Cris Cyborg fires back at JacksonWink associate for insulting post

It’s a brand new year, but Cris Cyborg finds herself having to deal with the same old insults.

The UFC women’s featherweight champion defended her title for the first time and won her 19th consecutive fight on Saturday, earning a five-round unanimous decision over Holly Holm at UFC 219 in Las Vegas, Nev. It was a triumphant moment for the 32-year-old Brazilian who arguably cemented herself as the greatest female fighter in MMA history.

However, not everyone was content to just let Cyborg have her day. A photographer who was at the event representing the JacksonWink gym (where Holm trains) posted a since-deleted Instagram message in which he used the words “dude”, “he”, and “his” to describe Cyborg. These insults are in line with past comments made by several prominent figures ranging from Dana White to Joe Rogan, comparing Cyborg’s physique to that of a man.

On Monday, she took to Instagram herself to address the insult:

“It is not acceptable for an official representative of (Holly Holm and JacksonWink MMA) to call me transgender following my fight,” Cyborg wrote, adding that she expects an apology from whoever wrote the post and that this person not be granted credentials by the UFC in the future.

This is not the first time that a JacksonWink social media account has posted comments that could be perceived as transphobic. Their Twitter account sent out a tweet (also deleted) linking to an older Instagram post on Monday that made light of the controversy surrounding transgender bathroom laws:

Update: The JacksonWink team has posted its side of the story on Facebook: