Screenshot/Combate Global
- Alana McLaughlin, nicknamed Lady Feral, tapped her opponent on her MMA debut Friday.
- McLaughlin attracted backlash because she's the first openly transgender MMA fighter in seven years.
- "Transphobes are just making my block hand stronger," she said after her submission win.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
The first openly transgender MMA fighter to compete in seven years said she's receiving nasty messages calling her a cheater after her debut victory Friday.
Alana McLaughlin, nicknamed "Lady Feral," fought Celine Provost in a featherweight match at the Combate Global event inside the Univision Studios in Miami, Florida.
The fighters competed midway through the card, in a match that finished in the second round when McLaughlin tapped Provost with a rear-naked choke.
McLaughlin was supported cageside by Fallon Fox, the first openly transgender MMA fighter, who last competed in 2014.
"It was a nightmare trying to find an opponent," McLaughlin said before the bout took place, according to ESPN. "I have nothing but respect for [Provost]."
The American media outlet also reported that the 38-year-old passed all the required medicals, including a hormone panel, to compete in the event.
Regardless, she has been faced with backlash since her fight.
"I'm getting a lot of variations of the same nasty messages calling me a cheater," McLaughlin said in an Instagram post, which accompanied a photograph that showed her bruised face.
"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," McLaughlin said, before concluding: "Transphobes are just making my block hand stronger."
McLaughlin previously said on The Trans Sporter Room podcast that she's been inspired by Fox, and hopes to inspire others herself.
"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," McLaughlin said.
"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."
