Transgender MMA fighter who used to be in US Army Special Forces reignites
debate over trans women in sport with rear-naked choke to seal debut victory
- Alana McLaughlin, 38, defeated opponent Celine Provost, 35, in the second round of the Combate Global preliminaries Friday
- McLaughin transitioned after leaving the US Army Special Forces in 2010
- She is the second openly transgender woman to fight MMA in the US, following Fallon Fox, who retired in 2014
- The victory via a rear-naked choke sparked controversy online in the ongoing debate regarding transgender woman in sports
The second openly transgender MMA fighter in the US has won her debut
match - reigniting the debate over trans women in sports.
Alana McLaughlin, 38, won her first professional fight in the Combate Global
prelims Friday against Celine Provost, ending the match with a rear-naked
choke 3 minutes and 32 seconds into the second round.
McLaughlin, from South Carolina, began her transition in 2010 after spending
six years in the US Army special forces.
Her victory prompted backlash from a number of people who said it was
unfair for a trans woman to compete against a cis-gendered athlete in the
sport.
'I'm getting a lot of variations of the same nasty messages calling me a cheater like I didn't just get beat on for a round and a half. Y'all need to
show Céline Provost some respect and take your concern trolling elsewhere.'
McLaughlin responded on Twitter, adding.
'Transphobes are just making my block hand stronger.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ins-debut.html
top comment:
How much more evidence do you need, to see how wrong this is???