UFC fighter Julian Erosa challenges controversial trans swimmer Lia Thomas to become an MMA fighter… claiming that he would transition to being a woman just so he could ‘beat that dude’s a**’

UFC veteran fighter Julian Erosa has issued a bizarre challenge after winning his undercard fight on Saturday. He called up swimmer Lia Thomas and told her she should become an MMA fighter.

In a weird moment during the post-fight press conference, Erosa talked about how he didn’t like cheaters and specifically called out Thomas while misgendering the former University of Pennsylvania swimmer.

As part of his challenge, Erosa told Thomas to become an MMA fighter, before strangely volunteering to medically transition to womanhood himself.

Erosa said, “I wanted to encourage her, or encourage him, to move from women’s swimming to women’s MMA – and then I’m going to move over to female, and I’m going to beat that guy up.”

Seconds after suggesting he wanted to become a trans woman for this challenge, Erosa then talked about how unfair it is for trans women to participate in women’s sports.

“That’s what I wanted to say, because it’s all about getting a little shock value,” Erosa said. ‘But I mean, in the world we live in, there is no common sense anymore. It’s getting a bit ridiculous.

“That’s obviously one of the big things that’s always been… It’s happening now. I just don’t agree with men in women’s sports… and the girls who are – or guys who fight in women’s MMA and knock them out, that’s a bad look.”

A reporter in the audience followed this up, saying that transitioning from male to female and competing in martial arts is “so much worse” than making the same transition to swimming.

When asked if there are any instances where he thinks it would be acceptable for trans women to compete, Erosa said, “Absolutely not.”

‘I’m convinced that once you go through male puberty, there’s nothing you can do. There is nothing you can give yourself to shrink your bones.

‘In that sense you can’t do anything. The proof is in the pudding, right? You have Mr. Thomas, who was ranked as a man anyway, and he just beats all the women. It is obvious.

‘It doesn’t matter how much estrogen you use. I think we are clearly in a gray area, but these gray areas are stupid to me because they are common sense. I’m not the smartest crayon in the box, but I can tell you that if I don’t know anything about anything, I can still tell you that, in my opinion, that’s unfair.

“People will have their opinions to say whatever they want, but it’s something that I believe in strongly, that I find it so funny that women will fight for their own space, and then they fight for trans women in that space as well. spaces.

‘They’re just men. When will there be hundreds of men in these sports, and then it just becomes someone else’s sport?

‘It’s so strange to me. Don’t know. We could dive into that can of worms all day. But yes, that’s how I think about it too.’

Erosa improved his record to 29-11 after defeating Ricardo Ramos in the featherweight bout by submission via guillotine choke.

Thomas hasn’t competed in swimming since college – after World Aquatics instituted a policy in 2022 that set parameters for trans women to compete.

That policy would only allow people who have transitioned from male to female, as long as male puberty has stopped at age 12.

Thomas is suing World Aquatics, claiming the policy is discriminatory.