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A former MMA fighter and current UFC on ESPN analyst “might be staying at a friend’s house tonight” after “around 400” police officers converged on her home Thursday afternoon. Laura Sanko, 35, is a former Invicta FC competitor and the current host of “Dana White’s Contender Series” on ESPN. Sanko was enjoying a leisurely afternoon with her son on Thursday when suddenly she witnessed “police and U.S. Marshalls surrounding [her] ranch because apparently this is a great place to go on the lam.”
You can see the pictures and videos Sanko posted to her Instagram page below, and be sure to have your sound turned on so you can here the journalist narrate everything as it unfolds.
Sanko later updated her followers with a picture of the alleged fugitive, along with how one of the officers told her “around 400 people” had chased the man to her ranch. The group was comprised of the U.S. Marshalls, SWAT teams, local area police officers and K-9 units who had tracked him to her property.
“He entered our property via our cave,” Sanko posted. “Ditched his shirt in our creek and is still missing, but they believe he left the area.”
Sanko: ‘This Is Beyond Bizarre!’
“This is beyond bizarre,” Sanko said as she narrated the surreal scene. “Well, if I don’t show up to work tomorrow, y’all know why.”
Sanko recorded the action on her phone which includes police vehicles and officers with guns surrounding her residence to methodically converge on the residence.
There was even a helicopter circling high above her home in the air, and the police ended up borrowing one of Sanko’s offroad vehicles “so they could better comb the land” for whoever they wanted to find.
Sanko lives on a ranch, so there was plenty of ground for them to cover.
By the end of the wild and scary situation, Sanko decided maybe she should pack her bags up for the night.
And who wouldn’t?
Sanko posted, “Might be staying at a friend’s house tonight…then catching a 7 a.m. flight to Vegas.”
Sanko Wants to Be First Female UFC Color Commentator
Sanko is one of the UFC’s most popular reporters, but she has even bigger aspirations than her current role affords.
The reporter told MMA Junkie earlier this year that she hopes to some day be sitting cageside for a full-time color commentating role.
“My dream would be to eventually be part of that booth,” Sanko said per MMA Junkie. “One of the things that’s kind of allowed me to succeed in this job despite no broadcasting training whatsoever, is I do really understand the fight game. Over the years, I feel like behind the scenes, in production meetings and even just hanging out, I’ve been able to kind of demonstrate to all of the guys…that I really do know what the hell I’m talking about.”
Amazingly, Sanko’s rapid rise as a journalist indicates she could be on her way to doing exactly that.
Sanko began her media role through Invicta FC and has already done work on-air for both FOX and ESPN. She’s gone from just about never speaking on camera five years ago to being one of the UFC’s most recognizable personalities.
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