Jorge Masvidal has shared his take on Lia Thomas and transgender athletes.
Lia Thomas stunned the sporting world after winning several titles at the Ivy League women's swimming and diving championships. The transgender woman was the victor of the competition's 100-yard freestyle on Saturday. Thomas had also won the 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle earlier.
UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal was quizzed on Thomas' recent accolades. According to 'Gamebred', he's not underestimating women's athletic abilities in general, but he thinks "girls should compete against girls."
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
In a recent live Q&A on his Rumble channel, Masvidal said:
“It’s such a no-brainer right? It’s not fair. It’s just not. Men should compete against men. If you don’t want to compete against men, it’s not fair to go and compete against women… I’m not trying to diss girls but it’s just different you know. Girls should compete against girls.”
Masvidal also stressed that he wouldn't let his daughter experience such inequality in sports. However, he acknowledged that transgender people in sports are evolving.
As it stands, the NCAA allows transgender male athletes who have not had any hormone therapy to take part in the women's swimming team. In contrast, transgender female athletes, on the other hand, are "required to have taken hormone replacement therapy for at least a year," per CNN.
Jorge Masvidal seeks to end another debate in his next fight
Transgender athletes often spark various debates. Masvidal, meanwhile, has a debate of his own to settle in the UFC.
The No.6 welterweight contender faces his former friend Colby Covington at UFC 272. The pair are both proud Donald Trump supporters. However, Masvidal claims Covington knows nothing about politics and is just using it for publicity.
More importantly, 'Gamebred' assured that he will expose Covington when they meet inside the octagon. In an interview with Fox News’ Jesse Watters, he said:
"If you don’t believe me, just ask him any – what’s his favorite law that Trump passed while Trump was in presidency, or anything like that. Ask that idiot anything politically related. You’ll see he’s just a fraud, man. He’s just holding up books to get triggers and things like that, but he doesn’t know anything about what he talks about. And about fighting, he’s very limited. I’m going to show it, March 5, how limited he is.”