It’s been a very controversial year for one Alana McLaughlin in 2021.
MMA Debut
The transgender woman would receive a lot of hate when she made a successful MMA debut last September. After a tough first round, McLaughlin would come back from adversity to choke out her opponent Celine Provost in round 2. The controversial contest would be put on in Combate Global.
The result would garner much criticism, some of which was from UFC stars Sean O’Malley, Sean Strickland and many others. Many fights didn’t believe a fighter who was born a man, should be allowed to fight a woman, even with years behind a gender transition.
Dealing With Hate
A war of constant hate has been waged upon the U.S. Special Forces veteran. This isn’t the first battle McLaughlin has fought, however.
McLaughlin served 6 years with U.S. Army, including a tour in Afghanistan as part of an elite 12-man unit. Shots over social media aren’t as bad, especially when you’ve been shot at in real life.
However, McLaughlin isn’t gonna go down without a fight as more and more ‘transphobes’ attack her online. Many of which claim she transitioned to a woman just for a competitive advantage in MMA. She’d respond to the critics earlier this month.
“Transphobes claim I transitioned specifically to fight women because I couldn’t beat men as if my previous job wasn’t fighting a real actual war and ending human lives,” Alana McLaughlin tweeted. “If I had been able to keep pretending to be a man I’d have started fighting MMA In 2010.
McLaughlin made the transition from man into woman back in 2016, 5 years before the 38 year-old decided to make their MMA debut. Transitioning would be on her mind since childhood, with thoughts brought up before the age of 10.
As expected, McLaughlin doesn’t like the idea of people saying she only transitioned specifically to beat up women.
“As if I haven’t been fighting men without the safety of gloves and referees and doctors my whole life,” McLaughlin added. “As if I haven’t been shot, stabbed, blown up, and worse. Having a d*ck doesn’t make someone strong, and women, both cis and trans, are stronger than we’re given credit for.”
