Mixed martial arts fighter Liz
Carmouche and UFC President Dana White discussed Carmouche's coming
out on Larry King Now.
Carmouche, currently the #6-ranked
female MMA fighter in the world according to the Unified Women's MMA
Rankings, publicly
came out gay last summer.
She told King that after experiencing
the closet in the military she wasn't willing to hide who she is
anymore.
“After being so closeted in the
Marine Corps and having come into my own there and not being able
to do ...”
“With Don't Ask, Don't Tell?” King
interrupted.
“Exactly, it was really difficult.
And when I got out of the Marine Corp if MMA was really something I
was going to pursue, that I wasn't going to throw it in people's
faces but I just wasn't willing to hide anymore. … And it has just
turned into something amazing and bigger than I thought.”
Carmouche described repeal of DADT as a
“transition that will be for the best.”
“Everybody's been nothing but
supportive,” she said of coming out in the MMA.
“How did the sport react to it?”
King asked White.
“We could care less,” White
replied.
“We've actually embraced it. We've
reached out to the gay community about his fight,” White added,
referring to Carmouche's Saturday fight for the UFC Women's
Bantamweight Championship title against Ronda Rousey.
(Watch
the entire interview on Hulu.com.)