Liz Carmouche Signs To UFC, Be First Openly Gay Fighter | HuffPost Voic

Contents:

• LIZ CARMOUCHE: THE UFC IS READY FOR ITS FIRST OPENLY GAY MALE FIGHTER
• OPENLY GAY MIXED MARTIAL ARTIST LIZ CARMOUCHE TO FIGHT FOR FIRST UFC WOMEN'S TLE
• LIZ CARMOUCHE SIGNS TO UFC, BE FIRST OPENLY GAY FIGHTER
• UFC'S LIZ CARMOUCHE: THE UFC IS READY FOR A GAY MALE FIGHTER
• DANA WHE ON GAY FIGHTER LIZ CARMOUCHE: 'I LOVE WHAT SHE DID'
• LIZ CARMOUCHE TO FACE JSI ANDRA FIRST UFC FIGHT BETWEEN TWO OPEN LBIANS. ANDRA, OM BRAZIL, TALKS ABOUT BEG AN OPENLY GAY FIGHTER.

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

Sce then, a woman has bee the biggt star MMA has ever seen and sr of female fighters have been given the opportuny to pete at the hight today's champns, trailblazers, fan-favor, and hot prospects are openly gay women.

When Carmouche entered the UFC ge she also beme the first openly gay fighter to pete the biggt MMA promotn on the pla.

Carmouche has long been a proud voice for her muny, havg done numero terviews discsg the challeng of both beg a gay member of the ary and a gay profsnal athlete.

OPENLY GAY MIXED MARTIAL ARTIST LIZ CARMOUCHE TO FIGHT FOR FIRST UFC WOMEN'S TLE

Penngton ndidly revealed her g out story to viewers, as well as the issu she had faced as a young gay athlete.

In a rare terview, wh MMA Junkie, Andra discsed beg gay and how she feels a male fighter may fd more difficult than a woman to e out the world of bat sports. Aguilar, who has stated that beg out as gay has never hurt her reer, is a pro ambassador for Athlete Ally; a non prof that provis public awarens mpaigns and tnal programmg signed to foster clive sportg muni. Even worse, her bt iend the Mar, a woman she intifi only as "Kim, " was a gay basher.

LIZ CARMOUCHE SIGNS TO UFC, BE FIRST OPENLY GAY FIGHTER

"A ltle more than three years after leavg the Mare Corps, Carmouche has found peace, happs and acceptance , of all plac, the male-domated UFC, which until Carmouche's arrival had never had an openly gay fighter on s 'll meet bantamweight champn Ronda Roey on Saturday at the Honda Center Anaheim, Calif., the ma event of UFC 157 the first women's bout UFC surprisgly, Carmouche's sexual orientatn has bee a story the weeks prr to what is shapg up as one of the most socially signifint events the pany's nearly 20-year history. ]Shockgly, perhaps, to those who dare to read the equently sensive ments below articl on the Inter, Carmouche's announcement has not created a one undoubtedly exists, none of her peers has spoken out agast gay fighters. Those who have spoken about have praised Carmouche's bravery and the UFC's tolerance and enuragement of UFC print Dana Whe, who durg a 2009 rant at a reporter on a vio blog famoly ed a homophobic slur, has been as supportive of Carmouche as a news nference December to announce the Roey-Carmouche tle fight, Whe praised Carmouche's bravery for g out and qutned why some stat still ban gay marriage.

"There are a lot of gay athlet, actors, actrs and entertaers out there that, for whatever reason, haven't e out and so the public don't know about them, " Whe said.

I know a lot of people thk I'm some homophobe, [but] I'm the furtht thg om . ' "Ali Davis, a ntributg wrer for, a webse that foc on lbian rights and issu, said she don't see Carmouche's arrival the UFC as a watershed moment, which is a good homophobia clearly remas prent, the UFC's 18- to 34-year-old mographic is far more tolerant and acceptg of gays and lbians, she said. "I thk she'll help bee she lets them know that you n be gay lots of different ways.

UFC'S LIZ CARMOUCHE: THE UFC IS READY FOR A GAY MALE FIGHTER

Comg out the sport over a ago, she acknowledg the claims of out bisexual fighter Jeff Mola about homophobia the sport, and the differenc between the men’s and women’s tegori.

“I haven’t seen much outward homophobia toward women, ” she told Outsports as she was drivg to tra Virgia Beach, away om her wife and son, ahead of her fight. She acknowledg that some people the sport of mixed martial arts — particularly men — ntue to harbor issu wh gay athlet.

“I’ve heard men sayg they weren’t fortable wh their wiv trag, bee they might be trag wh some gay women, ” she said, “or they didn’t want a straight man touchg their girliend. “I thk there are some plac where gay men would be rejected, and others are jt puttg out that mascule energy, ” she said. There were sponsors who were terted and lost tert when they found out I was gay.

DANA WHE ON GAY FIGHTER LIZ CARMOUCHE: 'I LOVE WHAT SHE DID'

Liz Carmouche was the first openly gay fighter on the UFC roster. Carmouche did not w the belt that night, but the UFC did not have to wa long for s first gay champn. Carmouche recently spoke to TMZ Sports about the possibily of an openly gay male athlete fightg for the UFC.

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. "I'll tell you right now, if there was a gay fighter UFC, I wish he would e out, " Whe said.

LIZ CARMOUCHE TO FACE JSI ANDRA FIRST UFC FIGHT BETWEEN TWO OPEN LBIANS. ANDRA, OM BRAZIL, TALKS ABOUT BEG AN OPENLY GAY FIGHTER.

"I uld re ls if there's a gay fighter the UFC.

Carmouche has been publicly out as gay for over a , wearg a pri-spired rabow mouthguard her fights. Right as she was leavg the service, she cid—spe DADT still beg place—to tell her ary iends the way they rpond has set a precent for how people the MMA world have taken to learng that she is openly gay: not much backlash at all. 23, the first women's bout the UFC promotn's Dovargan/The Associated PrsLiz (Girlrilla) Carmouche has already ma history as the first openly gay fighter the UFC.

Carmouche has been ved to appear several Pri paras, attend opengs of LGBT centr and speak to says she believ there will be a day when her sexual orientatn will no longer be an issue, potg to the advancement of gay marriage and the repealg of discrimatory laws. Those who ma hurtful ments about gays and lbians, cludg a close iend who said that if gay soldiers me out they should be put on the ont l and be the first killed. It beme a game among other Mar to gus who was gay or lbian, the hop of gettg them kicked out of the service.

While ep the closet, Carmouche was statned San Diego and equented the gay clubs the Hillcrt sectn and briefly dated a woman.

"My bt iend the Mar, her name is Kim, said one day while we were Iraq that homosexuals the Forc should be put on the ont le bee they served to die.

She said the way she grew up, she’d never met a gay person and didn’t know what she was talkg about. “To this day she thanks me for changg her views on gay people and now says she n't image why she was ever homophobic.

She is first openly gay athlete the UFC. One way of gettg her to be ls guard was to play a game where Hernanz would try and gus on whether a particular person was gay; ually he was right, she says.

"He has great gaydar and he knew as soon as he met me there was no doubt his md of my sexual orientatn. She's openly gay and proud and is g her platform to show that LGBT people are everywhere. Liz Carmouche may know how to knock out her opponents, but now she's knockg down social barriers as the first openly gay fighter the Ultimate Fightg Champnship (UFC).

She is the first openly gay fighter the anizatn, The Atlantic reports. The UFC has had a history tated wh anti-gay sentiment, and some see her jog as a sign of progrs. "While 's doubtful that openly gay male fighters will be given the same wele anytime soon, Carmouche volvement is still a sign of progrs, " Jezebel's Malee Davi wr.

"Maybe one day soon, everyone — gay, straight or bi, male, female or trans — will be given equal opportuny to beat the crap out of one another. Servg Iraq durg the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" era as a closeted lbian, Carmouche was surround by anti-gay sentiment, not only g om her superrs, but also her iends, she recently revealed to Sports the time, the MMA fighter was stgglg wh her inty. "There was nothg posive terms of anythg homosexual, " she said.

"Anyone they spected of beg gay, they tomatilly treated as a spegoat. "I thought I'd e to ntact wh some stereotypil person who's anti-homosexualy, whether be men or women. " Gettg to the pot of acceptance as an MMA fighter and a gay woman was not easy.