Women were at the forefront of combat sports on Saturday night. At Madison Square Garden, Amanda Serrano became the first Puerto Rican boxer to claim an undisputed title during the four-belt era. Also, Alycia Baumgardner claimed the undisputed super featherweight title after earning a unanimous decision victory on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. Rounding out the night, Laura Sanko made history as the first woman to call a major UFC event in the 21st century. She follows in the footsteps of famed kickboxer Kathy Long who worked as an analyst during UFC 1 in 1993.
“Being elevated to this new UFC Fight Night role is exciting for many reasons. Like most people in business, I set short-term and long-term goals. And being able to serve as the color commentator for a UFC card felt so distant when I started. But with each step in my career, I realized it was obtainable,” she said about her new role as a UFC analyst.
“So there is something very surreal about achieving a goal, and a reset that comes with adjusting your mindset from this being a goal to now being a reality. I can point to the hard work and know passion and skillset pays off. And that can help me as I create new goals for myself, both in short and long term.”
Sanko had an eventful run during her first night on the job. UFC Vegas 68 kicked off with Adam Fugitt stopping Yusaku Kinoshita in the first round. From there, Dooho Choi and Kyle Nelson fought to a draw and Blagoy Ivanov beat Marcin Tybura by unanimous decision. Ultimately, things came to a close as Derrick Lewis submitted Serghei Spivac in the opening round of the main event.
