"I just don't think that's OK" - Sean O'Malley reacts to transgender fighter Alana McLaughlin winning her MMA debut
![Sean O'Malley and Alana McLaughlin [Photos via @sugaseanmma & @combateglobal on Instagram]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/09/43d59-16316019833087-800.jpg?w=500)
Sean O'Malley is the latest professional fighter to express disapproval of transgender athlete Alana McLaughlin's MMA debut.
McLaughlin, a transwoman MMA fighter, defeated Celine Provost in her debut Friday night via submission at Combate Global. But several MMA stars, including O'Malley, believe biological males should not be allowed to compete in women's sports due to their physical advantage. In the latest episode of Sean O'Malley's YouTube show, the UFC standout said:
"I don't think that's okay. I just don't think that's okay... in just competing in sports, I mean, especially mixed. It's like she had testosterone for, who knows, 20, 30 years of her life and now I'm a girl. And look at that, you could tell that's a dude. A jacked girl. I mean, look at those arms."
According to O'Malley, McLaughlin enjoys an unfair advantage against female competitors. He thinks she benefitted from having higher levels of testosterone before transitioning.
In an interview with WebMD, sports physicist Joana Harper said that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) adopted a guideline that allows transwomen to compete in women's sports "after a year of having testosterone levels below 10 nanomoles per liter."
However, transwomen's participation in women's sports remains a controversial issue today. Biological males enjoy significant advantages over biological females even after lowering their testosterone levels.
Alana McLaughlin was the first transgender athlete to compete under the Combate Global banner. She is also only the second openly transgender fighter to compete in MMA. Fallon Fox, who last fought in 2014, was the first transwoman fighter to compete in MMA.
Watch Sean O'Malley give his thoughts on Alana McLaughlin's MMA debut:
Like Sean O'Malley, several UFC stars are opposed to Alana McLaughlin competing in women's MMA
UFC middleweight contender Sean Strickland has called out transgender fighter Alana McLaughlin for competing against women. Unlike Sean O'Malley, the 30-year-old veteran did not mince words.
"Change your name, call yourself a woman... but you're still a fu****g man, get out of women's MMA, coward. This is why the athletic commission is useless," Strickland wrote on his Instagram story.
Former UFC welterweight title challenger Jake Shields echoed Strickland's thoughts. The 42-year-old suggested that all promotions and athletic commissions should avoid letting transwomen compete in women's MMA.