Italian American reporter Megan Olivi is an American MMA news/events host who conducts UFC Ultimate Insider on Fox Sports 1. She was born in New Jersey and has spent 10 years covering MMA and clearly enjoys what she does. Here are some things to know about her:
Megan Olivi: Facts and Biography
Interesting Facts:
- Olivi was both a preliminary and final telecast judge at the 2017 Miss Universe Pageant.
- According to Olivi’s personal website, “In her free time Megan enjoys spending time with her dog, hiking, running, doing yoga and cooking.”
- What most people don’t know is before her rise to fame with the UFC, Olivi worked at some interesting places, including one particular job where a well-known television personality inspired Olivi in pursuing her future career. Another interesting fact is Olivi is married to someone in the sport.
How old is Megan Olivi?
Megan Olivi is 33 years old as of 2020. She was born on 29 August 1986.
Who is Megan Olivi’s husband?
American mixed martial arts news/events reporter Megan Olivi is married to Joseph Benavidez. They tied the knot in 2015 after Joseph Benavidez proposed to Olivi in 2014.
Working together in Vegas, they eventually met each other in 2009, according to MEAWW. It’s not clear the precise year they started dating each other, but their chemistry was abundantly apparent. In 2010, after Benavidez choked out Wagnney Fabiano, his future wife Megan Olivi interviewed him and let’s just say, the pair have been inseparable ever since.
Even though they currently don’t have any children, they’re proud parents to their dog, Ben.
What is Megan Olivi’s worth?
According to NetWorthsPedia, the reporter and host is worth somewhere between $1 million to $5 million.
What happened to Megan Olivi?
Megan Olivi can always be spotted cage-side for UFC fights where she provides insightful pre-fight reports about the anticipated fighter who steps inside the Octagon and informative post-fight interviews at the fight’s conclusion.
Fortunately for Megan Olivi, with Fox Sports, she’s been able to work in a blend of coverage of both UFC and NFL action, where she works during the season as a sideline reporter. She said working in multiple sports is challenging, but it also keeps her sharp. “I love the challenges. Whether it’s within the UFC or NFL, I just like being able to build those other muscles. Doing football interviews I was like, ‘Oh, this guy’s totally a fighter I would interview.’ I think to be a pro athlete, you have to be a certain kind of person. In terms of broadcasting, they’re very different. But the athletes are athletes.” When Olivi isn’t working, which is rare, she enjoys hiking, running, yoga, cooking, and spending time with her dog and husband, Joseph Benavidez, who she married in 2015. Benavidez knows a little something about UFC. He’s currently the No. 2 ranked flyweight fighter.
Going forward, Olivi doesn’t see herself reducing her workload covering the UFC or NFL anytime soon. For UFC fans, this retirement means bringing back the talent for UFC!
Megan Olivi Education and Early Career:
According to MEAWW, Olivi has been interested in career journalism for a long time now. In fact, the famous UFC reporter graduated from Fordham University with a degree in it. Megan Olivi got an internship at Fox News while in college, and eventually, after getting interested in MMA, she started doing work for Fox Sports. There, she reported on the UFC and other MMA organizations. This led to the UFC hiring her as an interviewer.
Speaking of her education, Olivi attended Seton Hall University where she earned a degree in political science as her undergraduate major. Although her major was different, at Seton Hall, she interned with Fox News Channel. Thanks to her success Megan Olivi was impressed with journalism and earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism at Fordham University. Within months of completing her master’s degree, Olivi was offered an opportunity to host the sport of Mixed Martial Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada. This prompted her to move across the country and take a chance on this career opportunity.
After taking this new job, Olivi fell in love with the sport of Mixed Martial Arts while also continuing to polish her on-camera skills, most notably conducting the live Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Preshow Fight Day.
Megan Olivi later on started her job at Fox Sports covering UFC events and reporting lifestyle segments for FoxSports.com.
In February 2013, Olivi accepted a role as a correspondent for Fox 6 News San Diego covering the San Diego Padres as a Social Media Reporter while also reporting and producing a weekly magazine show called “Padres POV”. Olivi soon moved on from her career with the Padres and returned to Las Vegas to pursue a reporting opportunity with the UFC where she currently travels the world covering UFC events.
The reporter also conducts UFC Ultimate Insider on Fox Sports 1. In addition to this, she even has a series on UFC Fight Pass, The Exchange With Megan Olivi.
Childhood Influences:
While Megan Olivi grew up in Pennsylvania, she was always a sports fan following the New York Giants and New York Yankees. Although she enjoyed mainstream sports, she had combat sports in her genes. Her grandfather was a Navy champion boxer. Her brother was also a professional boxer and wrestler, the latter of which was something her father did growing up.
“I grew up on a wrestling mat,” she told the Gboy Times. “I would be two years old and running around with the guys on the mat. Then I reffed the little kids’ matches and me and my sister also worked tournaments.”
She was initially going to work in politics:
When she graduated from high school, Megan Olivi attended Seton Hall University, where she majored in political science and interned at a variety of different places. One of those locations was Fox News Channel, where she worked as an assistant to former personality Megyn Kelly. It was with Kelly during the 2008 election that Olivi learned about hustle, work ethic, and that she didn’t want to work in politics. While at Fox, Olivi always talked sports. At one point, a member of the production crew encouraged her to go on camera and talk about sports. She did just that and launched an hour-long online show. In 2010, after she graduated with honors from Seton Hall and Fordham, where she received a degree in communications and mass media studies in addition to her political science degree, she took a chance and moved to Las Vegas. She limited herself to one year to find a job in sports. She landed a job with Heavy. As luck would have it, the UFC partnered with Heavy and hired Olivi to host pre- and post-fight shows for pay-per-view events. When the UFC signed a TV deal with Fox, all the stars aligned for Olivi, and she was on the fast track to success. Since her arrival with the UFC, Olivi has been present for all the biggest fights. She is counted on each time to deliver late-breaking information before the fight, and ask the hard-hitting questions after, probing for answers the television-viewing audience wants to hear.