🎤 The Most Overlooked Job in Sports

Happy Wednesday,

Most people don’t think about ring announcers.

They remember the fighters, the knockouts, and the walkouts, but the person who introduces the fighters, sets the tone for the arena, and speaks to both the crowd and the TV audience at the same time is usually just background noise.

However, Kody “Big Mo” Mommaerts saw that differently.

This week, Jake and I sat down with Big Mo, one of the fastest-rising ring announcers in combat sports. Over the last few years, he’s announced fights on Sky Sports, built an international reputation in boxing, and most recently introduced one of the biggest events in combat sports history: Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson on Netflix.

But his path there wasn’t traditional.

Mo didn’t go to broadcasting school or climb the local-TV ladder. Instead, he treated ring announcing like a performance craft — studying speakers, comedians, and even pastors to figure out how one person can command a room.

🎧 [Listen to the full episode with Big Mo]

5 Takeaways From Our Conversation With Kody ‘Big Mo’ Mommaerts

1. His career started with a college award show

Before combat sports, Mo was just a college football player who liked public speaking.

When his university hosted an ESPY-style awards night for the athletic department, he pushed the athletic director to let him host it.

As Mo explained: “I kept bothering him and he kept saying no… eventually I helped him move and he wanted to pay me. I said don’t pay me — let me host the award show.”

That one opportunity changed everything.

Hosting the event in front of hundreds of people showed him he could command a room, and it pushed him toward a career in entertainment.

2. He didn’t plan to become a ring announcer

Mo’s original entry point into combat sports wasn’t announcing; it was commentary.

After graduating, he cold-called a regional MMA promotion in Colorado and offered to try color commentary. The gig paid almost nothing.

As he put it: “I was making like 50 bucks a night… it was great. I was killing it.”

But once he saw the ring announcer in action, he realized that role might suit him better. He started asking for the opportunity, and eventually got it.

3. Early on, he realized the industry had an opening

When Mo started studying the field, he noticed something unusual.

The average age of ring announcers was decades older than he was.

So he leaned into being different.

“The average age was 55… and I was 23 years old,” he said.

Instead of blending in, he built a persona: Big Mo. He wore sunglasses in the ring, branded himself early, and leaned heavily into social media to build recognition.

4. Ring announcers control the energy of the show

Most people think a ring announcer just reads names, but Mo sees the role very differently.

In his words: “I am a presenter of the show… the one person that talks to both the TV audience and the audience in the arena.”

That means the announcer becomes the connective tissue of the broadcast.

They set the tone before every fight, maintain the rhythm of the event, and often become the most consistently visible person on camera.

That realization changed how Mo approached the job.

He started dressing sharper, performing bigger, and treating every event (even small regional shows) like a major production.

5. He “speedran” the industry

Most ring announcers don’t reach the top until their 40s or 50s.

Mo did it in less than a decade.

He started announcing regional fights at 22. He announced his first undisputed world title fight at 26. And by 28, he was introducing one of the biggest fights in the world.

As he put it: “If ring announcing was a video game… I kind of speedran the industry.”

Now his focus is different.

Instead of just chasing bigger fights, he’s thinking about how to expand the role entirely, turning ring announcing into a bigger part of the entertainment experience.

Why It Matters

Big Mo’s story is a reminder that many roles in sports haven’t actually evolved that much.

Ring announcing has looked roughly the same for decades; Mo’s edge wasn’t access or connections. It was recognizing that the role had more potential than most people realized.

He studied performers, he built a personal brand, and he treated every small opportunity like a major stage. That combination helped him compress a 30-year career path into less than a decade.

But the bigger takeaway is this: the most interesting opportunities in sports often live in the roles that people overlook.

Big Mo just happened to find one and redefine it.

🎧 [Listen to the full episode with Big Mo]

📩 And don’t forget: Bottom of the Ninth is back this Friday with the top three stories in sports and business from the week.

See you then,
Tyler & Jake