Laura Sanko, on the Believe You Me podcast, expressed her preference for physical fights over trash talk in UFC, citing the permanent damage such talk can cause, especially when it involves the families of the fighters.
Laura Sanko wasn’t exactly thrilled by the brawl between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 296. But she wasn’t offended either. The trash talk that sparked the fight? That, she could’ve done without.
“I’m not some prude,” Sanko stated on the Believe You Me podcast. “I get the game we’re in.” She’d rather see physical fights than trash talk. Why? It keeps families out of it. No altered photos or statements that linger online for years. No Google search surprises for the kids.
“When they’re old enough, that’s what bothers me,” she said. Things said now are permanent. If fighters want to brawl, go for it. She appreciated how Strickland and Du Plessis handled the situation.
Strickland attacked Du Plessis after the latter mocked his experience with child abuse. This happened at the T-Mobile Arena, right after Strickland asked Gilbert Burns‘ kids to step aside. The UFC had seated them close together, and Strickland initiated the fight. Security intervened, and Strickland was escorted out.
Du Plessis later questioned Strickland’s mental strength and disowned child abuse. He called Strickland a “hypocrite” for attacking UFC welterweight Ian Machado Garry and his wife. He claimed that trash talk about child abuse was off-limits, a sentiment echoed by Garry in response to Strickland’s interview.
“I’m tired of how trash talk in the game has evolved,” Sanko said. Some people claim there’s no line, but there is. Racial slurs are off-limits. So should talking about wives and kids. There’s a line, it just keeps moving. “We need to move it back,” she said.
She misses the old school trash talk. Like Chael Sonnen’s creative, non-cussing jabs. She’s okay with attacking the fighter, but not third parties. “Everyone’s a hypocrite,” she said, referring to Ian and Sean. “Let’s stop being jerks and dial it back.”
Sanko is a “huge fan” of Strickland, both as a fighter and a person. She was moved by his interview with comedian Theo Von, where he opened up about his abusive childhood. “It was honest, open, and will help many people,” she said.
But she also called out Strickland’s hypocrisy. “You can’t say attacking wives is off-limits and then call a woman a pedophile,” she said. “She’s not a pedophile.” Strickland did this more than once, and on a platform where everyone could see. “Her kids will read it,” Sanko added. She applauded Ian for speaking up. “I just wish we would all stop,” she concluded.
You can catch Sanko’s full interview on Believe You Me below.