Transgender woman Anne Veriato defeats man in MMA debut in Brazil

MMAfighting.com

The first MMA fight between a transgender woman and a man in Brazilian mixed martial arts history took place Saturday night at Mr. Cage 34 in Manaus, and the transgender woman won.

Anne Veriato, a transgender woman who had a successful career in jiu-jitsu in the local circuit against men, decided to make her transition to MMA in 2018. Veriato scored a decision victory over Railson Paixao in a strawweight bout.

Watch the full fight below:

Veriato spent the majority of the fight working on submissions on the ground, going for triangle chokes and armbars on multiple occasions, but Paixao was able to escape those attempts.

Paixao connected good shots standing, but Veriato’s takedowns would always force him to work on the ground again. Veriato got a point deducted in the first round for what appeared to be an illegal knee to the head of a grounded opponent, but still won the fight via unanimous decision.

Before the contest, Veriato explained to MMA Fighting why she wanted to compete against men instead of women.

”It’s only fair to fight men,” Veriato said. “It never crossed my mind to fight a woman because I think I’m too good. If I beat men my entire career, I can still beat them despite the hormone process. I only know that I’m good after I beat men. That’s what makes me happy and hungrier to train. I don’t think it’s fair to fight women.”