3 Rings, 1 Voice: Kody 'Big Mo' Mommaerts is the New Voice of Combat Sports [Exclusive]

Boxing, Netflix, BKB, and now he is closely aligned with MVP Promotions as they move into MMA.

Big Mo is at the heart of combat sports | MVP Promotions

One of the biggest combat sports events of this year lasted just seventeen seconds. Ronda Rousey locked up Gina Carano's arm, and it was closing time for Most Valuable Promotions' first night in MMA.

The merger of Most Valuable Promotions and the PFL makes it clear that combat sports — including boxing, MMA, and others — are all part of a shared ecosystem.

"Boxing fans, MMA fans, bare-knuckle fans, they're not as separate as the industry sometimes treats them," Mommaerts told KO on SI. "I've always wanted to be the person who brings new eyes into all of it, whichever door they walk through first. If someone finds me through a Netflix boxing card and ends up watching their first MMA or bare-knuckle event because they enjoy the voice calling it, that's the job working the way I want it to."

At 30, Mommaerts is the only ring announcer in the world working at the highest level across boxing, MMA and bare-knuckle simultaneously — long ago tapped as heir to Michael Buffer, now proof of concept for where the industry is heading.

Mommaerts at an MVP Promotions Event | MVP Promotions

Rousey-Carano was no fluke, as Netflix continues to trust him. He called the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight, which drew 108 million live viewers on Netflix in November 2024, a number that grew past 125 million within the week. Netflix kept him on for Taylor vs. Serrano III at Madison Square Garden and Paul's fight with Anthony Joshua.

He’s also the announcer for BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing. In two years, his voice has carried on Netflix, ESPN, Sky Sports, DAZN, Telemundo, Vice and talkSPORT.

Mommaerts, a former offensive lineman who'd completed his undergraduate degree and an MBA at the University of Northern Colorado. It all started at a small show at the county fairgrounds.

"There were maybe 100 people there," he recalled about that first card. "I had no idea what I was doing. I was way over the top. Looking back, I probably sounded terrible. But people could tell there was something there."

The "Big Mo" persona came early - a nickname that solved an unpronounceable surname and matched his physical presence. An exhibition in Dubai between Hafþór Björnsson and Eddie Hall put him on Sky Sports' radar, and in October 2022 he introduced Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall at London's O2 Arena for British boxing's first all-female main event when he worked for BOXXER at the time.

By 28, he was standing in front of 70,000 fans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, introducing Mike Tyson to a crowd that hadn't seen him fight in nearly two decades.

"This has all gone pretty fast for me," he says. "A few years ago I was in front of 100 people at a fairground. Now I'm standing in front of 70,000, and it's the same job. Same preparation, same voice. That's when it hits you, that the work actually got you here." He later became the youngest ring announcer ever to work Madison Square Garden.

Mommaerts treats the job as more than showmanship. Before introducing former heavyweight champion Joseph Parker, he discovered Parker's Samoan chiefly title, Lupesoliai La'auliolemalietoa, and spent hours listening to Polynesian broadcasters until he could say it right. Messages from the Samoan community poured in.

"Initially, I just thought the name sounded great," he says. "I didn't realize the cultural impact it would have. If taking a little extra time to get someone's name right makes people feel represented, that's part of my responsibility. It's something I research before every show."

Bruce Buffer recently praised his Netflix work on The Ariel Helwani Show. No small thing from a family Mommaerts has long called his inspiration.

"I want to help unite the combat sports fans market," he said, "Combat sports collectively is the best sport in the world, and the entertainment it brings is second to none. I take great pride in being a part of that. My role allows me to speak to millions of people and take them along for the ride."