"We need more like her!” - Riley Gaines on MMA fighter narrating her experience on competing with transgender athlete
Riley Gaines recently came in support of MMA fighter, Ansleigh Wilk, who openly expressed her discomfort while competing against a trans woman fighter at a martial arts tournament in July.
Sharing her story, the 23-year-old former NCAA swimmer urged more athletes to confront about their experiences. She has been actively fighting against the inclusion of trans woman athletes in women's sports.
Recently, Riley Gaines amplified the voices of several female MMA fighters who boycotted a Jiu-Jitsu competition in Brazil due to trans woman athletes occupying the women’s division. After the mass boycott caused its organizers to review the transgender participation policy, the former swimmer shared another story of an MMA fighter from that event.
Young MMA fighter Ansleigh Wilk opened up about her experience of competing against a trans woman athlete at the Submission Challenge on July 8 in Georgia. In an X (formerly known as Twitter) video, she revealed that since she was a purple belt, she was unsure if she would be assigned a match.
On knowing that a blue belt fighter would fight her, she felt thankful. However, the setting did not adhere to comfort when she saw a trans woman MMA fighter against her.
Although she won the match that day, she felt extremely awkward and uncomfortable. The young MMA fighter said in the video:
“As soon as I clinched up, I knew something was different. They felt so strong, I was like Oh My God, this is a very strong old lady, What!,” said Ansleigh Wilk.
Furthermore, she revealed similar events taking place with other young female MMA fighters and criticized the idea of trans women competing in women's sports events.
Sharing Ansleigh Wilk’s story, Riley Gaine urged her followers to show the MMA fighter support:
"Brave female athlete @Ansleigh_mma speaks to her experience competing against a male totally unbeknownst to her until they were face to face on the mat Show her some support because we need more like her!," she wrote on X.
Riley Gaines commended Ansleigh Wilk for her brave stance in bringing change in the NAGA policy
At the recent Jiu-Jitsu tournament organized by the North American Grappling Association (NAGA) in October, Ansleigh Wilk was one of the key protestors who impacted NAGA's decision to revise its policies.
Wilk told Reduxx that the previous NAGA regulations required its officials to inform the female athletes if they were competing against any transgender athlete and only go ahead if the female athlete agreed to compete.
However, the young MMA fighter was not informed about it and she had to fight a trans woman, Cordelia Gregory, in the competition. As a result, she passionately protested to challenge NAGA for its policies towards transgender participation.
Eventually, the organization looked into its policies and revised that henceforth, only cisgender females will compete in the women's category, and transgender female athletes will compete in the men's category.
Owing to the success of the policy change, Riley Gaines commended the power of boycott by female athletes and praised Ansleigh Wilk, stating:
"This wouldn't have been done without @ReduxxMag and @icons_women exposure of the issue as well as the brave female athletes like @Ansleigh_mma who have taken a stand for women," Riley Gaines wrote.