Laura Sanko believes fighters who provide entertainment will be afforded greater opportunity in the new Paramount era of the UFC.
Sanko, who serves as a UFC color commentator and analyst, has noticed the shift in how the roster is constructed and which fighters are being best positioned for success. For almost its entire existence prior to this year, UFC’s premier events have been behind a pay-per-view paywall in the U.S. Now on Paramount+, however, all live events come with a monthly subscription for a fraction of the price, meaning more affordable access.
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Sanko believes that naturally means new eyeballs should be drawn to the sport, and she thinks there’s a concentrated effort on making sure those viewers stay engaged with the product.
“I think the trend is going to continue to be violence,” Sanko told MMA Junkie. “And I know that’s a very general thing to say, but I think there is so much talk now around rewarding violent fighters and rewarding finishes and the striving for finishes. How much of that actually makes its way to any actual system whereby people are compelled to do that – rules, scoring, payment – right? How much of that will actually be formalized or changed. I don’t know, if at all.
“I think there is this feeling in that atmosphere, that with this new broadcast partner, we need to show these people what fighting really is. We’re going to have a new audience without this paywall. What electrified people about this sport in the beginning was the storylines juxtaposed with what these people actually go out there and do. I think the people who will emerge as the real stars will be the people that deliver on those incredible finishes and incredible battles.”
Sanko knows that prioritizing entertainment over results can be a slippery slope. UFC received criticism for parting ways with welterweight Rinat Fakhretdinov, who was on a 24-fight unbeaten streak and not beaten in seven octagon appearances.
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Sanko said she is the “same person that will defend the idea that grappling is not scored enough already,” so she sees both sides of the coin on this potential trend. However, the sport is still evolving at a rapid pace, and if fighters aren’t willing to take risk in pursuit of finishing fights, then the game may leave them behind.
“If your skill set trends toward being a very dominant wrestler or grappler – we have guys like. Islam Makhachev is not a boring fighter, and yet that is the meta of his game,” Sanko said. “I think the guys and ladies that fight in that direction just have to find other ways to be interesting and exciting. Part of that is what you are outside of the octagon. This is the sports entertainment business. The more that everyone can accept that, embrace that and be who they are.
“You don’t have to invent a persona necessarily, but just be a bigger, more out-there version of yourself. Those are the people that are going to continue to find success.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Laura Sanko predicts particular UFC trend continues in 2026
