Surenas found himself back in the octagon, his muscular frame dripping with sweat and blood. The roar of the crowd was deafening as he stood over his fallen opponent, 'Genghis Khan,' who lay motionless on the canvas. The referee raised Surenas' arm in victory, but the triumph felt hollow. He exited the cage. A sea of reporters swarmed him, their microphones thrust into his face like weapons.
One reporter, a smug-looking man with a perfectly coiffed haircut, pushed his way to the front. "Surenas," he began, his voice dripping with condescension, "incredible fight! But tell me, with Men’s MMA viewership declining, have you considered transitioning to the more… lucrative Women’s division? Many fighters have found success there."
Rage exploded within him, white-hot and all-consuming. How dare he? How fucking dare he suggest he debase himself, abandon everything he'd fought for? With a guttural roar, Surenas snatched the camera from the nearby cameraman, hurling it across the octagon. The expensive equipment shattered against the cage, raining down in a shower of broken plastic and circuitry.
"Fuck you!" he bellowed, his voice reverberating through the suddenly silent arena. "Fuck your ratings! Fuck your bullshit women's division! This is real fighting, not some goddamn peep show!"
***
Surenas jerked awake, her heart pounding in her chest. The nightmare faded, but the bitter taste of reality remained. She sat up in her cramped hotel room, her new body feeling alien and wrong. Her large breasts heaved with each ragged breath, a constant reminder of what she had lost.
She glanced at the clock on the bedside table. It was almost time. In just a few hours, she would step into the cage for her first fight as a female MMA fighter. The thought made her stomach churn with a mixture of disgust and fear. She stood up, her legs trembling slightly, and made her way to the bathroom.
The mirror reflected a stranger back at her. Gone was the hulking, muscular frame that had dominated the men's heavyweight division. In its place was a petite, curvaceous figure that seemed better suited for a swimsuit competition than a brutal cage fight. Surenas clenched her delicate hands into fists.
