Transgender MMA fighter Fallon Fox is getting heat from another member of the UFC’s roster. This time, women’s UFC champion Ronda Rousey offered her take.
Per Marc Raimondi, Rousey said this to the New York Post when asked about the controversial fighter:
“She can try hormones, chop her pecker off, but it’s still the same bone structure a man has. It’s an advantage. I don’t think it’s fair.”
For those that are unaware of the situation, here are the specifics:
Born a man, Fox underwent a sexual re-assignment procedure and subsequently competes as a woman in MMA.
Matt Mitrione received a suspension from UFC head man Dana White after he said this in an interview with Ariel Helwani of MMA Hour, per Yahoo! Sports.
Because she’s not a he. He’s a he. He’s chromosomally a man. He had a gender change, not a sex change. He’s still a man. He was a man for 31 years. Thirty-one years. That’s a couple years younger than I am. He’s a man. Six years of taking performance de-hancing drugs, you think is going to change all that? That’s ridiculous.
That is a lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak. And I mean that. Because you lied on your license to beat up women. That’s disgusting. You should be embarrassed yourself.
Though Rousey didn’t do any name-calling, her sentiments weren’t far off the ones that earned Mitrione a suspension. It will be interesting to see if Rousey faces any disciplinary actions because of her comments.
The question here is this: Was Mitrione disciplined because of his views or his language? It surely can’t be because of his language, as UFC fighters—and White himself—have come under fire for slurs in the past, per Mary Buckheit of ESPN.
If it was indeed based on his viewpoint, it would seem a suspension for Rousey is possible as well. But we all know that Rousey is far more important to the UFC than Mitrione is.
Her groundbreaking fight with Liz Carmouche at UFC 157 was a huge commercial success for the company. GeorgeMon of Fan IQ estimates the event drew 500,000 pay-per-view buys.
Rousey is also set to appear as one of the coaches for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter 18 reality series.
Is White willing to make an example out of Rousey for the sake of consistency and fairness?
We shall soon see.
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