“Unfightable,” directed by Marc J. Pérez, tells McLaughlin’s story starting with her childhood in South Carolina. She was assigned male at birth, but says in the film she knew she was a girl at an early age. She also says she was sexually assaulted by friends of her family and was bullied as well.

“Athletics kind of saved me,” says McLaughlin in the film. She ran track in high school and college. After graduating, she joined the army and served in Afghanistan as a Special Forces sergeant. At around age 30, she began hormone therapy and started transitioning to life as a woman.

Alana McLaughlin is a distinguished U.S. Army Special Forces Sergeant. She's also a transgender MMA fighter looking to compete in the professional leagues.

Transgender rights or even acceptance have never been in such a precarious place within the American political landscape since queer rights were acknowledged at all in the mainstream conversation. After eight years of ramped-up efforts by anti-trans activists to essentially legislate them out of legal existence, trans people find themselves facing a divisive and uncomfortably close election that will likely have an existential impact on their future, accompanied by persistent and vocal efforts by the conservative right-wing crowd to ostracize and stigmatize them within public perception. They’re not the only target, but they are the most vulnerable one – especially within the evangelical strongholds that might swing the election one way or the other – and that means a lot of conservative crosshairs are trained directly on them.

New documentary film gives the backstory on trans pioneer Alana McLaughlin, who is still waiting for a second fight three years later.

Alana McLaughlin Fights for Her Place in the Ring in Unfightable

Get ready for a powerful new documentary that dives into the world of MMA like never before!

Unfightable, directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Marc J. Perez, follows the incredible journey of Alana McLaughlin, a transgender woman who steps into the tough and often hostile world of professional mixed martial arts.

From a challenging childhood to serving in the U.S. Special Forces, Alana has faced her share of battles. Now, she’s fighting for something more — her right to compete as a professional athlete and to be seen for who she truly is.

Alana McLaughlin, the second openly trans MMA fighter (after Fallon Fox), is the subject of the inspiring new documentary, “Unfightable.” Director Marc J. Perez recounts McLaughlin’s efforts to train and fight in a 2021 Combate Global undercard.

She gets the opportunity when MMA founder and promoter Campbell McLaren offers her a fight against Celine Provost. However, finding an opponent and a gym for McLaughlin to train in proves difficult. Moreover, there is backlash from members of the MMA community who post negative comments on social media about a trans MMA fighter.

Marc J. Perez's film will get a limited theatrical release in September, ahead of a TV premiere on ViX and Fuse later this year, amid controversy at the Paris Olympics over gender identity and regulation in women's boxing.