UFC Commentator and Former MMA Fighter Laura Sanko Talks Not 'Fitting the Mold' of the Sport (Exclusive)

Sanko is nominated for Sports Personality of the Year at the Annual World MMA Awards on Thursday

Before Laura Sanko interviewed fighters, she was one.

The UFC commentator, 41, currently spends her days talking to the biggest names in the sport, but she tells PEOPLE that before going behind the mic she went on a journey from a total fitness newbie to an ultimate fighter.

Sanko says she first turned to the gym because she was "spending too much time" inside her own head, and she'd been looking to improve her mental and physical fitness.

"After college, I just went through a really hard time in my personal life, and it was the first time I was really struggling with mental health in that particular way, and I just couldn't stop spiraling. And I just knew I needed some physical outlet. Not only was I not an athlete, but I'd never really worked out regularly before I did MMA."

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And finding the right fit for her body and mind wasn't easy, says Sanko, who also wanted to pick up some self-defense skills. "The problem with lifting weights or jogging is that you just spend more time inside your head, or at least I did."

Then, she discovered a "life-changing" sport that would inspire her current career as a commentator and a love for fighting.

"It's intimidating walking up to an MMA gym, and I can't tell you the number of times I've been watching fights with some girlfriends, and they're always like, 'I could never do that,' but they absolutely can," says Sanko, who suggests the 20-week Trainalta program to anyone curious about their own MMA talents.

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"I'm the example. There's a fighter in all of us, and it's accessible for a soccer mom watching pay-per-view fights to get into it because absolutely everyone can."

But Sanko says her parents initially saw the combat sport as "the epitome of low-class violence," and they thought her interest in MMA was "absolutely crazy."

And at first, she pursued the sport "because I loved it," says Sanjko, "and I loved what the sport gave back to my soul and to my psyche, even if nobody understood it."

"There's a lot of parts of growing up as a woman where you're told not to be physical for many different reasons, like it's inappropriate, or it's too tomboyish, or girls just don't play like that," Sanko says.

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"And then as you become older and professional, again, it's not professional for a woman to be rolling around with other guys, especially if you take a jiu-jitsu class. It might sound like a weird concept, but I'm telling you that just embracing the sport really opened my eyes to so many things about myself, about my own body, about my ability to feel comfortable in those types of situations."

Later, Sanko discovered another natural talent of hers: commentating. "Women weren't in the UFC yet, and somebody I had worked with said, 'Hey, would you like to try interviewing someone on one of our shows?' "

"And I said, 'Well, I've never spoken to a camera. I've never held a microphone. I have no broadcasting background. I went to business school.' And they were like, 'You'll be fine. I think you'll be great at it.' And so I just sort of said yes," she says.

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On Thursday, Sanko will attend the Annual World MMA Awards in Las Vegas, where she's nominated for Sports Personality of the Year — and she's the only woman to ever be in the running for the category, going up against men like Joe Rogan.

"There are a lot of people that don't necessarily fit the mold of what we believe to be a fighter, that are interested in training MMA. I think that's really the key, is the way that this particular type of training challenges not just your body, but your mind, your beliefs about yourself, is unlike any other sport, and I hope more people are inspired to do it," she says.

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