Mike Straka is an American television and radio host, author and producer. He is currently the host of the "Nobody Cares" Podcast and is co-host on Knock Out Radio, an MMA radio show. He is the co-host and producer on Fighting Words with Mike Straka and Mike Madlab Iurata on TheMadLabMMa.com Previously Straka hosted The Straka and Krempel Show on WWBA Big 8 Radio, Sportstalkflorida.com, and the MMAVERICKS podcast on BLEAV networks, He is the author of ''Rowdy Rousey'', and was host of the "MMA Noise" YouTube channel. Straka was co-host and producer on

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are locate ...

's primetime MMA news magazine show, ''MMA Uncensored Live'' and he was the creator and the host of "TapouT Radio" on Sirius XM Sports. He served as the in-cage post fight interview correspondent for World Series of Fighting and as UFC correspondent for Fight Now TV. Straka also hosted ''Fighting Words with Mike Straka'' on Mark Cuban's

HDNet AXS TV () is an American specialty television, cable television channel majority-owned by Canadian broadcaster Anthem Sports & Entertainment. It is devoted primarily to Music television, music-related programming (such as concert films, Document ...

which featured interviews with

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

athletes and was the creator and host of Fox Fight Game, one of the first mainstream news programs covering Mixed Martial Arts on Fox News. Straka was a regular contributor to ''FIGHT! Magazine'', and wrote a book on MMA, based on interviews from his television show, ''Fighting Words'', which was published by

Triumph Books Triumph Books is a Chicago-based sports book publisher. The company is well known for its "instant books", such as its illustrated tribute to NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, which was released 10 days after his death in a crash in the 2001 Daytona ...

. Straka was also a senior producer for FUSE TV'S "Fuse News" and has interviewed and produced several television pieces on well-known artists, including Sinead O'Connor, Zedd, Sam Smith, Naughty Boy, Wiz Khalifa, R Kelly,

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

, Armin Van Buuren, Jeff Bhasker and more. Straka was a vice president and executive producer at FOX News Digital, and also served as an on-air commentator on Hollywood and celebrity topics, as well as sports, for the cable net and on FOXNews.com. He created and produced ''Strategy Room''. Straka hosted and was executive producer of FOX Fight Game, a mixed martial arts (MMA) features and news program, and was a columnist on FOXNews.com. Mike has interviewed some of the world's most famous artists in film and television.

Acting career

Mike Straka played a ring side fight commentator in Nic
Sasso's Haymaker (2021)
and previously played "Young Minetta" in the film ''

Analyze This ''Analyze This'' is a 1999 American crime comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, who co-wrote the screenplay with playwrights Kenneth Lonergan and Peter Tolan. It follows a crisis-stricken mafioso ( Robert De Niro) who solicits the assista ...

'' and appeared as "Johnny" off-Broadway in ''

Tony n' Tina's Wedding ''Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding'' is an " environmental/ immersive theatre" event based on a traditional Italian-American wedding and reception, with warm and intrusive stereotypes exaggerated for comic effect. Audience members are treated as guests ...

''. Straka appeared in several television commercials including The Olive Garden, Papa Gino's Pizza, Healthy Choice Pasta Sauce, The Powerpuff Girls and Target.

Early years

Straka was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

and grew up in Barnegat Township. He graduated from Monsignor Donovan High School (

Toms River, New Jersey Toms River is a Township (New Jersey), township and coastal town located on the Jersey Shore in Ocean County, New Jersey, Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its mainland United States, mainland portion is also a census-designated ...

), where he was on the wrestling team. He studied acting at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

and wrestled for The Scarlet Knights, and moved to New York City to begin his career, where he starred in commercials, daytime soaps and the Off-Broadway play Tony N' Tina's Wedding. He started his career as a CBS page, ushering audiences through the West 57th Street studios to see talk shows like

Geraldo Rivera Geraldo Rivera (born Gerald Rivera; July 4, 1943) is an American journalist, attorney, author, and political commentator who worked at the Fox News Channel from 2001 to 2023. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Geraldo'' from 1987 to 1998. He g ...

and

Joan Rivers Joan Alexandra Molinsky (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014), known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedienne, actress, producer, writer and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona that w ...

, and giving tours and answering phones throughout the building.

References

External links

Celebrity Interviews VideoPIX11 Appearance on Sports DeskBloody Elbow Review of Fighting WordsBig Lead Sports InterviewVigilante MMA interview with StrakaInterview with Mike Straka on MMArecapParcbench article on Strategy Room
{{DEFAULTSORT:Straka, Mike Living people Donovan Catholic High School alumni Fox News people People from Barnegat Township, New Jersey American people of Czech descent Rutgers Scarlet Knights wrestlers Mixed martial arts broadcasters Year of birth missing (living people)