Alana McLaughlin's maiden MMA win over Celine Provost has sparked a lot of debate. Yet again, the topic of transgender athletes has reared its head and a lot of harmful comments have been made towards McLaughlin, who transitioned in 2016. Despite passing all required medical examinations, including a hormone test prior to the fight, the South Carolina native has received backlash on social media.Welterweight fighter Jake Shields blasted McLaughlin, the second ever openly trans MMA fighter, on Twitter for competing in the women's division."This is the 'women' mma fighter that they just allowed to beat up a girl in Florida So brave of 'her' to transition then live 'her' dream of beating up women," one of his tweets read, featuring images of McLaughlin before and after her transition. GMS GiveawayENTER GIVEAWAYUnwanted comments like these from professional fighters resulted in McLaughlin hitting back in an Instagram post. She called for her trolls to respect her opponent, after claims of Provost losing boiled down to a biological disadvantage. "Y'all need to show [Celine Provost] some respect and take your concern trolling elsewhere. She almost finished me more than once, and on scorecards, she definitely won that first round," McLaughlin wrote.Alana McLaughlin Instagram But despite winning fairly, UFC legend Michael Bisping has come out and said McLaughlin should not be allowed to compete in standard women's divisions of the sport."I'm not here to talk about transgender rights, you can identify as whatever you want," the 42-year-old said on his podcast. "But I do believe that if you're a woman that feels trapped in a man's body, there are certain advantages that you should have to give up."If you have the body of a man, competing against girls or women, when you're using your body to beat someone unconscious, has to be one of those things you sacrifice."

Coming from a religious and homophobic family, McLaughlin struggled with many years of hurt and rejection from her parents before becoming the headstrong woman she is today.

Her MMA debut was a milestone victory after she choked out Provost in the second round.