Even though she’s been fighting in the women’s featherweight division for all five fights of her young career, Fallon Fox is heading for bantamweight.
That’s 135 pounds, or “The Ronda Rousey Division”, as it’s also called by UFC fans.
But fighting Rousey—or any female UFC talent, for that matter—seems impossible due to intense amount of controversy surrounding the transgendered MMA fighter.
Moreover, the 37-year-old Fox is also too old to attempt earning her way into the UFC by trying out for Season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter, as MMA Fighting highlighted during a recent interview with Fox’s manager, Brett Atchley:
According to the UFC, you must be 35 years old or younger try out for the reality show, which will be holding tryouts for its 18th season on April 15 in Las Vegas. Fox will be turning 38 later this year.
However, Atchley said Fox’s ultimate goal is to someday fight in the UFC. “I think everybody [dreams of fighting in the UFC],” he said, “and of course she does. If her career allows it, she would do it.”
Fox also has her sights set on the all-women’s MMA promotion Invicta Fighting Championships, where she attended its latest card in Kansas City.
“That’s where she wants to end up,” Atchley told MMA Fighting. “She’s very vocal about that. It just all depends on what happens with her licensing.”
Licensing has held up Fox’s career during the last month, but the Florida State Boxing Commission formally closed their investigation against her, freeing Fox up for future bouts.
Fox, originally born male, has been faced with strong criticism for her decision to compete in MMA against women, drawing notable fire from the likes of UFC color commentator Joe Rogan and several other fighters around the sport.
Fox began her male-to-female transition in 2006 during a trip to Thailand (via ESPN), where she underwent “gender reassignment, breast augmentation and hair transplant surgeries” at the Bangkok National Hospital.
Since her transition, Fox has gained a 2-0 professional record in MMA, with a 3-0 amateur record to boot. According to MMA Fighting, her next fight is scheduled for May 24 in the Championship Fighting Alliance, where Fox will continue to compete in a tournament for the regional Florida-based promotion’s featherweight title and a $20,000 winner’s prize purse.
McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania & The L.A. Times.
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