Why Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 3's Sekai Taikai Hosts Look So Familiar
This article contains mild spoilers for "Cobra Kai" Season 6 Part 3.
Over the course of its six seasons, "Cobra Kai" has had a lot of cameos, but those have typically involved actors from the larger "Karate Kid" franchise. Actors like Robyn Lively, Elisabeth Shue, Tamlyn Tomita, Sean Kanan, Rob Garrison, and Tony O'Dell have all reprised their former "Karate Kid" film roles on the series, adding to the sense that "Cobra Kai" truly exists in the same living world as those '80s movies. In Season 6 Part 3, however, the show features a couple of cameos of another sort.
After the Sekai Taikai tournament ends in bloody fashion in Barcelona, Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) has the final rounds moved to the San Fernando Valley, where a pair of real-life sports commentators cover the matches for live TV. If these names and faces look familiar, then you've probably watched at least a bit of ESPN or FS1 over the past few years.
The two sportscasters are Kevin Burkhardt and Ryan Clark, both of whom use their real names on "Cobra Kai," playing fictionalized versions of themselves. Burkhardt is primarily known as a play-by-play commentator on Fox's NFL broadcasts, though he also covers Major League Baseball and college basketball. Meanwhile, Clark works for ESPN these days and appears on a number of the network's studio shows, although sports fans likely still know him best for his on-field career in the NFL. Indeedm Clark spent the majority of his time as a professional football player with the Pittsburgh Steelers, making a Pro Bowl appearance in 2011 and even winning a Super Bowl with the team in 2009.
Cobra Kai has done real-world celebrity cameos before
While neither Kevin Burkhardt nor Ryan Clark are experts on karate (nor would they likely be chosen to cover a tournament like the Sekai Taikai), it's still fun to see some real-life sportscasters pop up on the show. Of course, this isn't the first time that "Cobra Kai" has brought in celebrities to play themselves. In Season 3, as part of his efforts to help Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) recover from his injuries at the end of Season 2, Johnny (William Zabka) takes him to a Twisted Sister concert, complete with Dee Snider himself.
Later, in Season 4, Carrie Underwood appears as herself to open the season's All-Valley Tournament with a brief musical performance. That particular cameo came about in large part because Underwood — who recently became the subject of controversy after performing at Donald Trump's 2025 inauguration — was a big fan of the show.
Not all of the cameos in "Cobra Kai" have been winners, of course. Season 6 features a few instances of an AI-revived Pat Morita in some Mr. Miyagi dream sequences, which have been widely ridiculed as being in poor taste.
"Cobra Kai" is now streaming in its entirety on Netflix.