Whenever we imagine UFC fights, Joe Rogan is a must—at least inside the USA. On top of that, we also think of Jon Anik and Dana White, but what about Megan Olivi? The UFC heartthrob is a huge presence on the mic during UFC fights and has created her fanbase in the MMA world.

Yes, we do see her amazing hosting and interviews, but what about her past? What about when she was a little girl with dreams and decided to fulfill her goals? Let’s dive into her journey towards MMA and see where she started.

Megan Olivi’s ethnicity; where is she from?

Born in New Jersey, Megan Olivi is an on-camera multi-hyphenate for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is a multi-talented individual. She is a host, interviewer, and reporter. Spent most of her youth in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, she’s married to former UFC flyweight title challenger Joseph Benavidez.

Even though she grew up in the USA, she was never far from her roots and still shows off her Italian ethnicity proudly. The 38-year-old grew up among a large community of Italian Americans with two siblings as well and knows about her heritage. In 2022, America Domani caught up with her before her birthday on August 29 and asked her about her roots. Olivi started by saying, “So, three of my four grandparents were born in Italy — one of my grandfathers was born in America; his name was Roosevelt because they wanted to show that they loved their new country.”

She also continued that most of her family was from the region named Marche, which is on the east coast of Italy. She said, “ I also have family from Naples and a little bit of family from Sicily. Marche is where the majority of my family resides, and there is a beautiful hotel there called Casa Olivi.”

As for her identity, she is proud of her American and Italian roots and her family. She went on to earn a degree in political science from Seton Hall University.  This is when she got a chance to intern for Fox News Channel and work as an assistant for Megan Kelly, who was covering the 2008 presidential election. This is where her connection to sports came by and coincidentally, her grandfather, great uncle, and elder brother were into wrestling. She stayed in an area called “The Mecca of High School Wrestling” so you can guess how exposed she was to wrestling from a young age.  But what about her faith? She loves her roots and her career choice, but what does she believe in?

Megan Olivi’s religion and faith

Megan Olivi was born in New Jersey to a loving family of Italian ethnicity. She is the youngest of three siblings and so naturally received a lot of love from her mother and her father, whom she lovingly calls ‘Big Mick.’ The UFC presenter was raised around her community and exposed to wrestling from a young age.

She identifies as a practicing Catholic and has spoken about her faith, including her childhood Catholic upbringing. While the graceful reporter was speaking to UFC Fight Pass in 2024, she talked about her faith in God and her love for Mexico City. She even told a tale of a ‘miracle’ that happened while she was there. A man was walking in the mountains and Mary appeared to him. She told the whole story to Brendan Schaub and talked about her experience.

After quitting her job as a baseball journalist for Fox Sports in just seven months, Olivi, moved back to Las Vegas. And, as fate had something amazing planned for her. The UFC soon came knocking at her door and offered her the opportunity to work for the Dana White-led promotion in 2013.

Truly, her journey is fascinating and inspirational. It is not a piece of cake to carve a path in a cutthroat industry the way she has managed. And it is safe to say that Olive will continue to inspire more MMA fans and budding journalists in the future.