Former UFC middleweight trolls Jake Shields over latter's Swyer syndrome explanation amid Imane Khelif controversy

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has been the subject of the court of public opinion as her most recent win in the 2024 Paris Olympics got mired in controversy. Her win over Italy's Angela Carini drew questions on Khelif's gender, with many accusing her of unfairly entering the women's boxing event despite allegedly not being a biological female.

With various groups protesting transgender women participating in women's sports, Khelif came under fire. As it turns out, the Algerian boxing prodigy was born a biological female, but due to a genetic condition, she developed XY chromosomes and more testosterone than others.

Many famous personalities, from Donald Trump to Elon Musk, reacted to this issue on social media. Some speculate that Khelif has Swyer syndrome, a condition where a person can develop XY chromosomes but also have female reproductive structures (National Library of Medicine).

Former UFC welterweight world title challenger Jakes Shields contests this theory, posting on X, saying:

"There is a rare condition called Swyer syndrome where a female can have an XY chromosome. With this condition, they have low testosterone. The boxer has XY and high testosterone. How do you explain this?"

UFC middleweight Derek Brunson poked fun at Shields' post, replying to it with a photo with a caption:

"Who @jakeshieldsajj gets his medical advice from 😂😂😂"

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Amid controversy, Imane Khelif's opponent, Angela Carini, wants to apologize for her actions

In the second round of the women's 66 kg boxing event, Imane Khelif's opponent, Italy's Angela Carini, withdrew from the bout at 46 seconds after receiving two heavy blows to the face.

Carini walked off the ring in protest and refused to shake Khelif's hand. She seemed to have implied that it wasn't fair for her to fight a non-biological female.

A huge online backlash ensued on the heels of the short contest, with various groups taking sides on the matter. In a recent interview with Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, Carini broke her silence on the matter, saying:

"All this controversy makes me sad... I'm sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC [International Olympic Committee] said she can fight, I respect that decision."

She continued:

"It wasn't something I intended to do. Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke."

Read the interview here, as reported by the BBC.