Two gay fighters to square off for tle at UFC 224 historic first - Outsports

Contents:

• ORLANDO CZ: 'I'M GAY, BUT I'M ALSO A BOXER. THIS IS MY TIME'
• THE FIGHT TO GET GAY VIO GAM
• LIST OF GAY UFC FIGHTERS (OUT & PROUD MEN & WOMEN)
• “IF YOU’RE GAY, I COULD CARE LS”- DANA WHE REVEALS HIS STANCE ON OPENLY GAY FIGHTERS UFC
• GAYTALY: ULTIMATE GAY FIGHTER KICKS SEVEN SHAS OUT OF THE RABOW
• ARE THERE ANY OPENLY GAY FIGHTERS IN THE UFC (MALE & FEMALE)?
• DO WORLD’S FIRST GAY FIGHTG VIO GAME GO TOO FAR WH LGBT STEREOTYP?
• GAYMERS REJOICE OVER WORLD’S FIRST GAY FIGHTG VIO GAME [CONTT]
• OPENLY GAY FIGHTER ‘GOLN PRCS’ BATTL STIGMA, RRI PRI FLAG AHEAD OF TLE FENSE BRAZIL
• WHO IS KEV MAXEN? MEET NFL'S FIRST GAY MALE ACH
• ORLANDO CZ A 'PROUD GAY MAN'
• LIZ CARMOUCHE: THE UFC IS READY FOR ITS FIRST OPENLY GAY MALE FIGHTER
• ARE THERE ANY GAY UFC FIGHTERS? (GAY MMA FIGHTERS ALSO)
• TWO OPENLY GAY FIGHTERS TO SQUARE OFF FOR TLE AT UFC 224 HISTORIC FIRST

ORLANDO CZ: 'I'M GAY, BUT I'M ALSO A BOXER. THIS IS MY TIME'

Yet his dreamier notn – of beg the world's first gay world champn – would brg Cz the money and rpect he has long, or Orlando, as De León lls his 32-year-old fighter, sed when I disappeared to the traer's kchen soon after we arrived. He is the same age as Cz but has had 53 fights – 30 more than the Puerto Rin whose rerd of 20 ws, a draw and two feats was shadowed by a ght battle over his took years for Cz to fd the urage to make history as a gay fighter.

He sks to a chair, the ms of boxg sho and bags strewn around him, remblg a grty old fighter rather than a gay ns down his sunken face like tears.

It was an early troductn, for me, to the urage and cency of some boxg plan had been that I would take Cz to meet Griffh – even if severe mentia had ed the former champn – so there would be a poignant enunter between boxg's only openly gay fighters. "I'm fightg for my fay, my traer, my team, everyone who wrote to me around the world sce I me out, as well as the lbian-gay-bi-transgenr muny, " Cz says. "I would love to have kids, " he says and José will have to marry New York and try to adopt children away om Puerto Ri where, aga, the notn of gay parents is illegal.

THE FIGHT TO GET GAY VIO GAM

"It's better I go to church than a gay bar, " he says as we walk to St Joseph's where De León's 11-year-old son, Angel, is an altar boy. "Patrick isn't an "avid gamer" anymore, but he was remd of his love of fightg gam last June around the time of New York's gay pri para.

Seeg all the over-the-top stum and floats that make the para such a legendary event, he began to joke wh his iends about what would be like to have a fightg game—a genre long celebrated for s ridiculons and mp nature—featurg entirely gay characters. And fally, last month, he unveiled his visn to the general public: Ultimate Gay Fighter, scribed on s webse as "the world's first ever gay vio game…ever!!!! Jt last week, UGF announced that had partnered wh the pennt mobile game veloper Beard Man Studs to brg a “bigger and better Ultimate Gay Fighter very soon.

Todd Harper, a postdoctoral rearcher at MIT's game lab and thor of the book The Culture of Digal Fightg Gam, told me that part of the challenge Ultimate Gay Fighter fac here is one that a lot of gam face on some level, pecially this genre.

LIST OF GAY UFC FIGHTERS (OUT & PROUD MEN & WOMEN)

To give an example, I asked Harper how he thought a game like StarCraft uld show s players that one character or another was openly and eely gay.

“But now that you mentn , part of me would really love to see the space mar StarCraft prancg around stiletto heels…”Toni Roc, CEO and print of the LGBT-foced vio game nventn GaymerX, don't thk that Patrick's loyalty to genre nventns is to blame here. "While Mass Effect players uld pursue lbian relatnships for the entire seri, wasn't until the third game they uld be a gay is right that there are now many posive exampl of LGBT voic vio gam.

“IF YOU’RE GAY, I COULD CARE LS”- DANA WHE REVEALS HIS STANCE ON OPENLY GAY FIGHTERS UFC

In recent years, high-profile velopers like BWare have released blockbter gam such as Mass Effect, which lets players star their own space opera as openly gay characters who n pursue same-sex relatnships (though that didn't happen until the third game the trilogy) the right way, Dragon Age, another of Bware's gam, ntas a Brokeback Mounta-que subplot about one of s male characters abandong the player to marry a woman and honor his noble leage when he's required to assume the throne. And jt this month, Sony and veloper Nghty Dog released an expansn to 2013’s crilly acclaimed zombie epic The Last of Us which ntaed a surprisg revelatn that Ellie, a teenage girl who’s one of the two playable characters, had a brief and tragic romantic tryst wh another other words, there are enough game velopers who intify as gay, bisexual, transgenr, or queer that the fluential gamg se Polygon announced the emergence of a "queer gamg scene” last pared to other pop culture anchors like mic and film, the vio game dtry is still remarkably homogeno. Which gets to an important qutn: if billn dollar pani are havg such a hard time welg LGBT voic, is the work of one experienced gay man the real problem here?

"Maybe we shouldn’t be spendg so much time pickg on an die veloper who ma some poor choic when a mastream veloper is still makg the 40th stallment some seri that's horribly racist and vlent and misogynist, " Roc Age was one of the first AAA gam that allowed players to pursue same-sex relatnships, plete wh awkward, Enya-fueled sex scen like the one shown creative dilemma that Harper highlighted, however, shows jt how subtle and enmic this kd of stutnalized homophobia is. A recent article on the gamg webse Kill Screen, for stance, asked why there still isn’t a sgle easily intifiable “gay protagonist” mastream gam. From male and female gay UFC fighters to enuragg closet members to reveal their inty to the world, the MMA muny embrac Pri month a spectacular welg as the MMA is to LGBTQIA+ members, at the apex MMA promotn, rervatns persist regardg the acceptabily of members to the doubt LGBTQIA+ members abound the women’s UFC; is a different realy the UFC domated by article explor the realy of the LGBTQIA+ muny the UFC and also prents the list of male and female openly gay UFC fighters.

Before we lve to our list of UFC gay fighters, the recurrg qutn regardg why no gay fighter exists the male divisn of the promotn has to be fairly answered. In 2009 UFC print, Dana Whe was ptured a vio blog posted on the UFC webse which he took swiped at women and obsceny-lan vio was a rponse to a story by a longtime MMA reporter Loretta Hunt of, which he claimed rrectly reported on UFC polici and crentialg of managers and agents relatn to their vio stck the nerve of the members of the LGBTQIA+ muny, such as the Gay & Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn (GLAAD), who requted that Whe apologize. Though Dana Whe apologized, this was the first major ht potg to a rocky relatnship between the UFC as well as Whe and the gay there were doubts about Whe and the promotn’s stance on gay fighters UFC, those doubts were effectively cleared Febary Whe revealed that should a UFC male fighter e out openly as gay, he would support such fighters and help wh any potential down the le, spe the reassurg words of Whe on supportg male UFC gay fighters, the UFC male divisns boast of no openly gay, however, is not a reflectn of anti-gay sentiments the fact, the UFC star Marc Diakie dubbed the Bonecsher, beme the first UFC star to appear a gay fact that no openly gay UFC star exist is not an issue unique to the MMA general, pecially male sports, do not have gay top-flight sports which generate lots of buzz and tert boast of few to zero athlet who openly intify as members of the gay muny This, th, is no issue peculiar to the UFC but to sports Complete List of Gay UFC Fighters 1.

GAYTALY: ULTIMATE GAY FIGHTER KICKS SEVEN SHAS OUT OF THE RABOW

Amanda Nun The Brazilian MMA star is no stranger to the UFC or the world of mixed martial Nun is one of the most ement members of the gay muny the UFC but also bee she is credibly talented what she of May 2022, Amanda Nun currently holds the UFC Women’s Featherweight to fightg the UFC, Amanda Nun fought the Strikeforce promotns, where she effectively tablished herself as one of the tought MMA fighters the reputatn she created was tegral her short stt wh Invicta Fightg Champnships before she moved on to the UFC.

Raquel Penngton is one of the lbian UFC fighters who is vol about her revealed to fans ndidly how she me out as a lbian and also nveyed her thoughts on the stggl of beg a gay athlete. Tecia TorrPhoto: @teciatorrOne of the current gay fighters UFC who is openly lbian, Torr, is no stranger to the MMA star, who is one of the top-rated stars the UFC female strawweight divisn, began her MMA reer over a ago and has tablished herself as a ntenr for the UFC Strawweight ’s major troductn to the sport started October 2012 when she ma her promotnal but the Invicta Fightg stt at Invicta was short, as her potential ught the attentn of the UFC, who offered her a place the ele December Torr was one of the first 11 women signed to the UFC strawweight divisn and also was a st member The Ultimate Fighter realy show. Concln There you have —the list of the openly gay fighters there are no openly gay male UFC fighters, the promotn, through s print Dana Whe has ma known how supportive they will be should any male MMA fighter tak the brave step of g the current members of the LGBTQ muny the UFC, there has been mostly no difference their reers pared to their straight Out The Intertg Articl on BiglySports:Top 20 Hottt Female UFC Fighters Of All TimeHow Much Do UFC Rg Girls Make?

While the pany as a whole hadn’t necsarily been at the foreont of any homophobic lash-out, print Dana Whe did e unr the radar at one pot for his anti-gay remarks the past.

ARE THERE ANY OPENLY GAY FIGHTERS IN THE UFC (MALE & FEMALE)?

When the heavyweight champn Jon Jon was asked to ment on at the time, he shared, “I don’t really know what I thk about homosexualy and MMA. Lookg to wa through this maelstrom is Ultimate Gay Fighter (UGF) a 2D beat ‘em up for mobile vic veloped by New York-based Handsome Woman Productns.

Some take as homage to a varied and lourful muny, an affectnate satire of the numero myths and stereotyp that persist around homosexualy. ’ It’s a ntent claim, as other gam exist that al meangfully wh facets of homosexualy, om smaller personal projects such as Mattie Brice’s Maichi, which puts you through a day the life of a transgenr person, to massive anchis like Mass Effect and Dragon Age.

DO WORLD’S FIRST GAY FIGHTG VIO GAME GO TOO FAR WH LGBT STEREOTYP?

“There’s a huge saturatn of gam marketed to var mographics, but none that I uld see that were marketed specifilly towards gays. On the ntrary, he believ that, should UGF fail, uld help other gay vio gam by creatg a hunger for somethg better, and spire other velopers to top his effort.

Whether Ultimate Gay Fighter succeeds or not, Patrick hop will reach s tend dience, an dience he believ will take the spir he tend. For stance, Amanda Nun, a female bantamweight fighter, ma history by beg the first openly gay fighter the UFC and the first female two-divisn champn.

GAYMERS REJOICE OVER WORLD’S FIRST GAY FIGHTG VIO GAME [CONTT]

Furthermore, Nick Rg, a fighter-nttant, was “exposed” as havg worked gay porn and produced a few films durg the 11th season of the UFC TV show on Spike’s “The Ultimate Fighter, ” or TUF. However, the UFC will eventually be even more acceptg of openly gay fighters, and hopefully, soon, the athlet will only be judged on the performance they put on the le the ge, not on the basis of anythg else.

Well, looks like real life is imatg art, or vice versa, thanks to game creators Handsome Woman the gaymer all, the world’s first gay fightg game is fally here after years of velopment. Handsome Woman Productns‘s Gay Fighter Supreme featur 10 LGBT fighters—om drag queen Carrie Cupke and pole artist GoGo Gary to lbian Sappho Ethridge and twk Timmy Spears—all petg to w the tle of Gay Fight game, available today for $1.

OPENLY GAY FIGHTER ‘GOLN PRCS’ BATTL STIGMA, RRI PRI FLAG AHEAD OF TLE FENSE BRAZIL

“Anyone who mistakenly views the game as offensive or feels perpetuat gay stereotyp is missg the pot, ” says -creator Melchor Carnas. Competg to w the tle of Gay Figher champn, players have the choice of ten different LGBT fighters cludg drag queen Carrie Cupke, GoGo Gary, lbian Sappho Ethridge and twk Timmy Spears. “The ia for GAY FIGHTER SUPREME arose om banter between iends discsg our mutual love for 90’s fightg gam, ” says Michael Patrick, the game’s founr and creator.

WHO IS KEV MAXEN? MEET NFL'S FIRST GAY MALE ACH

“Anyone who mistakenly views the game as offensive or feels perpetuat gay stereotyp is missg the pot, ” said Melchor Carnas, the gam -creator. Throughout the battl the 12-level game, the League of Opprsive Self-Righteo Zealots try to make the muny stroy self and brawash s members to rry out the League’s dub plans by transformg them to gay-hatg cybs. Washgton Duarte beme the first openly gay man to e out durg his MMA reer Brazil, and he hop spir others to follow his steps the future.

Wh over a experience MMA, Duarte said he was always known as a gay fighter his home of Amapa, cludg by UFC veteran and trag partner Tiago Trator. “Tiago said he’s never seen a gay fighter before anywhere he went, and I always sist that there are many gay men out there [ MMA], but they don’t have the urage to e out.

ORLANDO CZ A 'PROUD GAY MAN'

Duarte said the MMA world is “very” homophobic, and he’s been through many suatns where straight men simply refed to fight or even tra wh him.

“I thought was a joke, that he already had a trip planned or whatever, but then he nfirmed to me that he was too embarrassed to lose to a gay man. Based on the reactn om the team, he need not have worried about g out sooner, as owner Shad Khan said to ESPN:Kev Maxen was also helped by Carl Nassib, who ma history as the first openly gay active NFL player. Five years at USA TodayFeatherweight Orlando Cz, a 2000 Puerto Rin Olympian and a ge ntenr as a profsnal fighter, has done somethg unual boxg, or any profsnal sport: He has publicly announced he is, 31, the first openly gay fighter, released a statement which he lled himself a "proud gay man.

-based Natnal Gay and Lbian Task Force, praised Cz for his cisn and said breaks stereotyp that gay people are not volved sports like boxg. "It also giv a lot of hope to young gays who n see him the tegry and bravery to be who you are and face a society that is often tolerant, pecially this type of sport, " he said. Among those who sent msag of support was Puerto Rin sger Ricky Mart, who announced he was gay Twter msag exprsed ncern for Cz's safety and wonred whether other boxers will be reluctant to fight him.

LIZ CARMOUCHE: THE UFC IS READY FOR ITS FIRST OPENLY GAY MALE FIGHTER

Griffh is also a former middleweight champn and a Hall of said he is prepared for the fallout om his announcement, sayg many boxers had already spected he was gay but gave him privacy. So I do actually believe that a man uld e out as beg openly gay and he uld rise to the top, and that people would take him for who his skillset is, not lettg his sexual preference take om what he is dog.

ARE THERE ANY GAY UFC FIGHTERS? (GAY MMA FIGHTERS ALSO)

In this article, we’ll look at the plete list of gay UFC fighters, why there aren’t any gay male UFC fighters and the plete list of openly gay male MMA fighters.

Dpe this, while MMA and the UFC likely have some gay male fighters, they’re unwillg to e out as gay bee of the stigma surroundg beg gay martial arts and sports overall. There are no openly gay male UFC Fighters bee they’re sred to e out a sport where beg gay is looked down upon and feme, and where onle abe is so mon. Whe has repeatedly apologized, and 2011 Whe said about gay fighters, “I wish they’d e out”, and “If you’re an athlete the UFC and you are gay, I uld re ls.

TWO OPENLY GAY FIGHTERS TO SQUARE OFF FOR TLE AT UFC 224 HISTORIC FIRST

So, spe Whe beg scere his apologi, gay male UFC fighters may look at that those remarks 2009 and have some doubt their md when they thk about g out as gay – pecially when ’s the head of the promotn sayg those thgs.

Also, gay male athlet have plenty of evince om other sports that attus toward them are negative and the issue is still very polarizg. The NFL and NBA prevly operated unr the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, seeg homosexualy as a distractn om the game and keepg many gay athlet the closet. There were ments like, “Man you support gay people, you’re gonna burn hell” – showg ’s no wonr that gay fighters are aaid to e out when a heterosexual fighter showg support for them gets this much abe.

Other UFC fighters have e unr scty for homophobic ments, such as Donald Cerrone, Josh Thompson, and Sean Strickland, who for the most part have gotten away wh their remarks. On the other hand, the UFC and MMA have been vol their welg of gay fighters, pecially Dana Whe who most know don’t re about people’s sexual orientatn – he’s only foced on promotg the bt fighters and the bs si of the MMA.