Fallon Fox: Transgender MMA fighters shouldn't have to disclose to opponents

Fallon Fox doesn’t believe she and other transgender MMA fighters should have to disclose their medical history to would-be opponents.

The 37-year-old fighter recently sparked a national debate about transgender fighters in combat sports. Fox, who moved to 2-0 with a recent 39-second knockout of Ericka Newsome in a Championship Fighting Alliance tournament, was born a man but underwent gender reassignment surgery and began supplemental hormonal therapy in 2006.

In an interview this past Friday with “Inside MMA” on AXS TV, Fox, who’s been at the center of the emotionally charged issue, said she has no advantage over her opponents.

“I don’t believe a transgender fighter should have to disclose her personal medical history to other female fighters before they fight,” she said. “It’s simply for the reason the medical community and the scientific community have come to the consensus that post-operative transsexual fighters who have been on hormone-replacement therapy and testosterone suppression, when they’re going from male to female, haven’t been found to have any physiological advantages over other women.

“So why should we have to disclose our personal medical history?”

However, as others have noted, including MMAjunkie.com medical columnist Dr. Johnny Benjamin and veteran MMA fighter/osteopath Rosi Sexton, current scientific evidence is minimal and lacks a real consensus.

Officials from the CFA promotion support Fox’s involvement in the tournament. Although her license is currently under review, she’ll continue in the CFA tourney if cleared. They’ve even postponed the next round as she sorts out her licensing issues.

However, some fights have publicly stated they’d be hesitant to fight Fox, who finds it unfortunate. UFC President Dana White has said it’s a decision the athletic commissions will need to make, though he concedes Fox is far from UFC-ready anyway.

“Some fighters have already said they would not want to fight me,” Fox said. “I think that’s because they’re scared, No. 1, because I’m pretty good. Or they might just have a bias or they might just be a hate-filled person who doesn’t want to touch me or whatever. But I don’t want to fight those people anyway because they’re scared, so what kind of fight would that be?”