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Trans MMA Fighter Hits Back Against Transphobes After Winning Her Debut Fight

Trans MMA Fighter Hits Back Against Transphobes After Winning Her Debut Fight

Alana McLaughlin choked out her opponent in the second round.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Trans MMA fighter Alana McLaughlin won her debut bout after choking out opponent Celine Provost in the second round.

McLaughlin was born a man and became the first fighter since 2014 to compete in a professional MMA contest.

She used a rear-naked choke to beat Provost on the prelims of a Combate Global event in Miami.

The 38-year-old passed a number of medical tests before the fight, including one that proved she had suitable levels of hormones in her system.

The fighter copped backlash on social media following the result but she's hit back with a defiant statement on Instagram.

McLaughlin said with a photo of her bruised face attached: "Good morning, friends, supporters and others! 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 @cylinelagrande [Provost] some respect and take your concern trolling elsewhere.

"She almost finished me more than once, and on scorecards she definitely won that first round. This is the only post I'll make about this. Transphobes are just making my block hand stronger."

McLaughlin was supported on Friday night by Fallon Fox, who made history as the first openly-transgender fighter back in 2014.

Fox was cageside for McLaughlin's win, which would have no doubt been a massive display of solidarity with the fighter.

McLaughlin is a former a former member of the US Army Special Forces and paid tribute to Fox in her post-fight interview.

She said: "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."

She also said prior to the fight that it was hard to find an opponent.

"It was a nightmare trying to find an opponent. I have nothing but respect for [Provost]," McLaughlin explained.

McLaughlin asked for gender reassignment surgery when she was younger, but it was denied it by her mother. Having grown up in a religious family, the pair no longer speak.

Featured Image Credit: Alana McLaughlin/Instagram

Topics: SPORT, News, LGBT