Megan Olivi is an American

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

news/events reporter who hosts ''

UFC Ultimate Insider ''UFC Ultimate Insider'' is a weekly American sports television magazine show that profiles the MMA athletes and fights from the Ultimate Fighting Championship in a behind-the-scenes format, giving the viewer "unprecedented access" to the sport. ...

'' on

Fox Sports 1 Fox Sports 1 (FS1) is an American pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 replaced the motorsports network Speed on August 17, 2013, at the same time that its companion channel Fox Sports 2 ...

Early life

Megan Olivi is the youngest of three children and was born in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. She spent the majority of her youth growing up in

Nazareth, Pennsylvania Nazareth is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. The borough's population was 6,053 at the 2020 census. Nazareth is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th most populous metropoli ...

. She is of Italian descent. Olivi played softball in school and wanted to pursue a career in gymnastics but was not able to due to her family's financial situation.

College years

Olivi attended

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan un ...

where she earned a degree in political science as her undergraduate major. While attending Seton Hall, she interned with

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

. Olivi then earned a master's degree in broadcast journalism at

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

Journalism career

Shortly after completing her master's degree, Olivi was offered an opportunity to cover the sport of Mixed Martial Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada and decided to move across 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 co-hosting the live

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC) Preshow ''Fight Day''. Olivi then went on to work for Fox Sports covering UFC events and hosting 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 The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

as a Social Media Reporter while also hosting 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. Olivi also hosts ''

'' on

. She also has a series on

UFC Fight Pass UFC Fight Pass is an American subscription-based video streaming service owned by the UFC's parent company, Zuffa, that launched in December 2013. History Fight Pass showcases live and on-demand mixed martial arts, submission grappling, kickboxi ...

, ''The Exchange With Megan Olivi''. While on NFL on FOX, Olivi would be serving as a sideline reporter on the network's NFL coverage in the 2021 season. She teamed with color analyst announcers

Aqib Talib Aqib Talib (born February 13, 1986) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at the University of Kansas, where he received consensus All-American honors, and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first rou ...

LaVar Arrington LaVar RaShad Arrington (born June 30, 1978) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at Penn State and was drafted second overall by the Washington Re ...

and play-by-play announcers Gus Johnson,

Joe Davis Joseph Davis (15 April 190110 July 1978) was an English professional snooker and English billiards player. He was the dominant figure in snooker from the 1920s to the 1950s, and has been credited with inventing aspects of the way the game i ...

, or

Brandon Gaudin Brandon Gaudin (born December 18, 1983) is an American sportscaster who broadcasts play-by-play of NFL and college football, basketball and baseball for Fox Sports and the Big Ten Network. He is also the voice of ''Madden NFL'' for EA Sports (20 ...

2017 Miss Universe pageant

Olivi was both a preliminary and final telecast judge at the 2017 Miss Universe pageant.

Personal life

Olivi is married to former

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

flyweight title challenger

Joseph Benavidez Joseph Rolando Benavidez (born July 31, 1984) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Flyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Benavidez was born on July 31, 1984, in San An ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olivi, Megan Living people American television reporters and correspondents People from New Jersey American people of Italian descent Seton Hall University alumni Fordham University alumni Mixed martial arts journalists 1986 births