UFC legend stands firm in trans athletes debate with refusal to fight

Having already witnessed Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting cause controversy among the boxing ranks, one MMA star has made her stance clear on fighting trans fighters in UFC

Tom Malley


UFC legend Miesha Tate has expressed that she’d never get in the octagon with a trans person

UFC legend Miesha Tate says she will never set foot in the ring with a trans person and claims that biological women are the victims in the matter.

The involvement of trans athletes in women’s sports has caused plenty of controversy in recent years and the issue has only drawn further scrutiny following Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports, with the U.S. President fulfilling a central promise of his 2024 campaign by implementing broad mandates on sex and sports policy.

It came off the back of the 78-year-old scorning Algerian boxer Imane Khelif for “brutalizing his female opponent” on her way to claiming an Olympic gold medal in Paris last year, falsely claiming that she was a “male” fighter who had “transitioned”.

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While there are currently no recognized or openly transgender fighters on the UFC roster, Tate, who currently competes in the women’s Bantamweight division, has made her stance perfectly clear on the prospect of fighting a biological male.

The 38-year-old, who is a former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion, previously refused to fight Fallon Fox – the first MMA fighter who is openly transgender – in 2013 due to health concerns. Fox has since retired, yet Tate has not changed her views more than a decade later.

“I still think that there is not enough conclusive evidence to prove that it is safe for transgender people to compete against biological women. I just don’t know if there’s enough evidence, and some people will feel comfortable with the evidence. I don’t,” she told esportsinsider.


Tate previously refused to fight Fallon Fox – the first MMA fighter who is openly transgender – in 2013

“I do not support men, in any form competing in female sports. I just don’t think that it’s fair. I don’t think that it’s right. And sports are not inclusive. By their nature.

“By the nature of sport, it’s a non-inclusive thing to do. So if you’re not good enough, you just don’t make it, and that’s a hard lesson to learn, but it’s a valuable one.

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“So yeah, I am not for that and I’m not for biological males competing in female sports. I think that there’s a great potential that it’s unsafe, especially in contact sports. And sports are not meant to include everybody.”

Tate then went on to add how biological women are the victims in the situation, not trans people. As aforementioned, Trump has gone to extreme lengths to kick trans athletes out of women’s sports, citing the safety for women and the need to preserve fairness in female competition.

This has led to backlash from a number of trans rights groups, with the likes of renowned trans swimmer Lia Thomas vowing to keep fighting back against Trump’s recent ban, yet Tate believes people need to think about biological females, too.

“People are so quick to think that the only victims here are the people who are changing their genders,” she said. “They only look at that as the only victims or potential victims, but women have been victimised throughout history for forever.

“I don’t want to sit out in the open and support that. I think it’s not fair or right for men to be in women’s locker rooms. I don’t see that as something that can happen.”