sanko spoke about how his comments came from a point of cultural difference.
While suggesting that she would've come forward to defend the UFC ring girls if Khabib Nurmagomedov had specifically targeted them, Laura Sanko had this to say:
"I think it's a cultural difference...and I think we have to accept that that is a very valid opinion for him to have and it's his personal opinion and he was talking about why he's not gonna have them at his promotion. That's within his right to do so. If he had specifically attacked our ring card girls or any ring card girl by name, I definitely would jump to their defense. I think it's more the idea for him, it's not just something culturally that he finds valid and I respect that about him. I think he's perfectly fine and within his rights to talk about that."
Watch Sanko's comments in the video below:
Dana White calls Laura Sanko the "Ronda Rousey of commentary"
Having commentated on fight nights in the past, Sanko made her pay-per-view debut last month at UFC 293. In doing so, she has garnered a lot of praise from the MMA community, including from Dana White.
Speaking about Laura Sanko during a post-fight press conference for Dana White's Contender Series, the UFC CEO expressed his admiration for her work and even dubbed her as the 'Ronda Rousey of commentary' due to being the first female commentator in the promotion's history of the modern era:
"She knew everything about every kid here and she watched every single fight that you could watch on all the kids that were on the card. She's a true professional... She's like the Ronda Rousey, you know, of commentating. She knows she's first, she knows she's carrying the banner for women to break into this role, and she's doing everything she can to make sure that she always is the best that she can possibly be."
Catch Dana White's comments in the video below: