Debate Over Transgender Fighter Fallon Fox Rages On

Should a transgender fighter be licensed for women’s mixed martial arts? That’s the question which has created a firestorm of controversy, and Fallon Fox is at the core of it.

Originally from Toledo, Ohio, Fox travelled to Thailand in 2006 to undergo gender-reassignment surgery. She returned and decided to become an MMA combatant based in Chicago. Fox competed in the featherweight division (5-foot-7 and 144 pounds) of the Championship Fighting Alliance. Her first pro match took place in May 2012 in Worley, Idaho, where she defeated Elisha Harper by TKO. She then knocked out Ericka Newsome at CFA event in Coral Gables, Florida in March 2013.

Her back story became publicly known on March 5, three days after her second fight, in an interview with Outsports co-founder Cyd Zeigler Jr. The licensing process for what was supposed to be her next bout on April 20 is now under review and her match has been postponed as of this writing, but the howls of outrage have continued unabated.

High-profile MMA commentator Joe Rogan was among the first to express anger. On his “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, he made his opinion abundantly clear by referring to Fox as a “man” with the larger bone structure and density that tends to be associated with males. Among a string of epithets, Rogan adamantly insisted that Fox should not be allowed to fight women, but had no objections if she fought men.

Last Monday, Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight competitor Matt Mitrione came out swinging in an even more hurtful tone during an interview on “The MMA Hour,” also insisting on referring to Fox as a man and a “lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak.” The UFC has suspended Mitrione indefinitely for his comments.

Female MMA fighter Ronda Rousey said it’s unfair Fox is allowed to fight as a woman because she retains the bone structure and much of the musculature from her 31 years as a man. Canadian fighter Alexa Davis, meanwhile, said she could see herself in the ring with Fox. However, according to one observer, the issue is not as cut and dried as many assume.

“[The common thinking is] it’s impossible for a transgender woman, who was born a man, to play women’s sports and [have] it be fair,” said Helen J. Carroll, director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights’ Sports Project and an advocate for transgender athletes, a former athlete, national championship basketball coach, and collegiate athletic director with over 40 years of sports-related experience.

“The short answer is the transgender woman is a woman, and when she transitions, she takes testosterone-blocking hormones, so when she does end up competing, she has less testosterone in her system than her competitors do.”

The CFA has said that it supports Fox, but whether she is included in future promotions is a point of debate — one of many in this severely divisive discussion.