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Alana McLaughlin: Transgender fighter wins MMA debut after rear-naked choke

'To my fans and followers: don't feel obligated to defend me against transphobes online,' McLaughin said

Transgender MMA fighter Alana McLaughlin has won her MMA debut against Celine Provost on Friday, September 10 night. Now while some people are praising McLaughlin for the win, others are slamming her.

The 38-year-old is the first openly transgender athlete to compete in MMA since Fallon Fox stepped into the cage in 2014. McLaughlin has secured a second-round win by choking out Provost, although it wasn't an easy fight for the newcomer. McLaughlin was rocked by her rival in the first round before recovering to force a submission. The fight was initially scheduled for August 6 but was postponed because Provost tested positive for Covid-19 in July. McLaughlin passed all medical requirements before making her MMA debut, including hormone assessments. Ahead of the fight, the debutant wrote on Twitter: "It's probably time to stop looking at social media and get focused."See you on the other side, kittens!"

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McLaughlin came out as transgender in 2003, when she was 20 years old but was denied gender reassignment surgery by her mother and joined the army. McLaughlin served in Afghanistan and was later diagnosed with PTSD before undergoing gender reassignment surgery in 2016. She recently started her MMA training and sights Fox, who won five of her six professional MMA fights between 2012 and 2014, as her inspiration.

McLaughlin said: "I want to pick up the mantle that Fallon put down. Right now, I’m following in Fallon’s footsteps. I’m just another step along the way and it’s my great hope that there are more to follow behind me. If we want to see more trans athletes, if we want to see more opportunities for trans kids, we’re going to have to work out way into those spaces and make it happen."

After McLaughin's win, one person commented, "Other sports I can kinda see it, but in combat sports this shouldn’t be allowed." While another one said, "I respect trans rights all day but this is an unfair advantage." Another one wrote, "I respect transgender right. But is this fair?? Is she happy? I mean that transgender fighter."

While some supported McLaughin's win and wrote, "Wtf is trans right? They are people right? I dont understand why some people must have differents right to a other." While another one said, "Stunning and brave."

McLaughin later replied to all the hate comments and to the people supporting her saying, "To my fans and followers: don't feel obligated to defend me against transphobes online. We all know they're not arguing in good faith and your energy is better spent elsewhere. If it's fun for you, have at it, but take care of yourselves, ok?"