Transgender Fighter Foxes MMA Athletic Commissions

Mixed Martial Arts has seen its fair share of controversy since its inception in 1985. From battling to be legalised across the US, to being labelled as “human cock fighting” by former Presidential candidate John McCain; the sport has worked through its growing pains and in the last three years has exploded in popularity. With more attention and scrutiny than ever, the newest controversial topic in the MMA world comes in the form of 37 year-old Fallon Fox.

Fighting at 144lbs (65kg) in the women’s featherweight division, newcomer Fallon Fox has achieved a 2 fight win streak in the Championship Fighting Alliance (CFA) manhandling her opponents in TKO and KO victories respectively. However, these impressive and fierce wins are not what have Fox’s name in the headlines. In a recent interview, Fox revealed that up until 2006 she had a couple more family jewels.

What was particularly shocking about this revelation was that it came after her two previous fights, which means that neither the necessary athletic commissions nor her opponents were aware that she used to be a man. Since the interview, Fox’s fighting license has been under investigation by Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation and her next scheduled fight at CFA 10 has been suspended.

Fallon Fox achieved a 2 fight win streak in the Championship Fighting Alliance (CFA).

The two questions that have garnered most attention have been whether Fox should have revealed her transgender status and whether the former male should be allowed to fight women.

Fighter safety is a key concern in MMA and some argue that having formerly been a male, Fox has some physical advantages that come from the Y chromosome, such as broader shoulders, thicker bone density and bigger hands.

All of these traits could lend Fox an advantage: broader shoulders allowing for more power to be generated in punches, thicker bone density making her stronger and bigger hands a bigger surface area to strike with. This is certainly the opinion of UFC commentator, Joe Rogan, who went on a rant about Fox on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience (NSFW):

I say if you had a d**k at one point in time, you also have all the bone structure that comes with having a d**k.”

If Rogan’s brash comments are to be believed, then Fox should have surely disclosed her history for the sake of fighter safety and a fair contest. However, physical advantages have long been a narrative in MMA and sports in general. You have some fighters, namely current UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, who has a freakish yet natural reach advantage over most of his opponents. Some fighters are faster, some fighters just hit harder and as such you modify your strategy to those strengths.

There is also research that suggests that, if taken for long enough, hormone treatment will change a person’s bone density and musculature to that of the desired sex and thus Fox, if tested, would register largely comparable to the other female competitors. The Association of Boxing Commissions also has rules set in place for transgender fighters in which they must provide paper work showing the altering surgeries and that they have undergone hormone therapy for at least two years so the treatment can take full effect.

Still the question remains, should Fox be allowed to fight biologically born women? Should she have notified her opponents of any potential risks before engaging in the fights? One thing is for sure, Fallon Fox has given the MMA world something to think about.