Issue 024
April 2007
By Jim Burman.
One of MMA’s leading journalists and at the top of the food chain for the last five and a half years, Loretta Hunt’s contribution to MMA is unrivalled in her field. Her MMA love affair was inspired by her brother Jim (Genia, also an MMA journalist) who used to visit her in New York and take her to a bar showing UFC’s. In her own words -“One night sitting there, I had this burning fascination to know what these fighters were like outside the cage, what motivated them, what they were like as people.” Starting her career as a contributing writer for Full Contact Fighter, Hunt soon established a professional style in a field where the only selection criteria seemed to be a willingness to do the job. Covering shows all across North America from the, then fledgling, years of Zuffa’s UFC in Las Vegas through to smaller shows in her native New York, Hunt soon built up a network of contacts which stand her in good stead to this day. Fighters often contact HER first with stories, whereas the reverse is common practice.
As Hunt continued to contribute to Full Contact Fighter her participation in the magazine would see her elevating her position to Lead Writer and finally Editor. Over the course of 5 years with the organisation she conducted over 1000 audio interviews that went into play-by-plays, interviews, features and news articles. She’s interviewed everyone from Dana White to Fedor to Wanderlei Silva – twice. Iconic figures within the sport recognise her contributions and skills and this has led to further work. Currently in the pipeline are autobiographies for UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture and legendary UFC referee John McCarthy.
Outside of the sport she has become a ‘go to girl’ when the mainstream need a professional and informed opinion. Acting as an On Camera expert for both FOX and 20th Century Sports, Hunt has shown that she isn’t shy in giving an opinion. The mainstream press have sought her opinions too with TIME magazine, New York Times, CBS’s “60 Minutes”, Los Angeles Times and Miami Herald all interviewing her as an ‘MMA Expert’.
Whilst MMA writing may be one of the most fun things a fan in the sport can do, it isn’t always the most financially rewarding. In August of last year Hunt decided to leave the publication with which she had made her mark and an offer from Canada’s The Fight Network saw her become the Managing Editor for MMA news content. This has again seen her work develop and profile raised as the network is beginning to make moves into the US TV market. Hunt continues to write and edit news for the network as well as provide on screen interviews for them.
What’s the best part of being involved in the industry? The travel? The ringside (cage side?) seats? With Loretta it’s back to the people involved. “The best part of my job is being able to look into the eyes of the fighters and see them as people - not many get that opportunity, so I try and convey it to them through my writing.”
So since she’s ‘seen it, done it’ what advice does she have for aspiring writers? “Only do this if you absolutely can’t see yourself doing anything else. Your passion will get you far.”
By raising the bar for MMA journalists she has set the industry to raise it’s game or suffer by looking amateurish in comparison. With a keen passion for the sport and the self built network to support it she has delivered more scoops than an ice cream salesman and as the industry evolves will continue to do so for many years yet.
