From Out Sports: http://www.outsports.com/2013/4/19/4244406/jason-somerville-fallon-fox-mma
By Cyd Zeigler
on Apr 19 2013
Over the past few weeks, we’ve heard a lot about Fallon Fox, the first transgender woman tocompete professionally in mixed martial arts. In May 2012, Fox made her pro fighting debut inthe 145-pound women’s division, winning via technical knockout. She fought again in March 2013,knocking out her opponent in 39 seconds. After her second bout Fox revealed publicly that shehad underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2006. In the month since her coming out, theissue of whether Fox should be allowed to compete against women has been widely discussed.
This is an issue that necessitates thoughtful study and research, so we’re sure to hear theworthless, uninformed opinions of those who have done neither. On this week’s edition of “TheMMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani, former NFL player and current UFC heavyweight fighter MattMitrione spoke his mind on Fox and her fighting career. Repeatedly referring to Fox as “he” andcomparing her to Buffalo Bill from “Silence of the Lambs”, Mitrione went on to call Fox a “lying,sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak.” Mitrione’s comments were quickly and strongly rebuffed bythe UFC as they suspended Mitrione five hours later.
Despite the many obstacles in front of them, transgender athletes have seen increased supportfrom major organizations in the past decade. In 2004, the International Olympic Committee setrules for transgender participation which, while perhaps imperfect, represented a major step fortransgender athletes. In 2012, the Association of Boxing Commissions, which also overseesmixed martial arts, enacted a similar policy as the IOC’s on transgender fighters.
In combat sports, the safety of the two athletes must be paramount. In an interview with mixedmartial arts news site Bloody Elbow, Dr. Marci Bowers, an expert in the field of transgenderreassignment, was asked if Fox had an inherent advantage in mixed martial arts competitiondue to her being born male. “Most measures of physical strength minimize, muscle massdecreases, bone density decreases, and they become fairly comparable to women in theirmusculature. After as much time as has passed in her case, if tested, she would probably endup in the same muscle mass category as her biologically born female counterpart.”
Additionally, Bloody Elbow spoke with Dr. Sherman Leis, founder of the Philadelphia Center forTransgender Surgery, who concurred with Dr. Bowers:
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