Who is Alana McLaughlin, the first transgender MMA fighter to compete in a bout since Fallon Fox?

Alana McLaughlin is an openly transgender MMA fighter who made her debut at Combate Global on September 10 in Miami, Florida. She is the first transgender woman to take part in an MMA bout in over seven years.

Before her, Fallon Fox was the lone transgender woman to ever compete in MMA. She had six fights between 2012 and 2014. McLaughlin also served in the U.S. Army Special Forces for six years before leaving in 2010.

McLaughlin took on Celine Provost in her debut. The fight started on a tumultuous note for the 38-year-old. Provost landed hard punches in the opening round and had McLaughlin visibly rocked. But McLaughlin bounced back in the second round and secured a submission victory via a rear-naked choke.

Alana McLaughlin, the first openly transgender athlete to compete in mixed martial arts in the United States since 2014, won her MMA debut Friday night, beating Celine Provost via submission on the Combate Global prelims in Miami.(via @marc_raimondi) https://t.co/foV5gYBoXJ

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 11, 2021

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Alana McLaughlin responds to criticism over her debut MMA win

Alana McLaughlin's win at Combate Global drew a wide variety of reactions from people in the MMA community. Some called the 38-year-old 'a cheater.' They believe that she had an unfair advantage over her female cisgender counterparts.

Former UFC fighter Jake Shields criticized the concerned authorities for allowing McLaughlin to fight Provost.

"This is just insane that any fight show or commission would allow a trans person to fight a women," wrote Jake Shields.

This is just insane that any fight show or commission would allow a trans person to fight a women https://t.co/2YT11vvxld

— Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) September 11, 2021

Alana McLaughlin responded to the backlash by posting a picture of herself on social media with the following caption:

“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 Céline 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,” wrote Alana McLaughlin.