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Unfightable (2024)

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Unfightable (2024)

Post by bunniefuu »

(suspenseful music)

(suspenseful music continues)

- [Narrator #1] Racial

inequality, defund the police,

and now LGBT rights,

Portland has become

a hot bed of protest.

- [Narrator #2] Police

declared a riot in downtown.

- [Narrator #3] There

are all these attacks

against trans rights

and trans humanity

that is really

easy to gloss over.

- [Narrator #4] Soon

as Trump was elected,

we saw a significant increase

in white supremacist activity

and misogynist activity.

A lot of trans and q*eer

people were being assaulted.

- [Narrator #5] Officers

say he attacked Jenny

with a metal pole.

- [Narrator #6] I don't

wanna end up to dead one day.

- [Danica] We had heard about

her, that she was trans,

that she was special forces,

and that she had a

very specific skillset.

- [Narrator #7] So we're now

seeing this widespread movement

to ban women and girls who

are trans from women's sports.

- You didn't transition

to win more medals?

- No.

- [Narrator #5]

Alana McLaughlin,

the second trans athlete

to compete in MMA.

- [Narrator #8] The

South Carolina native

says she has spent

her whole life

physically resisting violence,

so mixed martial arts.

- [Narrator #5] The human

rights campaign says

a record 34 states introduced

anti-trans gender bills

last year.

- [Alana] The only

way that trans people

are gonna have more

freedom and more inclusion

is if we step up

and make that space,

clear it out for ourselves,

because it's definitely

not gonna be given to us.

(suspenseful music)

(suspenseful music)

- [Campbell] I know it

sounds like outta left field,

I'm thinking about

bringing Fallon Fox back.

- [Mike] Well, if I

put my purist hat on,

yeah, I don't think it's great.

How old is she?

She's like over 40 or 40

years old right now, I think.

- [Tony] I'm on the same

page with you, Mike,

I'm worried about the optics.

I do know of Fallon Fox, I

don't know her personally,

but I know there was a

lot of bad press on that,

so I'm not sure how

this would pan out.

- [Mike] It's

definitely gonna create

an expl*sive situation, so

I'm uncomfortable with it.

- [Campbell] You

know, it's funny,

I know how respectful

you guys are.

So when you tell me

politely you don't like it,

you're probably thinking, this

is the dumbest f*cking idea

we have heard on

one of these calls.

I didn't think Fallon

Fox was over 40.

Let's find out if she's

still active as a fighter,

and let's table it.

I mean, if she's not

fighting and whatever,

alright?

- Okay, do some homework.

(Alana slurping)

- I did not create

the Wikipedia page

and I'm not quite sure who did.

I remember I said something on

Twitter about like, you know,

I'm surprised I don't have one.

And then it was a couple

days later, one popped up.

But if you look at the

editing history on that page,

most of the edits are someone

from an anonymous IP pops on

and changes all

the gender pronouns

to he and him just to be shitty,

and then someone

changes it back.

- My name is Anne Lieberman,

I use they/them pronouns,

and I'm the Director

of Policy and Programs

for Athlete Ally, a

nonprofit organization

that works to dismantle the

structures of oppression

that isolate, exclude,

and endanger LGBTQI+

people in sports.

Every trans person is different,

we are not a monolith,

so that's also just

important to say.

But gender dysphoria is when

someone's deeply held belief

of their gender does not match

what is happening

on the outside.

- No, it was like five or six,

and I saw there was

some kind of TV show,

like some expose on

Christine Jorgensen,

who was she was a trans woman

back in like the '40s and '50s.

- Have you finally

achieved full acceptance?

- Oh, I don't know whether

things would be full acceptance.

With the intelligence,

of course,

on the educational level of

colleges and so forth, yes.

In John Q Public, I'm

not so sure sometimes.

People are still believing

that little boys should

have blue booties

and little girls should

have pink booties.

- Seeing that and feeling

something click, you know?

And even then, I didn't

really have the words for it,

I didn't have the

vocabulary to describe it.

You know, you know who you

are and nobody else does.

You know, it's maddening,

it'll drive you crazy.

I knew I was a girl,

even if nobody else did.

You know, keep in mind,

I grew up in the '80s and '90s.

I knew it was

dangerous to discuss,

because we went to

church five times a week,

and you know, it was a church

where they firmly believed

that everyone in the world

is going to hell except them.

My paternal grandfather was g*y

and he died in the A*DS

crisis during the '90s.

- The threat of A*DS, just

the very threat of it,

has changed the lives

of millions of people.

And you heard from the

talk about prevention,

about which I wanna

say more in a moment.

It needs to change

the lives of millions

of more Americans.

- Probably like between

the age of like 5 and

10, sometime around then,

grandpa started

coming around again,

and I guess dad and grandpa

sort of repaired

their relationship.

And then grandpa got sick,

and then dad took care of

him while he went terminal.

But even in spite

of that, you know,

grandpa made it clear

that he had no regrets,

you know, he was happy

to be who he was.

But when he passed my parents,

I don't know if this was

to comfort themselves,

they were just certain that

he repented before the end.

You know, and that mindset,

well, it never sat well with me,

I wasn't able to

be open about it.

I don't know if my parents

ever spoke with him about it,

but I mean, I didn't

intentionally come out to them.

Like they used to dig

through my belongings,

they'd read my diary, you know,

find girl clothes in my dresser

in the back of my closet.

And because of that, they

took away my bedroom door,

they took away my

bedroom curtains,

so you know, every morning

I'd see hundreds of cars

going by on the

main highway there

on the way to school

while I was standing

there in my underwear,

you know, because they

wanted to make sure

I wasn't cross-dressing, right?

They did all these things

to sort of try to make me

conform to masculinity.

That kind the focus

of their lives really

was the church for

most of my life.

- We know that trans

kids experience

higher rates of suicidality

and mental health issues,

especially when they're

not in a welcoming

and inclusive environment.

If there is at least

one supportive adult

in a trans kid's life, that

that increases their ability

to survive and connect to their

communities exponentially.

in a- Around the time Ithat

that was five years old,lity

my parents started to take

me to a nearby chicken farm

owned by some members

of their church.

This was an effort

to get me to man up

by spending time with

their adult sons.

Instead, one of them r*ped me

and continued to

do so for years.

The only reason they believed me

is because they went to my

ab*ser's parents and said,

"You know, well,

y'all have raised

five or six boys.

You know, why is our

child telling these lies?"

And then they're like,

"Oh, well,

this isn't the first

time this has happened,

so maybe it's not a lie."

And I know that when

I was being abused,

I know of at least

three other kids

that were actively being

abused at the same time,

and I was the only

one to come forward.

I was the youngest,

I was the smallest,

and I was the only

one to come forward.

I mean, it should

come as no surprise

that as a kid growing

up in the south,

a skinny little q*eer kid

who was kind of femme,

you know, I got bullied a lot.

So I would hide out in

the blackberry thicket

where nobody could

come in after me.

I was small enough

to get in there

and that was my safe place,

surrounded by thorns,

eating berries.

(gentle instrumental music)

Yeah, I went down and took

those cognitive tests at the VA,

and they said I was

still in the top 2%.

- [Fritz] That's amazing

after all the concussions

you've had.

- Yeah, well,

that's the thing,

I've never been diagnosed

with a concussion,

I've never had a concussion,

getting hit in the head,

or blown up, or otherwise, so.

- [Fritz] Well, lucky you,

you can see all these

- But still.

- beautiful flowers.

- Yeah, all the sh*t

I got up to when I was

younger and in the army,

I don't know.

- Yeah, we're close confidants,

and Alana's an open book.

I mean, you ask her,

she'll tell you,

we've seen each other

through some hard spots.

She's been there for me and

I've been there for her.

I know about her

family of origin,

I've heard about her

hard years growing up,

I know about the

abuse she suffered

as a trans person

in the public eye.

I like to hold those stories

for her and she holds mine.

- I was so deep in my own head

and my own bullshit, just

trying to muddle through things.

I was extremely

depressed, I was suicidal,

you know, all I could

think about was my gender,

who I was gonna be, the

abuse that I'd suffered.

People knew I was smart, but

they knew something was wrong,

but nobody ever did

anything about it.

Athletics kind of saved me.

Basically, one of

the girls on my track

and cross country team,

she got scholarships

to Newberry College

in South Carolina,

and they were actively

recruiting other runners,

and she gave them my name

and then they recruited me.

And I ran two seasons

at Newberry College

before people were h*m*

and transphobic towards me.

And I was talking to my mom,

this was what it was about.

I was like, these feelings

have not gone away.

You know, I told my parents

that the whole

conversion therapy again

and cutting me off

from any support

wasn't gonna work for me,

so maybe I should join the

army instead, and you know,

get myself k*lled at w*r.

And then my mom said, "Maybe

the army's not a bad idea."

- An army of one.

- Yeah, you know,

I was without direction.

All I gave a sh*t about was

that I was sad, and angry,

and nobody cared about me.

So when I decided

to join the army,

it absolutely was not out

of any patriotic duty.

I don't know what

it is that drives me

to do these things, but it's,

you know, if I was

gonna be a soldier,

I was gonna be one

of the best soldiers.

I wasn't gonna settle for

being a cook or a mechanic.

And if I was gonna go to combat,

I was gonna be one

of the best at it.

(g*nshots banging)

Anybody volunteering for

special forces, to an extent,

they are a different breed.

They're there for some

reason or another,

they're driven by something,

and I think some of

them it's trauma,

some of it it's just

toxic masculinity,

like, this is how you be a man,

for whatever reason, I mean,

that's kind of why I was there.

I was at a tipping point

and I knew I was gonna die

one way or another if

I didn't transition.

You know, we were on

exfil from Afghanistan,

we were flying in a

Black Hawk from our FOB

that we'd been at into Qalat,

what they call map of the earth,

so we were flying low down in

a valley in the helicopter.

And, you know,

I'd gone through this

whole deployment,

been shot at and blown up,

and I was still here, you know,

worst I'd had was just

a couple scratches,

you know, piece of

shrapnel in my hip,

like, you know,

being the medic on the team,

I didn't even report that,

I didn't get my purple heart

because I didn't want that

enemy marksmanship badge.

But we were flying

in that helicopter,

and I thought about jumping.

And I don't know,

I can't remember

if it was my team

sergeant or my captain,

and I don't know if they

just had a gut feeling

or if I actually like moved

towards the open door.

I don't remember what

the f*ck happened,

but I know that somebody

like grabbed me and pulled me

and held me up against

the wall of the aircraft

until I made eye contact.

And that was.

(suspenseful music)

I was so hopeless, you know?

And I've had people tell me,

"Oh, you're so brave

for doing this."

And it wasn't bravery,

it was desperation.

It was, I'm gonna die

if I don't do this,

either by my own hand

or by someone else's.

And I tried six years in the

military, I did special forces,

I saw combat and was better at

k*lling than I was at dying.

So yeah, I went up to Asheville,

North Carolina, and I

spent close to a year

in a little cabin outside

of Weaverville by myself.

I had been trying

to ease into it.

And then my birthday

in 2012, I was like,

"f*ck it, I have to do this."

And easing in isn't

working, didn't work.

So I jumped in feet first.

Hormone therapy and

social transition.

So, you know,

I stopped wearing

men's clothing.

But no, I graduated,

got my art degree,

and I went to work

for a blacksmith shop

back in Asheville or

outside of Asheville.

(suspenseful music)

(hammer banging)

Then my friend Sophia talked me

into moving out

here to Portland.

You know, I'd never

been here before,

sight unseen.

Frankly, I honestly believe

that if I had not been trans,

I'd have been in the

UFC by 2011 or 2012

after I got outta the Army.

But that didn't seem like that

was ever gonna be possible

if I couldn't have surgery,

and I didn't think I was

ever gonna have surgery.

It wasn't until 2016, within

a couple months of being here,

someone that I

knew from a forum,

an old trans message

board on the internet,

she got ahold of me

and she was like,

"Hey, you know,

I know this doctor,

this guy out in

Thailand who used to run

a gender transition clinic."

So the deal was they give me

all the surgeries, you know,

bottom surgery, top

surgery, facial surgery.

And then in return,

they get to use my

photos for advertisement.

I jumped at the

chance, you know?

And she's like, "Hey, you know,

don't feel like you

have to take this,

because it's gonna be scary

and it's gonna be lonely,

and it is dangerous."

Because I got top

surgery, bottom surgery,

and facial surgery within

a week of each other.

I ended up losing a lot of blood

and had to have a transfusion,

I'm guessing I had

a bleeder somewhere.

After I got surgery, the

clinic ended up going under.

The guy that put it all

together, I was told,

'Oh, he's wanted

by Interpol now."

After surgery, I was an

emotional rollercoaster.

I apologized to

all of my friends

that were with me at that time

who saw the nightmare

person I was

for a good six

months after that.

I was hard to deal with.

I took some of these

important moments

in my life and put them online.

My social media

presence kicked off

back in the heyday of

Tumblr, a blogging website

where I chronicled my transition

and made some of my

first serious forays

into engaging with

the trans community.

(video beeping)

(suspenseful music)

This is where I dipped my toe

in learning how to

be a baby activist

with local orgs like the

UNCA Feminist Collective.

(suspenseful music)

With the election of Donald

Trump, I saw a real threat,

not only to the LGBTQ community,

but minorities everywhere.

Eventually Tumblr gave way

to Instagram and Twitter.

- We had heard about

her, like there was this

like trantifa super soldier

who came to Portland.

And so we reached out to her,

'cause we do a community

defense project.

- So the past

three to five years

have been the most violent

and scary in the history of

the US for LGBTQI+ people.

Hundreds and hundreds

of pieces of legislation

directly targeting

LGBTQI+ communities

at the state level,

at the federal level.

And the majority

of that legislation

has been targeting

transgender people.

- I got very politically active.

And then, you know,

anybody that's watched the

news reports about Portland

for the past six

years, that's Portland.

(suspenseful music)

(people yelling)

(gentle instrumental music)

(air whooshing)

Everyone's favorite, the

magic fairy wand over here.

When I made it and displayed it,

I had it wrapped with

pink ribbons and it

was really pretty.

But in recent years it's

been used for stress relief.

And usually around

this time of year

we go and smash up pumpkins.

I used to call myself an artist,

I would like to call

myself an artist,

but I can't afford space

in Portland to do that.

So it's mostly complete,

but I want to

build a really big,

ridiculous ostentatious

frame around it.

Back in the '30s, Mussolini's

fascist party headquarters,

this was the front

of the building,

si being the Italian

word for yes,

and it's just Mussolini's face.

I changed si to just dollar

signs and exclamation points,

because Donald Trump is

a silver spoon con man.

I make no secret of

the fact that people

that openly say they

hate people like me

and want me dead, I

hate them right back.

- Alana does have

a tough exterior.

She's seen all sorts of

action from Afghanistan

to even here on the

streets of Portland.

But you know, underneath it,

she's a squishmallow,

she is a little kitten

who wants to curl

up by your side,

get head scratches, and

eat snacks with you.

- [Alana] Okay, the fountain

is seriously looking

very inviting right now.

- Yeah, it's beautiful.

- My therapist wrote

in support of me

when I was filing my

claim from the VA,

that I have one of the worst

cases of PTSD she's ever seen.

And for me it's,

it's not just PTSD,

it's complex PTSD, because it

started when I was very young.

You know, and it's the kind of

thing that happens to people

who are put in

traumatic situations

that are long-term

and inescapable.

- Even with her complex trauma,

with her combat background.

(sirens wailing)

(g*nshots banging)

- [Alana] This is real

f*cking good for my PTSD.

- Being trans and

living in this society,

she is actively working

on her own mental health.

- She's a person who came

from a world of violence.

And for her to have that,

the thing that honed her,

and turned it into

something that's challenging

and positive for her,

I think is amazing.

- You know, by

the time I was 10,

you know, I'd spent

half of my life

being someone's

personal sex toy.

I'm surprised I'm in any way

a functional human being.

'Cause most of the time people

don't come back from that.

(suspenseful music)

I haven't spoken to

my family in years.

Their false hope of

conversion is long gone.

Sometimes I wonder

if they check in

on my social feeds to

see what I'm up to.

But I have to remind myself

of the reality of

this situation.

Yeah, I know my

story makes me sound

like an anime character brought

to life, but what can I say?

It's my story and I'm

the one that lived it.

I'm a tough as

nails, candy coated,

hard femme, trantifa

super soldier.

(suspenseful music)

I'm Lady Feral.

(suspenseful music)

- [Campbell] This

is a pretty good way

to jumpstart a lot of interest.

I mean, it's if they

don't care about us,

that I think is the problem.

- [Tony] I mean,

I understand that,

Campbell, I'm just

worried about legitimacy.

You know, we're an up

and coming organization,

I think we're headed

for a train wreck.

- I don't.

- Can I speak?

- [Campbell] Yeah,

go ahead, Mike.

- [Mike] Alright,

so here's the deal.

You know, I got the

low down on Fallon,

and she's outta action,

she's not in shape,

and she's kind of

aged out of the sport.

But she did turn me on to

another transgender fighter

who has a really

crazy story, actually.

You know, before she

made the transition,

she was in the special forces.

And now she makes swords.

- She makes swords?

- That's right,

she makes swords, actual swords.

If we're going down this path,

I think she's a much better fit,

you know, regardless of

Fallon's circumstances.

- [Campbell] I just

want to be clear

on what the TV gods

are offering us.

- Yep.

- [Campbell] This is

a f*cking no brainer.

Alright.

- We are an MMA organization,

not the United Nations,

just remember that.

(Campbell laughing)

- I forgot.

- I don't even know

what that means, but it's funny.

Look, Tony, I hear you.

Let's find out some more.

What is this woman's name?

- [Tony] Her name

is Alana McLaughlin.

(fighters grunting)

- So that's what you

call karate, hey?

- In the '80s and '90s, I

really got into Bruce Lee.

Kind of a crush, to be honest,

because nobody else

looked like that

and nobody else moved like that.

You know, you go back and watch

any of the contemporary

movies from that era,

Bruce was the only one

that had that kind

of onscreen charisma.

It was the closest I was

ever allowed to dancing.

You know, it was an

expression of the human body

that I was at least

tangentially allowed to access.

You know, my sister's

danced ballet,

and I wasn't allowed.

You know, running

was my first love

when it came to athletics.

But mixed martial arts, just

martial arts in general,

it's a way to sort of

re-inhabit and reclaim my body.

You know, it lets

me feel like I have

some measure of control

that I might not otherwise

feel that I have.

Nobody

No, no, no

Nobody, nobody

does it like me

Nobody

No, no, no

Nobody

(upbeat music)

(singers vocalizing)

- [Interviewer #1] Hey,

Fallon Fox, MMA fighter,

the transgender one.

- Yeah.

- Is trying to fight

in the UFC.

We're not sure if they wanna

welcome her into the UFC.

Would you welcome her

into the wrestling?

- I'll whip her,

I mean, I'll whip him.

I mean.

- You'll whip him,

you'll whip her or him?

- I'll whip her.

I'm confused.

- Well, regardless of.

- Have dinner, submission.

- [Interviewer #2] You think

you can knock out Fallon Fox?

- I can knock out on

anyone in the world.

(upbeat music)

- Is having a long

over due conversation

around transgender issues,

recently inspired by the

likes of Caitlyn Jenner

and Laverne Cox in

"Orange is the New Black".

Among the ranks of transgender

pioneers is Fallon Fox,

the first openly transgender

athlete in the history of MMA.

And she joins us this morning.

Good morning, Fallon.

So good to See you.

(upbeat music)

- The first round.

- Yeah.

Allanna challenges and

Fallon gets her down,

the earliest we've seen

so far in the fight.

- Yeah, got her throat.

- Oh, and Allanna Jones

taps out.

A knee across the

throat from Fallon Fox,

Allanna Jones taps out in

the third and final round.

Fallon Fox comes out on top.

(crowds cheering)

(upbeat music)

- Fallon transcends

the sport she was in.

She transcends MMA.

You cannot do this story

and not talk about her.

In many ways, Fallon is,

if you built a Mount

Rushmore of trans people,

you have to make a strong

case for her being on it

because of what she

did, and how she did it,

and the hits that

she took to do it.

- More than anything,

you admired her for putting

herself in this position.

Somebody's gotta be first,

we've seen it in

every walk of life.

It's always gonna be difficult,

it certainly was for her.

- It's not her undefeated record

that has everyone talking.

The headline is the fact

that Fallon was born a man.

Fallon kept her history private

until breaking the story

to "Sports Illustrated's"

Loretta Hunt this week.

- So the first time around,

no one knew that

she was transgender.

It wasn't until the second

time that we found out,

or she came out

and said publicly,

that she was a

transgender fighter.

- My very first fight

was back in '99.

So it's like, that's early,

early days of the sport.

Accomplished quite

a lot, you know,

I had an amazing career,

won five world titles.

I'm strongly against

trans competing in MMA.

- [Alana] Okay, we

need to pause here,

so I can tell you exactly

who Jake Shields is.

He's a misogynist,

r*cist, anti-q*eer,

anti-vax conspiracy theorist.

He thinks climate

change is fake,

that q*eer people are

destroying civilization,

and that women are sex

objects and baby factories.

This is the man that

suggested Greta Thunberg

just needed a proper

smashing from Andrew Tate

to knock it off with her crazy

feminist climate activism.

He's going to shriek

that trans athletes

are dominating women's sports,

which he acknowledges he

doesn't care about, by the way.

How can we believe he

wants to protect women

and daughters when

he thinks feminists

just need a good f*cking.

- Unless they're going

against other trans.

Fallon Fox wasn't

a good fighter, but

she was just bigger,

she, he, whatever it was,

bigger and stronger than

the girls she was fighting.

She hid the fact

that she was a man.

I think at that time period,

people weren't following

trans athletes,

it was kind of a new thing.

Now it's everywhere, it's

being pushed in every sport.

I think the vast majority of

people don't agree with it,

but they're scared to speak out.

- I think it has

gotten more intense

and I think it's

due to the politics.

I think it's because of

the political division

that the country is facing,

we didn't have

that 10 years ago.

It was more of if or

why she should fight.

But now they're bringing in

more of the politics into it.

- I think over the last

10 years in social media

has certainly

heightened all issues.

So why would this

one not be included?

However, it also heightens

the amount of notoriety,

acceptability too.

You know, there's

a yin and yang,

with social media, you know,

you get a lot of people know

about something real quick.

And look, I mean,

we weren't even talking

about athletes that were g*y

up until four or five years ago.

- In some ways

it's gotten better

in that more and

more people are out,

more and more people feel safe

to come out and move forward.

We are building the society

I would've liked to have had

when I was 15, 16 years old.

- The younger generation

is just far more

open and inclusive.

What we're seeing in

terms of the pushback

is so rarely with young people,

it's mostly with adults.

- Every single girl in fighting

I've talked to is strongly

against trans and trans MMA.

I think girls don't like

getting involved with politics,

rightfully so, it's

kind of a man's job,

so they really don't

like speaking up on it.

But it's unfortunately

in this situation,

I think they're kind of cornered

where they're gonna have

to start speaking out.

- I think it comes from naivety.

I think a lot of men

have not really watched

a lot of women athlete events.

There's always positives and

there's always negatives.

And the tradition is to

focus on the negatives.

- The problem is though, when

you make progress like that,

there's always going

to be backlash.

And oftentimes,

history has shown us,

that that backlash can be very

violent, can be very sudden,

and can be very panicked.

Take it as a sign of hope,

because that's a symbol

that they're losing

and they know it,

and they need one last

shot at the buzzer.

- [Announcer #1] Fallon

"Queen of Swords" Fox.

- Fallon Fox and I had

connected on social media

like back in like 2014, 2013,

something like that.

And it was mostly

because, you know,

there for a while if you

were trans on the internet,

it was a pretty small community.

And then someone

who was, you know,

I wasn't as prominent

as Fallon was,

but there's not

a lot of former special

forces trans women either.

So I had gotten a

little bit of attention,

like recognition for that.

So Fallon and I

knew of each other.

And I think I had

actually told Fallon

I wanted to make her a sword,

'cause you know, her

name for fighting,

you know, was the

Queen of Swords.

- She appreciated my fighting

and we became Facebook

friends, and you know,

we've been chatting ever since.

- And she's like, "You know,

you could do this?"

It was 2020, I think,

it was like right

before the pandemic hit,

right before COVID 19.

I'd flown out to Chicago

and I trained with

her a little bit,

and I think she was

feeling me out to see

what kind of potential I had.

- The more minorities that

you have competing in a sport,

such as this situation

where people like are hating

against the minority group,

it's better to have

more minority groups

out there competing.

And that way people

can see, you know,

that they're just

like everybody else

and that they belong

in this sport.

- [Narrator #9] The

17-year-old Dallas area

high school student won

the title of champion

in the girls state wrestling

competition Saturday.

A mix of cheers and boos

directed at the wrestler

as he fell to his knees.

(suspenseful music)

- I want trans girls that

are in like school now,

I want everyone

that comes after me

to not have to deal with

the same f*cking bullshit

I've had to deal with.

Like, I want a better world

for the people

that come after me.

And apparently that's a weird

thing to want these days.

You know, in American culture

we've got this

idea of pulling up

the f*cking ladder behind us.

You know, you look at,

you know, I don't

want to be like,

oh, you know,

the baby boomers

ruined everything.

But I mean, who can

afford a house now?

You know, nobody.

You know, the

climate's collapsing,

the world's on

fire and flooding,

and we're just

supposed to be okay

with this and keep

going to work.

You know, like, this is the

kind of sh*t that pisses me off.

I wanna see a better

world when I'm gone.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

(upbeat music)

(crowds yelling)

- [Narrator #10] Two

great fighters right here.

Two guys putting

it all out there.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

(crowds yelling)

- Holy cow.

- Cunningham's come alive,

like Peter Frampton.

(upbeat music)

(crowds yelling)

- I really created this company

to give people an opportunity.

And there were a number of

athletes, a number of countries,

a number of groups of people

that were being overlooked,

for whatever reasons.

And Combate was formed

to give those athletes

and those audiences a chance

to have their own

version of MMA.

- [Alana] Let me introduce

you to Campbell McLaren,

CEO and founder

of Combate Global.

He's been around since the

beginning of what we know

as modern MMA.

In 1993, he co-founded the UFC.

He marketed the first UFC shows

and was a tireless promoter.

He tried to get Fallon

Fox back in the cage,

or La Jaula for Combate,

but she told them she

was outta the fight game

because of her bad knees.

She gave them my name

while she was convincing me

that I had what it

takes to make it in MMA.

I'd say the timing

worked out perfectly,

if it weren't for an

unprecedented global pandemic.

(dial tone droning)

- [Mike] Hey, Alana,

this is Mike Afrmowitz from

Combate Americas, how are you?

Pro debuts, you know,

typically it's very

different from,

you know, training in the gym,

from sparring, very different

from even amateur fights.

You know, when

those lights go on,

you know, typically

sometimes fighters,

they tense up.

But you know, that's something

you just need to be aware of

and prepare yourself

more mentally, so.

- Yeah, definitely

like, I'm ready.

- [Mike] What weight

will you be fighting at.

- 145.

- Okay, yeah,

that's what I thought.

(gentle instrumental music)

Well, there it is,

my shot at another career,

this time a professional

mixed martial arts fighter.

Is this some sort of PR stunt

or is there another motive here?

At least I know

Fallon has my back.

That's the thing, every

fight promotion's a PR thing.

You know, and I think with MMA

they've had a fine line to

tread because, you know,

you remember back in the

'90s it was human fighting.

It was a blood sport, it

was banned in most states.

And now they're trying

to tread that line

between legitimate

sport and spectacle,

because let's be real, you know,

when you think about

mixed martial arts,

you're not thinking

about it the way

you think about

football, or basketball,

or something.

You know, people

that are fight fans,

they want to see blood.

- You look for a fighter

that you can really

create a story about,

and hopefully buzz,

and hopefully hype,

and get people interested

in a particular fight.

That's what a promoter does.

And for me it's a ton of fun.

With Alana, it was a very,

very different approach.

There's so much hate

around transgender athletes

that I didn't want to go

into it in a way that was

going to cause a stir.

Alana's had enough

trouble from people

that don't think she

should even exist,

that I didn't wanna put a

giant target on her back.

- [Narrator #11] Broadcasting

from the heart of Portland,

rise and shine everyone,

and get ready to rock

your morning blues away.

- I'd say cue the

inspirational training montage,

but unfortunately it

doesn't work like that.

Combate Global offered

me a fight down in Miami,

ironically my dad's hometown,

but without having an

opponent lined up yet.

So my plan is to get in shape

and work on my technique

in the meantime,

which takes me to

my next problem.

There's no MMA in Portland

that will train me.

Time to hurry up and wait.

- Alright, well,

today we'll get our feet

and our hands warmed up.

Maybe jump rope a little bit.

- Hmm.

- And then work on

some of your power shots,

wanna work on your upper cut

and your right hook.

- Alright.

- But in between

I wanna work on double jab too.

- Okay.

- Trying to get in.

- Yeah, 'cause right

now I'm still just like,

I mean, I'm basically

trans girl Tank Abbott.

Just, "What's your style?"

"Pit fighting."

- It's hard.

Learning skills are hard.

- Alright.

- Let's get to it.

(Alana exhaling)

(blows thudding)

Breathe.

Go.

One at a time.

So we're gonna breathe until

you feel like you're recharged,

- Okay.

- and throw another hard one.

Okay.

- I mean, let's be real,

when it comes to sports,

the thing that

people are off about

is trans women being included.

We had Laurel Hubbard at

the Olympics, Lia Thomas,

but the pushback has been

worse than I expected.

There is a concentrated

group, like,

a very vocal group

pushing really hard

for trans women to be excluded.

- He can take his male body

and compete against other

male bodies, and fair enough.

And then can go

dress how he wants

and act how he wants in his

personal life, no problem.

- Males do have a

performance advantage

that's based on

their biological sex.

Picking testosterone

is a red herring,

I mean, we are forgetting

about the anatomy,

the fast-twitch muscle,

the bigger organs.

- For the people who are

pushing this level of hysteria,

it isn't about sports at all.

It's about the erasure

of transgender people

from society as a whole.

- We're being told

that trans women

should not be allowed to compete

because we are actually men.

And it's not f*cking

true, it's not true.

- In many ways, this is no

different than the hysteria

we saw about g*y and l*sbian

people in the 1970s and 1980s

that have just been repackaged

and repurposed for a new

time and the new target.

- The conversation and

emphasis on trans athletes

has been part of a much

longer political strategy

to try to center and

dehumanize trans people

in the US and globally.

Many news outlets, many

academics have written

about the way in

which trans people

and trans athletes

specifically are being used

as a political tool.

- MMA is probably

one of the sports

where people are

most gonna be off

about a trans

woman participating

because of the violent aspect

of the sport in the first place.

- You know, I have a daughter,

I have, you know,

mother, girls I love,

and it's just to watch what

a man can do to a girl,

it's something that I don't

feel like I could watch.

Alana says she's a woman

and has some estrogen,

but the truth is,

she was born a man,

she grew up a man, she

has the lungs of a man,

the skulls of a man, she

has the body of a man.

So, you know,

maybe she feels like a woman

inside, but she's just not.

- They make all these

bullshit arguments about,

"Oh, you know,

you have these unfair

advantages, and bone density,

and all this", f*ck that,

it is not held up by

scientific inquiry.

You know, in fact,

I've seen studies that show

trans women as a population.

I'm not sure why, don't know

if it's sociological factors

as opposed to physical,

but like trans women

as a population statistically

have lower bone density

than cisgender women,

and I would say

it's probably economic

issues more than anything.

- People are really

misinformed about this,

and they come at it from a

position of anger, emotion,

hate, whether it's religious,

or philosophical, or political.

I think they don't really

understand what's going on here.

When people first hear

transgender fighter,

former military,

they're like,

"No, we don't want that.

We don't need that, we don't

think that should even exist."

- Anyway, not great news.

Had the fight fall through

again, no opponent again.

But it was nice to

actually hear something.

So even though we're

looking at June 25th now,

which is a day before I

turned 38, for f*ck sake.

Fallon just messaged me, said,

"Please knock people

out with those knees."

(blows thudding)

(Alana exhaling)

- I'm really struggling to get

through this f*cking workout.

f*ck.

- What Alana is describing

and going through right now

in terms of difficulty

finding a coach,

can't find somebody to fight

her, can't find other folks

or allies locally to really

support her in a real way.

That is something that every

single one of the athletes

we're in contact with

have that same issue.

- Process of getting

in the gym for Alana

was not an easy one.

There were a lot that they

didn't wanna accept her.

- The fact that it's

hard for her to get

a place to train where

she feels comfortable,

where she feels

welcome is something

that weighs heavy on her a lot.

But she still figures it out.

(blows thudding)

- MMA, the sport,

it's weird anyway.

There's tons of people that

are addicted to testosterone

or they're doing EPO.

There's weight cutting,

there's rampant steroid use.

- There's a hypocrisy

surrounding trans athletes

that's impossible to ignore.

Caitlyn Jenner says trans women

shouldn't participate

in women's sports,

but she herself competed in

a women's golf tournament.

Jake Shields complains that

I have unfair advantages,

but he's been suspended

for using band substances.

- People wanna focus on trans

fighters because it's easy.

It's easy to say that

this person is doing it

to have an edge.

- All the people that tell me

I should have to fight men,

I legally couldn't and it

be sanctioned, you know?

By every legal

standard I'm a woman.

You know, my hormones are

where they're supposed to be.

My birth certificate,

driver's license,

social security card all say

female where it says sex.

I've been open about who I

am the f*cking whole time,

I've passed every test.

There are plenty of cis

women that are doping

that still get to fight.

I invested a lot in not having

testosterone in my body.

I'm sure as sh*t not

reintroducing any.

- There's not

gonna be real money

or fame for Alana in the end.

She's doing it because she's

always been an athlete,

and always been a woman,

and wants to fight.

She should be able to do

that without this abuse,

without threats online,

without feeling like somebody

might k*ll you any moment.

That's f*cked up.

- Trans athletes always

have an advantage.

You look at men, they

dominate every sports.

That's the reason why we

give women's divisions.

By allowing trans,

we're taking away what

women work so hard for.

I think people say like,

"Oh, you're not being

inclusive in this",

but what about the

girls that care?

What about their feelings?

They've worked so hard.

You know, to take their

rights over a few people,

to take it from the

thousands of women

that work so hard for sports.

That's probably why they should

either make a trans league

or compete against

men, you know?

- I'm the second openly

trans woman in MMA,

who the f*ck am I gonna fight?

- I only know one transgender

fighter in the entire world.

What is she gonna do?

Shadow box.

You know, I can't start

a league with one person.

- Women's MMA is

barely able to field

any kind of competition

in the first place,

because it's pretty

small as it is.

You think an even

smaller category

is gonna be able

to make it, like,

that's called segregation,

and historically it hasn't

worked out for people.

They don't care that

women are underpaid,

they don't care that

women don't have access

to the same facilities.

They will tell you

that women's sports

aren't as good as men's sport.

Like, they don't care

about women's sports

until it is an

opportunity for them

to sh*t on trans

women, that's it.

- So one of the major

myths we hear is that.

- Pretty soon there'll

be no women's sports.

It'll just be men that

couldn't hack it as pros,

they'll switch and become women,

and they'll go dominate

women's sports.

That'll be the future of women's

sports if this keeps going.

- And that is a major one

I wanna debunk right now.

If we take the Olympics and

Paralympics as an example,

the first transgender

policy put forth

by the IOC was in 2004.

So between 2004 and the

Tokyo Olympics in 2021,

over 50,000 athletes competed.

Not a single athlete

was openly trans

until the Tokyo Olympics

when one openly trans woman

competed in weightlifting

and she did not medal, she

could not even finish her lifts.

1 athlete, 50,000 athletes

over two decades.

- We are statistically

underrepresented.

You know, in a more just world,

there would be people

asking questions like,

"Why aren't there more

trans women in sports?"

- People have a lot of

feelings about trans athletes

and about what they're

seeing in the media,

but it's not actually backed up

by the facts of what

is actually happening.

Because essentially

what we're saying

when we make these comments

about women's sports in general,

is that we don't believe

that women can be

powerful athletes.

That if a woman is

too fast, too strong,

too good, too powerful,

oh, then there's no way she

can actually be a woman.

- I think it's a little bit of

a lack of control of the men.

This was always our thing.

Now all of a sudden the

women are jumping in,

and they're good, and

they're good at it,

and they're fun to watch, and

they're extremely talented,

worth investing in.

And that's probably scares a

lot of the pro men athletes.

- I'm hungry.

- Yeah, me too.

What do you wanna get?

- I don't know.

- Tai, Mexican?

- Anything.

I need to watch

my weight though.

- [Alana] You need

to watch your weight?

I'm the one got a

fight coming up.

- Have you heard anything

about a new fight yet?

Like, have they found

anything at all or?

- Like, I don't know

who I'll be fighting,

I don't know when

I'll be fighting,

I just know I'll be going

down to train and that's it.

Like, they've floated

a couple people

who have turned it down.

- Yeah.

- I've been in the

business 14 years now,

in the fight business 20 years,

and I've never had a

more challenging task

than finding Alana

McLaughlin an opponent.

- A lot of us have been

trained to protect women

as men protecting women.

And I think that

really comes out

in the traditional

business of fighting.

So I think the male

coaches, the male trainers

are very protective of

their girl fighters.

And the idea of the girl they're

protecting fighting this,

however they think of

a transgender fighter,

they just don't want to do it.

We couldn't find an opponent.

The fight community

was really against it.

- I don't care what you

want to do to yourself,

go crazy, change whatever

you wanna change,

whatever makes you

happy, go for it,

I don't care.

When it comes to

fighting and competing,

I think it's a complete

different story,

and I think it

shouldn't be allowed.

(Jasmin speaking in Spanish)

- The reactions range from,

"I don't believe in

transgender fighters

being allowed to compete"

to "How could you even

ask me this question?"

You know, there were

people that were offended.

- My luck, they'll put me up

against f*cking Cris Cyborg

or some sh*t and I'll just get

trashed a bit.

- Well, I hope not

for your sake, you know?

- Yeah, I hope not too.

- Yeah, cool.

Well, I mean, I'm glad that,

you know, there's talk about it,

but hopefully you'll

land something soon.

- Yeah, hopefully.

- Yeah.

- Fingers crossed.

- I'm sure you will.

- Yeah.

- One of the first times

where I actually spent some

quality time with Alana,

walked into like a local cidery,

and then we were

talking, you know,

and she goes, "Hey,

have you seen my,

you know, pre-transition

pictures?"

She showed me and and I go,

"Oh yeah,

I don't know that

person, you know?"

And she goes,

"Yeah, I don't think

I really did either."

- She's a fighter at her core,

but she's also one of the

sweetest people I know.

If someone needed housing,

she always had her

couch available,

she would give them her

own bed if they needed.

You know, she's always

been there for people

when they're at their lowest.

- [Alana] But now you

were asking about the pie,

I've done two in the

past couple days.

- Oh really?

Oh good.

- Amazing.

- See, I was wondering

if I had the opportunity

to bring that up.

- Well, listen,

really, what's wrong with that?

- No, you make

pies for everyone.

- I do, I do.

- Yeah.

- And then before

that I did one.

(gentle instrumental music)

I've always wanted somewhere

kind of comfortable and just,

I don't know, comfortable and

nice where I can just relax

and don't have to worry about

all the bullshit, you know?

A forever home, you know,

like I'm some kind of stray cat.

But no, I just want a

little place of my own,

you know, I like

woods and trees,

and I'd like to have

a pointy little house

with maybe a couple

goats and some chickens.

I'd like to keep bees, I think.

And for hedges out

front, I want wild roses

and blackberry bushes.

Baking can absolutely

be relaxing

as long as you're not

messing up your recipe,

then it is substantially

less relaxing.

But no, it's enjoyable for me.

There's no pressure and

just make something sweet,

and nice, and pretty,

and share it with my friends.

(gentle instrumental music)

Just when I think I can relax

and enjoy my blackberry pie,

the Internet's blowing up.

It's wild how much

things have changed

since those early

days on Tumblr,

it almost feels like

a more innocent time

compared to the posts

and comments I see now.

When Fallon was

fighting in 2014,

a lot of people

being transphobic,

it was just out of ignorance

because they didn't

really know any better.

Now, I would say the

landscape has shifted in that

as soon as right wingers,

as soon as Republicans

lost the marriage equality

fight in the Supreme Court,

they shifted their focus

and they knew trans

people were gonna be

their best shot at

a new boogeyman.

Half of the people that

I've been face to face with

in the streets are

in jail right now

for trying to storm the

Capitol on January 6th.

What happens is, you know,

you see flyers for a bunch of

f*cking right wing shitheads

saying they're

gonna fly into town

and cleanse the streets

of Portland with fire.

And then everybody in

the community goes,

"Oh, this is f*cked up,

we can't let them do this."

And then everybody shows up,

and that's how that goes.

I've actually had

three friends die.

I had another friend

get stabbed in the neck.

It was f*cking dangerous.

You know, like I get easily

thousands of death threats.

I think back in 2014,

most of the transphobia

was still out of ignorance.

Where now it's basically

a political statement.

A big part of that's appealing

to some regressive

notion of tradition.

You know, like women

belong in the home

and only men belong out

in the world doing things.

Ultimately, I think

most transphobia

boils down to sexism,

just repackaged.

Now it's become more hate based.

And if you put yourself

out there on the internet,

you become a target

for vitriol and abuse.

It leads to violence.

(crowds yelling)

It's on the streets,

on the TV networks,

on social media.

The hatred is at

a boiling point.

(water splashing)

- If decide tomorrow that

I was a 47-year-old woman,

should I be allowed to go

shower in a women's locker room?

- First off, I'm

not a f*cking man.

I'm not a predator, I'm

not a bathroom predator.

If a man wants to abuse

your child or your wife,

a f*cking sign on the bathroom

door isn't gonna stop him.

You know what I do

in the bathroom?

I piss.

I piss, I wash my

hands, and I leave.

- [Interviewer #3] Rules that

are set by sporting bodies.

- It's not fair, is it?

- By governing bodies.

- It's just not fair.

- No, but you've got to make

sure that it is fair.

- And it's damaging

to woman's rights.

- That is my point

in this conversation.

- It's got nothing to do

with women's rights.

You don't care about

women in sports,

you don't care about

women's sports.

You don't care that

women are paid less.

All you wanna do is

make sure I can't play.

You wanna make sure

Lia Thomas can't swim.

You wanna make sure that Laurel

Hubbard can't lift weights.

- [Narrator #12] It also states

any form of h*m*

or transgender identity

is "sinful in the sight

of God and the church."

- It doesn't say anything in

the Bible about trans women.

It really doesn't say

anything about g*y people.

So don't gimme any bullshit

about how your religion doesn't

agree with my existence.

f*ck that.

- I think the only

problem that I have

with that transitioning thing

is physical

competition, that's it,

a physical competition.

- You want me in that cage.

You want to be

able to point at me

and talk about that monster

over there, that abomination,

that scary, disgusting creature

that's corrupting your children

and destroying women's sports.

That's what you want.

You want me in there.

So f*cking get me a fight.

(suspenseful music)

- [Celine] My name

is Celine Provost,

I'm a teacher in university.

- I found Celine through

a manager contact

who was managing another

fighter that fights for Combate.

Luckily he had somebody

and he had somebody like Celine

that was willing to

take the challenge.

- I agreed because it was a

chance for me to fight again,

no matter, you know,

who the opponent was,

transgender or not,

it was not an issue to me.

But after it got me to

look into, you know,

who transgender were,

and since I've been

into gender studies,

I think it's a good thing.

To be honest with you,

I'm not sure there are any

transgender athlete in France.

And I think it will be like

a 50% for and 50% against,

because France is a

country where you have

a lot of chauvinist guys.

For female fighters, we need

way more female fighters,

way more transgender

fighters to have

so that they're alleged

in the eyes of the people.

- [Alana] Celine

is pretty hardcore.

Set aside that I'm trans,

but I have no record,

no tape to watch, and I'm a

former special forces operator.

It's a scary fight.

Win or lose, I have nothing

but respect for her.

So one seemingly impossible

task done, just one more left.

What gym will have me?

- Combate does all it

shows here in Miami.

I love the weather,

I love the food,

it's just a great home for us.

But in a way it was very

unwelcoming for Alana.

We went to 9 gyms

before we found the 10th

that agreed to train her.

- [Alana] The final

breakthrough, a gym

that'll train me.

Thank you MMA Masters.

Now let's get it on.

Miami, here comes Lady Feral.

(suspenseful music)

(blows thudding)

- Hey.

(suspenseful music)

- Mike, the vice president

for Combate Global,

he contact us and he

told us this situation.

I say, "Yes, man.

Here we don't judge people.

We are coach, my job

is to coach people."

- She wound up at one of

the best training centers,

if not the best, in Miami.

(upbeat music)

(singer singing in Spanish)

(upbeat music)

- We officially started

the gym back in 2009.

A lot of great

MMA fighters here.

- Now we have Colby Covington,

we have Amanda Nunes,

you know, she's

still the champion.

We have a lot of, you know,

high level fighters here.

- And we have a lot of guys

combating in Combate Global.

Great fights and a great

show, and it's been amazing.

- So when I first

came into this camp,

I definitely was intimidated.

While it's a much

different environment,

I definitely had some shades

of walking into basic training,

you know, and basically I

just kind of played it cool.

- Oh, I knew she was very rough.

I knew that we didn't

have enough time

to improve her game a lot.

- Yeah, she's an ex-military,

so you know, she

has the courage,

she has the heart.

You don't need too much

sometimes in the MMA fight,

but the more you stay

basic with your foundation,

the stronger you get,

you stay in the fight.

- We tried to do

as best we could

to get her ready for the fight.

(upbeat music)

- Got a gym, got an opponent,

so now I gotta fight.

The training is no joke.

It took so much work to get

here and now I don't feel ready.

These fighters are years

and levels above me,

and who knows if

they'll even accept me.

Are they talking about

me behind my back?

I feel alone here.

My friends feel so far away

and there's no

family to lean on.

Portland is chaos,

but it's hard to tell a

friend from foe in Miami,

can I really trust my team?

(gentle instrumental music)

So we're at the cemetery

where my grandfather's buried,

'cause I knew he was

buried in the area.

He grew up here in

Hialeah and so did my dad.

But of course, I'm not in

contact with my family,

so I couldn't call them and

ask them where he's buried.

So actually, there was

like an internet post about

the A*DS Quilt, because

my grandfather died

in the A*DS crisis in 1996.

So yeah, I reached

out to my networks

and turned out some people

that were following me

were part of like mortuary

services and stuff.

So they did some research for me

and they found out where he was.

Just strangers on the internet.

(gentle instrumental music)

(gentle instrumental

music continues)

(cars whirring)

Yeah, I don't know.

- How does it feel now?

- I couldn't say.

- Okay.

(gentle instrumental music)

- So I've been

living out of a hotel

for over two months now.

I worked my off every day.

The coaches said to go to

as many classes as I can,

so that's what I do.

I'm in Miami, but I've

barely seen anything

but the gym and the hotel.

Not like I have a

social life here anyway.

- Every day, every single day,

you know, she's very

like consistent.

Like every day here, every

day doing the same technique

over and over again.

And patient, a lot of patience.

She's very nice.

- I want to open doors.

I want people to say,

"Okay, trans people are

just like anybody else",

and that we deserve

a place in public

along with anyone else.

We deserve to be part

of athletic programs.

We deserve to exist

in public life.

This fight, it's not

the most important one,

but it's definitely one of

the most important steps

along the way, because

it's definitely

not gonna be given to us.

- Look, I really believe in

giving people opportunity,

I really do, it's why

I started this company.

And certainly Alana

deserves an opportunity.

As the head of the company,

I had to be really aware,

we were using a lot of resources

just to get her a training camp.

Do I think she's worth it?

Yeah, hell yeah.

That's why we did it.

But I don't want anyone to think

this was an easy thing to do.

We didn't go over the

top in promoting it,

we just put her on the card.

I wanted to give her a

shot and that's what I did.

(Dumar speaking in Spanish)

(Cristian speaking in Spanish)

- To say something

positive is so hard,

but to say something negative,

to get people attention,

oh, that's very fast.

I don't allow that

here, you know?

They know that our

mentality here,

we are the coaches

and we have open mind.

We don't care about

like what you want,

what you are doing outside,

as long as you come

and respect the gym,

that's what we want,

and that's why I think

that's what they want too.

- Like everybody has

this idea in their heads

of a trans woman as being

like some six and a

half foot tall ogre

that's 400 pounds of

muscle with warts and hair,

and like, That's

not what we are.

This is a sport.

There are rules,

there are referees,

there are doctors.

I'm 5'7", I'm fighting at 145.

Pre-transition I was

walking around 190 pounds,

like 6% body fat, eating

anything I wanted,

didn't have to put in

that much time at the gym.

And now I'm in there

every day busting my a*s

- I don't know for everybody,

but for me, no problem.

(Cristian speaking in Spanish)

(Mariel speaking in Spanish)

- Hard worker, respectful,

and she put in the

work, you know,

and that's all I need here.

Be respectful, show

up for class on time,

listen it to the

coach, and that's it.

We've never had a problem.

- I'm nervous

because I'm excited,

because man, just being in that,

I feel like I'm fighting.

- Everyone's treated me well,

we've had really good training.

I've gotten, you know,

lots of personal attention

from lots of amazing fighters,

and everybody on the

team has been great.

- [Cesar] Yeah, she improved

a lot and she's very,

very, very intelligent.

- [Marino] You just

need to keep training,

just keep tightening it up,

sharpening up our tools and

just keep pushing, you know?

(suspenseful music)

(blows thudding)

(suspenseful music)

(suspenseful music)

- I am checked into

the fight hotel.

I'm firmly in the COVID bubble.

Boom.

(plane whirring)

Almost there.

(suspenseful music)

So this is a little

personal sauna.

The promotion has provided

these for all the fighters

to help us make weight.

It's pumping steam

directly into here,

so you get heated up inside

here, lets you work up a sweat.

Combate Global kept their

cards close to the chest.

They didn't hype the fight

and kept it on the undercard,

but "The Guardian" just

ran an article on me,

so I think people are

gonna know about it.

This cat's out of

the proverbial bag.

(suspenseful music)

- [Interviewer #4]

Why are you so angry?

- Because we just went over

for the PCR testing for COVID,

because of this damn

pandemic, when will it end?

And one of my teammates

walked up wearing MAGA hat.

And yeah, like nothing

makes my blood boil

like seeing that sh*t.

I guess apparently

Colby gave it to him,

and considering the release

of the article yesterday

and trans flag

everywhere, and you know,

I wonder if that was

a calculated move

to throw me off, you know?

So that's the thing about this

is you're supposed

to be able to trust

the people in your gym to have

your best interest in mind.

And it's really

hard to believe that

when I see that sh*t

out there, you know?

Oh, there he goes.

There he f*cking goes, awesome.

He's always been decent

to me in the gym.

But, you know,

all this bullshit about

civility politics, like,

how am I supposed to be civil

when somebody's walking around

with a sign on their

head that says,

"f*ck you, die", you know?

So yeah, I'm a little angry.

- You know, I think

Alana feels very strongly

about the right wing of

the Republican party,

right wing Americans,

the MAGA Americans.

And I don't believe it's because

she doesn't think people have

the right to express themselves.

I think she believes

those group of people

and that type of thinking

has led, literally,

to death threats.

And it's one thing if you

disagree with somebody,

but it's quite another thing

if death threats follow

the disagreement.

And I know she's

had death threats.

I have seen them,

I've seen them online,

I've heard what

people say about her.

I think for Alana, this is

not merely a political debate,

I think this is quite literally

a life or death situation.

You know, I keep saying to her,

"You don't have to

fight every fight.

Wearing an Antifa hat is not

gonna endear you to people.

You gotta think about, are

you trying to bring people

to your side or are you

trying to fight everyone?"

- Our next fighter to

set foot on the scales

is three rounds,

featherweight division.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

Out of Paris, France,

Celine Provost on the scale.

(suspenseful music)

142.6.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

Debuting inside of La

Jaula out of Portland,

Oregon, on the scale,

Alana McLaughlin.

(suspenseful music)

144.6.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

(suspenseful music)

(suspenseful music)

- First time I've

broadcast any sport

with a transgender

or trans athlete.

I don't know what's

gonna happen,

but I'm really curious to see

what the conversation's

gonna be like afterwards.

- [Alana] Don't think I've

ever been this popular.

- I was impressed that it was

promoted in a respectful way

and not made into a spectacle.

I think it was promoted

just like any other

undercard pro debut fight

would've been promoted

in the women's division

or the men's division.

- I think we're both

probably gonna come forward

and meet in the middle.

And I expect her to

try to use her reach

to keep me on the outside,

and I'm gonna try to

get my way inside,

and either go for the take

down or really punish her body.

(gentle instrumental music)

- [Interviewer #5] What kind

of fight are you expecting?

- From my part, technical one.

From her part, maybe brawl,

because I'm pretty sure she

would like to punch my body

and get to my legs.

- I've been telling her to

try not to be nervous (laughs)

and just go out there

and give her her best,

and use every bit of

technique that she's learned.

- I'd like to be like,

"Oh yeah, I'm gonna be a

world champion one day",

like that's what

every fighter wants.

But the fact of the matter

is I'm making my debut at 38,

so I'm just going to go in here

and run it as long as I can.

Let's just see how

many fights I can get.

- It is Miami, it's

a Friday night,

and you know what that means?

Another massive card,

two undefeated fighters

looking to stay that way,

and also a historic moment

in mixed martial arts.

We will get to all

of that here shortly,

but allowing me to

make the introductions.

My name is Max Bretos,

and we're joined today

by Rodolfo Roman.

How are you doing, Rodolfo?

- Thank you, Max.

Absolutely great,

looking forward to a

stellar fight card tonight.

We have a great one,

including history.

Oh say, can you see

- Fight night.

No matter how much

By the dawns early light

- weight I cut,

I feel the crushing weight of

expectation on my shoulders.

I'm the first trans fighter

to do this since Fallon Fox,

and the world's a

different place.

I just don't wanna

let anyone down.

- I was excited leading

up to that fight,

I was excited on

the night of it,

but I had no idea

what was coming.

You have all the pre-fight

stuff, all the pre-interviews,

all those things,

and then it was time.

And seeing Celine Provost

first come out into the cage,

that said, I'm ready for this.

- Celine is a tough

fighter, over towers her.

What she needs to do is play

that reach to her advantage.

- And then Alana comes up.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

- [Karleigh] And then

she unfurls this flag,

arms stretched out.

And at that point I'm smiling

and I'm also have a little

bit of happy tears going,

because at that moment that

was Alana sending a message

that we needed.

That so many of us as trans

people living out in the world,

and in many ways in

a bunker mentality,

we needed to see her stepping

out with pride and saying,

"Yes, I am Alana McLaughlin,

this is who I am."

(presenters speaking in Spanish)

- [Karleigh] And when she walked

in that cage at that point,

it was nothing but pride.

And no one can say

anything to take that away.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

- [Presenter #1] Introducing

the blue corner, wearing black.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

- [Presenter #1] Her official

weight, 142.5 pounds.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

- [Presenter #1]

She enters La Jaula

for the second time as a pro,

with a record of one defeat.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

- [Presenter #1] Celine

"Tall Blondie" Provost.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

- [Presenter #1] Her

opponent in the red corner,

wearing white.

She tipped the scales at

an official 144.5 pounds.

Tonight inside of La Jaula

she is making her

professional debut,

fighting out of

Portland, Oregon.

"Lady Feral" Alana McLaughlin.

- [Alana] Other fighters

have their struggles,

but they couldn't handle

what it took me to get here.

I always hate when fighters

say it's w*r in the cage.

I've been to w*r

and this ain't it.

I like this kind of fight.

Nobody's dying, there are rules,

there's a ref, my opponent

doesn't hate me for being trans.

She just wants to beat

me and I wanna beat her.

I could really use a win.

I need this win.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

(bell chimes)

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

- [Max] Provost comes out

swinging as we expected.

- [Rodolfo] And we

can see it right here,

right from the get go, Max,

playing the distance,

using her hands,

her kicks.

- Hands up.

Hands up.

- Alana not looking like

the stronger fighter,

and taking a ton of

punishment coming in.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

(upbeat music)

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

- [Rodolfo] Celine connected

there, very, very hard.

Oh, and another right hook.

- [Max] Just ton of

activity, a ralley of punches

from Provost.

- Body, body.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

(upbeat music)

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

- [Rodolfo] A bit white cross.

And Celine's gonna keep

going for that one, two.

- [Max] Alana with

a big uppercut.

- Hands up.

- Now, Alana is just swinging

for the fences to see

if she catches her.

Celine being the smart

fighter, very technical,

very skilled.

And that's exactly what she's

doing with that one, two,

which has been

working all along.

- [Max] Two minutes to

go in this opening round.

McLaughlin observing pressures.

- [Rodolfo] Alana needs

to keep her hands up

and her head up.

(presenters speaking in Spanish)

- [Max] Alana just

swinging here.

Right from McLaughlin,

with a second overhead.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

- [Rodolfo] Now what

Celine needs to do

is that one, two

move, one, two, move.

It's more like she's

throwing and she backs off.

If she's continuous, she

can have this in the pocket

and call it a day.

- Yes.

(upbeat music)

- [Max] Come on, set it off.

(gavels banging)

We will take a break.

A fascinating first round

between Provost and McLaughlin.

We'll take a quick break back

and be back for ground number 2.

(presenters speaking in Spanish)

(upbeat music)

- [Medic #1] Breathe,

breathe, breath.

Big breath, big breath.

- [Marino] Remember, hey,

you gotta keep pressure, but

you gotta keep your hands up.

You gotta move your head.

You giving too much

of that jab time

'cause you're keeping

yourself straight, okay?

Alright, breathe, okay?

(whistle shrilling)

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

- [Referee] Ready?

(bells chiming)

- [Max] Back here

for round number two.

A different looking

Alana McLaughlin,

she took a lot of punishment.

(presenters speaking in Spanish)

- [Rodolfo] You can

see that Celine's

trying to go for the kick to

the midsection or the rib area,

but it was blocked by

that elbow from Alana.

(presenters speaking in Spanish)

(suspenseful music)

- [Max] Oh, McLaughlin

coming up big,

and now Provost has to survive.

A lot of punishments,

the knees coming in.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

(suspenseful music)

- [Narrator #13] And again.

(suspenseful music)

- [Max] Does pretty well,

gets her on the ground,

now we can see how

her ground game.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

Alana McLaughlin has

absorbed a lot of pressure,

but now has the upper hand.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

(suspenseful music)

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

- [Max] McLaughlin's

got the back of Provost

and now she starts.

- We have rear naked choke.

- And a tap.

- And a tap.

- [Max] Alana McLaughlin,

victorious in her MMA debut

via the rear naked choke.

Had to take a lot of pressure

to get there, but she did.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

- We have just

witnessed history.

I'll be honest, it

was a weird sensation

as a broadcaster

to go through that,

to talk about these fights.

But something that

we were able to see

and something we take

away from all of this.

- [Presenter #1]

Ladies and gentlemen,

the red corner sinks

in a rear naked choke,

forcing her opponent to tap,

with an official time

of three minutes,

32 seconds of round number two,

your winner in

way of submission.

(presenter speaking in Spanish)

- [Presenter #1] "Lady

Farrell" Alana Mclaughlin.

- I remember seeing

her on screen

that moment when they

announced her name

and this little smile

went over her face,

and I could see the

intense pride that she had

for herself at that moment,

which made me so proud for her.

- That was Ali-Foreman big

deal for a trans person.

And also there was the

t-shirt, end trans genocide,

taking that little bit of an

opportunity to send the message

that needed to be sent.

I wrote in "Outsports"

that it was like a wake

was drafting behind her.

And in that wake were 1.6

million transgender people

right along with her.

- I dedicate this

fight to my friends

and comrades back in Portland,

everybody that's stuck

with me the whole way.

Again, my team, amazing.

I can't thank them enough.

- To me that was a very

good way for this to happen.

Like the people said, you

had such huge advantage,

and this and that,

and you got your a*s

beat in that first round,

you got rocked that one time.

I thought the round was over

when she got hit like that,

- Once she hit me a few times,

like rocked me real good,

my game plan kind of

went out the window,

and I just started fighting

on instinct, and emotion,

and it's not really

what I wanted to do.

I wanted to be a lot more

crisp and technical in there

and it just kind of

turned into a brawl.

(Marino humming)

- I think Celine was a

tough opponent, you know,

she rocked her a

couple of times,

surprised her a couple of times.

- She's really representing

transgender athletes

and representing

transgender people well.

And I can't wait to see what

she has to do in the future.

- Alana said to me, if she wins,

she wins because she's a

woman that's really a man.

And if she loses

then she's, you know,

just a real weakling.

She couldn't win.

There was no outcome that

her detractors would not say,

"Look how bad she is."

I think winning with

jujitsu was good

because jujitsu is a martial

art that emphasizes skill,

not strength, not brutality,

not brute force.

And so for her to win this way,

it's just the best

possible outcome.

- She's tough as nails,

gosh, she's tough.

I thanked her.

What I said to her

was, nous defions,

which is French for we defy.

It was one of the slogans

of the French resistance

fighters back in World w*r II.

And then it got rolled over

into like special operations,

and it felt appropriate

at the time.

The gravity of the situation

hasn't really sunk in yet,

I guess.

Like I know a lot of people

are gonna have a lot to say.

What's next for me, hopefully,

is another fight.

(suspenseful music)

(suspenseful music)

We got a lot of

positive messages from,

I would say probably mostly

q*eer and trans people.

Ad I'm really happy

to have been able

to elbow my way in there

and get some

representation, you know?

The problem is, like,

because I'm trans

and because there has been

so much public backlash,

or there's been

very loud backlash,

anyone that would

speak in support of me

is probably too afraid to.

A lot of folks in the right wing

are looking for a scapegoat.

They have a vested interest

in letting that outrage

continue to be

generated, because they

make money off of it.

- Today for our

daily cancellation,

we turn to the story of MMA

fighter and woman beater,

Alana McLaughlin.

During the Combate Global

prelims on Friday night,

McLaughlin fought and easily

defeated Celine Provost,

another MMA fighter.

To be more specific, after

beating her across the head

and the body for a

couple of rounds,

he eventually got her

into a submission hold

and choked her out.

This was, again,

a man beating the

crap out of a woman.

- Once you get violence

into the equation, right,

then all of a sudden

there has to be

a little bit of pushback.

Like, do you want these

b*tches being beat up

by a dude who's like

an ex-Navy seal?

- Just look at this

as like an animal

observing two other animals

in a combat mode.

And you can clearly

see which one

has a higher likelihood

of harming the other one.

- Like more people have been

sort of speaking out about it,

but they still tiptoe around it

and like use correct pronouns,

or pretend like there's

some kind of major

difference between a person

who says they're a

trans woman and a male,

and there really isn't.

So I was pretty like grateful

to see you just call it out

and be like, "No, f*ck this."

- No, I'm just not okay

with men beating up women,

it's just disgusting and wrong.

Being an athlete, I know,

this might be a little sexist,

but the difference between

men and women is so big.

I mean, I'm world

class obviously,

so there might be cases of a

good girl beating a bum guy,

that definitely could happen.

But like once you

get to high levels,

the difference is just so

massive, it's so far from fair.

Yeah, when I saw the fight

and I saw the two trans

athletes celebrating, you know,

who'd both beaten up women,

I thought it was sick.

And being a fighter, you know,

I had to go speak my mind,

and Twitter doesn't leave

much room for nuance.

So I wasn't saying trans people

are necessarily perverse,

more saying them fighting

women are sick and perverse,

- You know, if someone loudly

declares themselves my enemy,

I believe them.

If you hate me, I

hate you right back.

I'm not going outta my way

to ruin someone else's life,

but they sure as sh*t are

trying to do it to me.

- Putting herself out

there in this very, like,

international public

way to be, you know,

a target of transphobic hate.

I do know that it bothers her,

and I've seen it, but I've

also seen her rise above it.

- Look at her Twitter, like,

she says something to somebody,

and they answer thinking

they've shut her down,

but she's set them up.

It's the same as, you know,

like you give a punch and

the fighter moves back

and you come in

or you give a kick and

you move in with a punch,

she does that online.

- It's Jake Shields, right?

He posted pictures of me

before and after, I guess.

It kind of demonstrates

that, yeah,

I lost like 50 pounds

of f*cking muscle.

You know, I clearly don't have

the same build that I had.

I mean, most people that see

those two pictures side by side

don't think it's the same person

except the tattoos

match, you know?

And so he kind of pretty

clearly demonstrated my point,

and then he kind of slipped up,

and somebody said

something about me

being attractive or not.

And then I think he specifically

said something like,

"Well, she got hotter, yeah,

but not my type",

which is just like.

- I shouldn't be

allowed to have a phone,

I just tweet weird sh*t

that pops in my head.

Like, I am obviously strongly

against the trans athletes,

but a lot of it's

fooling around.

You know, I was just

messing around with Alana,

I don't necessarily

think she's a bad person.

I don't think she should

be doing what she's doing,

but I don't have, like,

hate in my heart.

You know, originally

I didn't realize

that the other girl had agreed,

'cause in the vast

majority of these cases,

the girls don't have a

choice, they're forced to.

So that did give

me, like I said,

it gave me a slightly

different perspective because,

you know, I do think

for the most part,

you know, adults should be

able to choose what they do.

- You'll be amazing

whatever you do,

you're one of those

annoying people

that's good at

everything you do,

and yet we still love you.

- You say that.

Yeah, I mean, I don't know.

We'll just have to

see how sh*t goes.

The death threats that I get,

sometimes it's like open

threats where it's like,

"Oh, we're gonna

f*cking k*ll you."

And then other times it'll just

be like a string of letters,

and it's "You will never

be a woman", you know?

And it's like,

"Sorry, I already am,

you can't f*cking change that."

- Could I be

putting trans people

in danger with my attitude?

Honestly, I've absolutely

never thought about that,

'cause I get so many death

threats from trans athletes

and these people, and

I never really thought

that maybe they're

getting the same.

You know, I certainly hope

I've never done anything

to trigger anyone

towards violence.

And you know, I

have to be critical,

I can't not be critical

of something I believe.

So I can't be responsible

if someone follows me

does something crazy.

- They're literally telling

you to k*ll yourself.

But they'll frame it in a way

where it doesn't get taken

down off of social media.

Join the 41%,

because they're citing high

suicide rates in trans youth.

So Jake Shields will lie to you

and say that he doesn't advocate

for violence against

trans people.

But here he is tweeting

about how teachers

that affirm trans kids

should be tried and ex*cuted.

Like, if you search

his profile for trans,

this is it, hundreds

upon hundreds of tweets.

He talks more about trans

people than trans people do.

Jake says that it's

only about sports,

that he doesn't care about

trans people otherwise,

but here he is calling

trans women mentally ill,

we're deviants.

None of this has anything

to do with sports.

No amount of bending

over backwards

is going to win anybody over.

If you wanna stick it

to the woke moralists,

then you hate trans people.

- So often social media

becomes an echo chamber,

and we lose some of the

other really beautiful things

that are happening

around the country.

We talk again a lot about how

many bills have introduced.

The exciting thing

is that last year

we stopped 96% of those

bills from passing.

The other really positive things

that we're seeing is

just more visibility

of trans athletes overall.

You have kids and trans adults

from all over the world

who are able to tune in

and see Alana come out

with a trans flag

around her shoulders.

I mean, when I watched that,

I was in tears, because

never in my lifetime

did I think I would see that

and did I think I would

see it being celebrated.

- Will she fight again?

Look, the truth of the

matter is it's very hard

to find an opponent

for her, it just is.

The truth is, you know,

she's in her late 30s.

The truth is people are

attracted to see her fight

maybe for the wrong reasons.

Whatever it is that we

hear or read about Alana,

that's not gonna

change anyone's mind.

Her commitment to making

sure everyone is protected,

making sure everyone

has the right

to express their point

of view, even her haters,

these are the

strengths of Alana,

and that's what

will convince people

that transgender people are

people, they're not monsters.

I don't think it's Alana's

fighting that will change minds.

I think it's Alana's thinking

and talking that will

change people's minds.

(gentle instrumental music)

(cars honking)

(gentle instrumental music)

- It's ironic that

one of the few places

I felt in peace was in the cage.

It's out here that I

feel like I'm a w*r,

outgunned and

behind enemy lines.

The fight last year hasn't

launched an MMA career.

A year later and I'm still

waiting for another fight.

Hell, I'm still trying to find

a place to train in Portland

where I'm actually welcome.

I don't really know

what it looks like

to win the public opinion more,

but the fight has elevated

my profile in the

trans community.

Sometimes people tell

me I'm a role model,

but I don't know

if I believe it.

I certainly have more

followers now, more fans,

but a lot more people

screaming for my blood too.

Sometimes I stand alongside

giants, people like Chelsea.

She's another army veteran who

spent seven years in prison

for taking a stand, even

starting her transition there.

- How's it going?

- Good, how are you?

You too.

- Good to meet you.

Are there folks that

you know around here?

- I'm not sure that I do.

- Do I know you?

- Well, people

that know me, yes.

Vice versa, not so much.

- Yeah.

- But yeah.

- How are things

going in general, like in life?

- [Alana] I got.

- I had to bring the shirt.

- Yeah, I mean,

I almost wore that shirt today,

and I'm glad I didn't

because then one of us

would've had to change.

- No, would've

just both worn it.

Girl, one thing,

in case you didn't know,

I'm just telling you,

what you did in that ring

helped me go out to Omaha

and do that, 'cause that

scared the piss outta me.

- Scary sh*t.

- It is, I mean.

- Nobody can hurt you

like family, right?

- Tell me about it.

A personal anecdote, when I

went home this past summer,

family hadn't seen

me in four years.

They hadn't seen me

since the medical nuts

and bolts of my transition.

They hadn't seen me

since I started that.

So in a sense it was coming out.

And you wanna talk about fear?

That was fear.

I hadn't felt that level

of fear and anxiety,

probably since I

was a little kid.

One of the things that

got me through that

was just that image of Alana

bringing that flag out,

walking down that gangway

towards that cage.

That bucked me up.

What she's done in

terms of using her voice

and her activism,

and continuing to speak

out about trans rights

and continuing to

speak out about things

that have nothing

to do with sports.

Be open about mental

health, be open about PTSD,

be open about the experiences

that she went through

in the military, and

be critical of them.

That is something people need

to hear, because in a sense,

she's an example of how

our society chews people up

and spits 'em out.

She's a transgender veteran,

she fought for your

right to hate her.

And think about the lunacy of

that sentence for a second.

- Well, I decided to walk

out with the trans flag

instead of the American

flag, because frankly,

the American flag,

for a lot of people,

it doesn't stand for

anything good, you know?

You know, I've said it before,

but it's safer in that ring

than it is out here in

the f*cking streets.

I didn't have a g*n pointed

in my face in the cage,

and I've had that happen here.

- She's gonna go in and fight

the good fight in every fight.

And I think, you know,

ultimately that's a

tough way to live.

And I think what Alana

needs to do is figure out

what's important for her,

and focus her prodigious

and tremendous energies on the

fight for Alana to be happy.

- Whatever happens with

Alana in her fight career,

she will continue fighting,

we will continue fighting,

and eventually, just as the

tides of history will turn,

we will look back on this

conversation 20 years later

and say, "Wow, I can't believe

that we are trying to

deny other human beings

access to sports."

- It's important to

see representation,

to see people like

you on camera,

out in the world doing the

kinds of things you want to do,

because they're symbols

in that imagery, like,

that's how we build

our hopes and dreams.

And I think we all

should do that.

We all should get that chance.

(waves crashing)

- Not really any regrets.

Yeah, I mean,

everything that I

would want to change

is outside of my control.

So there's not really any

point in me fixating on.

About the best I can do

is just kind of be ready

when the call comes, if

there is another fight.

I want a place of my

own, I want happiness.

But when I was a kid, I

think that meant isolation.

And now it doesn't

mean that so much.

You know, when I transitioned,

that was kind of my decision

to actually join humanity,

to be part of things.

So yeah, once again,

like with anything else,

it's a balancing act.

You know, I want my

little piece of the pie,

but I want it to

be part of the pie,

I don't want to be hoisted

off in a corner somewhere.

(gentle instrumental music)

If it were yesterday

I might have sailed away

But the devil had

my soul to take

All the damage done

With that loaded g*n

To the streets you run

away alone in the night

(gentle instrumental music)

No time can take

the words I say

Oh, if it were

yesterday today

(gentle instrumental music)

- "A child grows among

palmettos, unsure of their fit,

unsure of their place,

tucked in the Bible

belt, Gamecocks,

tiger show, no fear

while growing up q*eer.

Molten fire hardened

against the Taliban

q*eer palmetto child

off to Afghanistan.

Not just a soldier,

but now an operator.

But six years and change later

and you find out

who you really are.

As your psalm and cream,

flowing like a dream,

Athena, Alana will not hide.

You saw the t-shirt,

end trans genocide.

Buckle up, let's ride.

(gentle instrumental music)

Oh, bonjour, mademoiselle,

je m'appelle Celine,

I have come from France

to steal your dream.

The French woman was

tactical, practical,

the reach was locked on,

the tone was too good.

The chin was willing, but

the legs were buckling.

The girl is getting rocked,

the girl is getting knocked.

How did she survive?

How did she survive?

How did she survive

being asked, but why?

The second rounds, her

swarm fought the barrage,

she wants to take down.

If we can get crown bound,

I'll break the fight down.

Slip the punches,

got her foothold,

landed on the canvas,

BJJ, time to roll.

Alana has landed.

And then you heard a

million trans hearts hope.

Rear naked choke, tap out.

That's the show, folks.

Raise that arm high,

raise that head high,

show that sly

smile with a legend

and all us trans

people on your side.

q*eer child from the palmettos,

you no longer have to hide."

(gentle instrumental music)

(suspenseful music)

(suspenseful music)

(suspenseful music)