Alana McLaughlin | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1982/1983 (age 41–42)[1] |
| Nationality | American |
Alana McLaughlin is a former member of the U.S. Army Special Forces and current MMA fighter. She has a professional record of 1-0-0, having made her debut fight in Miami at Combate Global on September 10, 2021.[2][3] She is the second openly trans woman to have fought professionally in MMA.[1]
Early life[]
McLaughlin grew up in West Columbia, South Carolina in a conservative family that frequently tried to make her more masculine, and in doing so, her family placed her into conversion therapy. McLaughlin was not allowed to play sports until her junior year of high school; at that point, she joined the cross-country team at her high school.[4]
During her final two years of high school, McLaughlin performed well enough to receive a scholarship to Newberry College, and she ran cross-country for two years before deciding to transfer Winthrop University.[4] McLaughlin finished her degree in fine arts in 2015 at UNC-Asheville.[4]
Special Forces[]
McLaughlin joined the U.S. Army Special Forces in 2003 at the age of 20. By 2007, she was a medical sergeant deployed to Afghanistan as part of a 12-person unit. After six years of service, McLaughlin chose not to re-enlist.[4]
McLaughlin earned eight distinguished service medals throughout her career.[4]
Mixed martial arts career[]
McLaughlin had her professional debut on September 10, 2021, at Combate Global against Celine Provost.[2] Fighting under the name Lady Feral,[5] McLaughlin won the fight by rear-naked choke in the second round, giving her a professional record of 1-0-0.[1] McLaughlin trained with MMA Masters, a gym in Hialeah, Florida, prior to the bout.
McLaughlin is the second openly transgender woman to fight professionally in MMA, the first being Fallon Fox who last fought in 2014.[1]
Personal Life[]
McLaughlin is a transgender woman, who uses ‘’she’’ pronouns.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Transgender fighter McLaughlin wins MMA debut" (in en). 2021-09-11. https://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/32186035/transgender-fighter-alana-mclaughlin-submits-celine-provost-mma-debut.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Alana McLaughlin to make Combate Global historic debut" (in en-US). 2021-09-08. https://www.combateglobal.com/en/alana-mclaughlin-to-make-combate-global-historic-debut.
- ↑ Webb, Karleigh (2021-09-12). "Trans MMA fighter Alana McLaughlin gets trailblazing win" (in en). https://www.outsports.com/trans/2021/9/12/22668047/alana-mclaughlin-trans-mma-transgender-fight-combate-global-celine-provost-win-submission.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Alana McLaughlin's journey from US special forces to trans MMA fighter | Loretta Hunt" (in en). 2021-09-08. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/sep/08/alana-mclaughlin-trans-mma-fighter-combate-global.
- ↑ "Trans MMA Fighter Claps Back Against Hate After Winning Debut" (in en). 2021-09-16. https://www.advocate.com/transgender/2021/9/16/trans-mma-fighter-claps-back-against-hate-after-winning-debut.
The original article can be found at Alana McLaughlin and the edit history here.