Gabi Garcia wanted to cry tears of joy after thousands flocked to Las Vegas to watch her fight male Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) star Craig Jones on Saturday night. The inter-gender bout sparked criticism and intrigue in equal measure as the significantly smaller and lighter Jones won by submission.

Two-time world medallist Jones was in control of the grappling match from start to finish and forced the tap in round two via a rear-naked choke. The showdown was almost cancelled when Jones controversially grabbed Garcia's face and kissed her on the lips during a pre-fight face-off.

At the time, Garcia called Jones a 'b****' and insisted he had 'crossed the line'. But there were no signs of bad blood in the immediate aftermath of her defeat.

Pointing at the crowd, Garcia said: "I want to cry because I see all this. Guys, thank you everybody for coming here. Thank you Craig for what he did for the sport. It's amazing.

"The thing for me is you guys because when we die the medal and the plates don't go with me, but I will be alive in all of you guys and I think, never fight for a medal, fight for what you love and what you believe.

"I believe our sport can be bigger than ever and today I win this match because everybody, people can say 'it's a joke' or they don't agree. I call it self-respect because I do what I want and I don't give a f*** about nothing. For everyone who thought that the show wouldn't happen and made jokes about us, motherf****rs!

"I've competed in ADCC for 18 years and today was the day that my brother died and this was for you brother, for my mum, my dad, my family and for you guys… look at this here, this is my other family."

Garcia, standing 6ft 2in and weighing more than 100kg, had been toying with the idea of facing a male grappler for years prior to her match with Jones in Las Vegas.

The Brazil-born 38-year-old is a six-time IBJJF world champion, a member of the IBJJF Hall of Fame and a four-time ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship gold medallist.

Garcia followed up her post-fight praise of Jones with a heartfelt Instagram message in which she called him 'genuine', 'funny', 'an incredible person' and 'one of my best friends'.