Author: McKinley Noble

Transgender MMA Fighter Fallon Fox Threatened Bec Hyatt at Invicta FC 5

Although there was seemingly no end to the highlights of Invicta FC 5, it turns out that there was more action brewing in the locker room.Several rumors from within the all-women’s MMA promotion claim that infamous transgender fighter Fallon Fox was tr…

Although there was seemingly no end to the highlights of Invicta FC 5, it turns out that there was more action brewing in the locker room.

Several rumors from within the all-women’s MMA promotion claim that infamous transgender fighter Fallon Fox was trespassing at the April 5 card in Kansas City, reportedly attempting to bully several of the female competitors in attendance.

According to Bec Hyatt (via Facebook), Fox even sought her out to personally threaten her.

Hyatt’s husband first noticed Fox in the event area on the morning of the card, “staring daggers” at the one-time Invicta FC strawweight contender—which lead to both athletes having the following exchange:

As you’d all know though, I have a chip on my shoulder myself & am very stubborn, so I gladly partook in the silent staring contest for a minute or so until I inquired as to why she was actually staring at me. Fallon replied with “I’ll do what I want”, to which I laughed, said she is a joke & went back to my Facebook training in preparation of the nights contest.

I can’t remember exactly what Fallon then said, but it was along the lines of “I’m coming down there” in an angrier tone & as she went to put on her jacket, Invicta Fighting Championships matchmaker Janet Martin came out of an elevator & started talking to me. When I looked back up, Fallon & her friend were gone. The second half of our exchange was caught on camera but I won’t be releasing it 🙂

Hyatt also relayed that Fox appeared at the Invicta FC 5 after-party, attempting to apologize for her actions.

MiddleEasy first made the story public in their Sunday Rumor Mill column, stating that an “aggressive” Fox was trying to confront Invicta fighters (unknown to CEO Shannon Knapp), claiming that she had a crew from AXS TV with her:

Fallon Fox showed up to the last Invicta FC event and managed to get inside the area designated for fighters. She acted aggressive towards some of the fighters, so an Invicta FC exec asked her to leave but she refused.

Allegedly Fox claimed she had an AXS TV crew with her (which was false) and from what I’ve been told she wanted to get a confrontation with a fighter on camera to set up a future fight in Invicta.

Robert Sargent of women’s MMA-focused website MMA Rising further corroborated the report, claiming that his own sources attested to the rumor.

Of course, this incident is far from the first time that the 37-year-old Fox, a male-to-female transgendered former Navy operations specialist, has made major headlines for herself in the MMA community.

Fox’s gender status was first given public notice in an ESPN profile earlier this March, prompting outspoken reactions from many prominent UFC personalities.

Stand-up comedian and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan had the most to say about Fox during an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, arguing that she was “a man without a dick” and should be fighting with men.

Former NFL player and heavyweight prospect Matt Mitrione was suspended by the UFC after expressing his distaste for Fox on The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting), calling her “a disgusting freak” who lied on a license application to “beat up” women.

Even Ronda Rousey commented on the entire issue in an interview with the New York Post, saying that while she didn’t agree with Mitrione‘s tone, she also thought that Fox had no business competing in the women’s MMA division.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania & The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on Fox 7: Did Team Cesar Gracie Plant a Judge to Fix Melendez vs. Henderson?

Despite a tough stylistic challenge and stanch home-court advantage for his opponent, Benson Henderson once against defended his UFC title by a razor-thin margin.But was the champion fighting more than just Gilbert Melendez?According to Julius Henderso…

Despite a tough stylistic challenge and stanch home-court advantage for his opponent, Benson Henderson once against defended his UFC title by a razor-thin margin.

But was the champion fighting more than just Gilbert Melendez?

According to Julius Henderson, Benson’s brother, there was a potentially corrupt judge in San Jose scoring the main event at UFC on Fox 7—Wade Vierra.

As Julius noted (via Twitter) in the aftermath of Bendo’s title defense, Vierra is “an affiliate student” connected with GracieFighter, the very same team run by Cesar Gracie—head coach to Nick Diaz and Nate Diaz.

 

Upon further research, Vierra’s link to Melendez is more evident due to his LinkedIn profile.

In addition to 30 years of experience as a “Master Instructor” for MMA GracieFighter, Vierra also lists his most recent job (since June 2012) as an MMA judge for the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC).

Currently, Vierra lists himself as an active employee for both positions.

Vierra has also been advertised for classes by at least two (now-defunct) Twitter accounts formerly associated with GracieFighter:

 

Although Melendez often fights out of his own self-built camp at the El Nino Training Center in San Francisco, the former Strikeforce lightweight champion is also a noted student of Gracie, and hence, a team associate of Vierra’s.

Moreover, “El Nino” has also represented GracieFighter as part of the “Scrap Pack” gang, comprised of himself, the Diaz brothers and fellow Strikeforce veteran Jake Shields.

It’s unknown whether Vierra and Melendez actively train or work together now, but the conflict of interest for Vierra seems blatant.

Even if Melendez and Cesar Gracie were unaware of the connection, the CSAC either didn’t look too deeply in Vierra’s background, or determined that there were enough degrees of separation from himself and Melendez that it was fair to have him judge the bout.

But regardless of Vierra’s 48-47 card for Melendez (via MMA Decisions), both of the two other CSAC judges—Michael Bell and Derek Cleary—scored the bout for Henderson.

Despite the controversy in the aftermath, UFC on Fox 7 marks Melendez’s first defeat since 2008 and Henderson’s third consecutive defense of the UFC Lightweight Championship—a record that he now shares with Frankie Edgar and retired two-division title holder B.J. Penn.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and the L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

TUF 17 Finale Results: Ronda Rousey vs. Cat Zingano Confirmed for TUF 18

Miesha Tate won’t be getting her rematch with archrival Ronda Rousey.In a brutal fight that went all over the Octagon, undefeated grappling specialist Cat Zingano upset Tate in a thrilling bout at the TUF 17 finale in Las Vegas, stamping her ticket for…

Miesha Tate won’t be getting her rematch with archrival Ronda Rousey.

In a brutal fight that went all over the Octagon, undefeated grappling specialist Cat Zingano upset Tate in a thrilling bout at the TUF 17 finale in Las Vegas, stamping her ticket for a coaching spot on Season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter.

Zingano’s UFC debut ended in a spectacular knockout finish, as the new title contender finished Tate with knee strikes against the cage, dropping the former Strikeforce champion in the third round.

“I can’t wait,” Zingano said when asked about her title shot and TUF 18 coaching spot. “Me and [Rousey], we’re going to rumble.”

As UFC president Dana White noted after the fight, TUF 18 will be moving to Fox Sports 1, like much of the UFC’s programming on FX and Fuel TV. 

In addition to establishing a challenger for Rousey’s title, Zingano vs. Tate was just the second women’s bout in UFC history.

It was also the first time that Tate, a 17-fight veteran in the MMA circuit, had been stopped by knockout since her second professional bout.

Zingano improves to an impressive 8-0 winning streak in her own MMA career, with her biggest wins coming against Tate, Japanese veteran Takayo Hashi and 25-fight women’s MMA standout Carina Damm.

Rousey and Zingano will both coach male and female bantamweights on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter in a historic change for the long-running reality TV show, which has only included male competitors in each season so far.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania & The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Champion Ronda Rousey Rips Transgender MMA Fighter Fallon Fox

Several fighters have weighed in with their opinions on infamous transgender MMA fighter Fallon Fox, and UFC star Ronda Rousey is the latest to address the hot-button controversy.In short, Rousey is not a fan of Fox. During a recent interview with…

Several fighters have weighed in with their opinions on infamous transgender MMA fighter Fallon Fox, and UFC star Ronda Rousey is the latest to address the hot-button controversy.

In short, Rousey is not a fan of Fox. 

During a recent interview with the New York Post, Rousey heavily criticized Fox for competing in the women’s division, stating that she could “try hormones” and “chop her pecker off,” but would still have “the same bone structure a man has.”

Rousey also commented on the UFC’s quick decision to suspend Matt Mitrione following his public tirade (via MMA Fighting) against Fox during a recent episode of The MMA Hour:

Rousey said Mitrione worded his views “extremely poorly” and believes the UFC was justified in suspending the heavyweight fighter. But she thinks his sentiments came from the right place. In Rousey’s opinion, Mitrione believes Fox is still a man, who wants to beat up women for a living.

“I understand the UFC doesn’t want to be associated with views like that,” Rousey said. “I’m also glad they didn’t straight cut him.”

While Mitrione won’t be cut from the UFC, the former NFL player and The Ultimate Fighter alumnus may be required to complete a public service for an organization within the LGBT community.

Shortly after Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour aired online, the UFC issued a public statement calling Mitrione’s interview “transphobic,” “offensive” and “wholly unacceptable.”

Rousey is certainly not a stranger to public controversy herself, drawing the ire of MMA fans after posting a conspiratorial video on her Twitter account suggesting that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings were partially a media fabrication, if not outright hoaxed in some capacity.

Still, Rousey is adamant that the UFC is no place for Fox, telling the New York Post that while she personally had no problem competing against hermaphrodites in the Olympics, someone who made the decision to change gender like Fox is a completely different story:

It’s not something that happened to [Fox]. It was a decision she made. She should be aware in her career after that, it’s going to be an arduous path. I don’t know why she’s surprised by that. It’s going to draw a lot of emotions.

What if she became UFC champion and we had a transgender women’s champion? It’s a very socially difficult situation.

Although Fox is unlikely to see any invitations to compete in the UFC, she’s open to a shot in the all-women’s Kansas City promotion Invicta Fighting Championship, according to her manager.

Regardless of her future ambitions, Fox is currently licensed by the Florida State Boxing Commission to continue fighting in the Championship Fighting Alliance, with her next bout set for May 24 in the semifinals of the company’s $20,000 women’s featherweight championship tournament.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania & The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC’s Miesha Tate on TUF 18: It Would Be Funny If ‘All the Girls’ Were Lesbians

History will be made on The Ultimate Fighter this year, as the long-running reality TV show will prominently feature female fighters for the first time.Of course, Season 18 will see Ronda Rousey as the first-ever female TUF coach. B…

History will be made on The Ultimate Fighter this year, as the long-running reality TV show will prominently feature female fighters for the first time.

Of course, Season 18 will see Ronda Rousey as the first-ever female TUF coach. But the cast of bantamweight competitors will also have a co-ed household division—another notable “first” for the series.

Former Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate, who is gunning for a coaching spot, expects hijinks on the show, telling The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting) that the sexual tension could make things hilarious.

In fact, Tate teased the idea it would be pretty funny if all the female competitors were all lesbians, leaving the men on the show to “hope” that they could be “the first guys” to have sexual intercourse with their housemates:

My first question was “coaching guys or girls?” and [Dana White] said “both.” He said “It’s going to be crazy.” I said “you better have mandatory birth control and lots of condoms available, ’cause it’s going to get crazy, and getting knocked up isn’t very good  for your career.” And he said “yeah I know, [it’s] worse than getting knocked out.”

I’m excited for it, I think it’s going to be wild. I think it’s going to be Real World meets TUF, and I don’t know, I have this idea or joke actually that all the girls are going to be lesbians or hooking up with all the girls, and all the boys are going on there with hope they’re thinking we’ll be the first guys and this is going to be awesome.

Having women on the show certainly makes for an interesting dynamic, especially with the recent changes that the UFC and Fox have made to the show since it moved to the FX channel.

For one, Season 17 seemed to drastically cut down on the amount of alcohol available in the house, with more focus on the show geared more towards interpersonal relationships between the fighters, their teammates and their families.

Not only is television and Internet access completely banned for the show’s fighters during all six weeks of filming, but the TUF competitors are also not permitted to go anywhere without the UFC’s permission.

Aside from having little to no contact with the outside world during the harsh MMA tournament, that kind of monotony is frequently cited by fighters as the worst part of the show—but things could significantly change with Season 18’s dual-gender dynamic.

Still, Miesha Tate won’t officially be part of the show until she defeats fellow bantamweight Cat Zigano at the upcoming TUF 17 finale on April 13 in Las Vegas.

Her bout with Zingano—a notable, undefeated 7-0 submission specialist—will be the UFC’s second-ever female fight in the company’s history, with the winner promised a title shot against Rousey at a future UFC event, in addition to the TUF coaching position.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania & The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

TUF 17: Uriah Hall vs. Kelvin Gastelum Sets Up Finale, Team Sonnen Beats Jones

Another season of The Ultimate Fighter came to a close on Tuesday, officially confirming the co-main event of the TUF Season 17 finale on April 13 in Las Vegas.Uriah Hall and Kelvin Gastelum are the last men standing in the reality TV middlew…

Another season of The Ultimate Fighter came to a close on Tuesday, officially confirming the co-main event of the TUF Season 17 finale on April 13 in Las Vegas.

Uriah Hall and Kelvin Gastelum are the last men standing in the reality TV middleweight MMA tournament and will compete against each other to become the undisputed winner of the season, in addition to winning a six-figure UFC contact and a customized Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

However, Chael Sonnen has already won a motorcycle for himself.

Not only does the winning fighter of Season 17 get a Harley-Davidson, but one motorcycle is also awarded to the winning coach.

That would be none other than the “Team Darkside” leader himself, who coached both Hall and Gastelum throughout the show.

Although Jon Jones had two of his team members—Josh Samman and Dylan Andrews—make it all the way to the semifinals, both of them were finished in their respective fights by stoppages via submission and technical knockout.

Notably, Samman was a favorite to win against Kelvin Gastelum, having knocked out all three of his previous opponents (Leo Bercier, Tor Troeng and Jimmy Quinlan) in the first round.

But 21-year-old Gastelum—the youngest fighter in TUF history—turned the tables on his more experienced opponent right from the start, controlling Samman on the ground and avoiding submission attempts before finishing the fight via rear-naked choke.

Uriah Hall’s match against Dylan Andrews was far more one-sided, as the season favorite lit up his opponent with jabs and a huge kicking arsenal early in the match.

Andrews did manage to score a late takedown in Round 2, but Hall handled his opponent from the bottom with a tight kimura grip.

From there, Hall eventually switched up his guard, hurting Andrews with heavy punches from bottom position and finishing the last-pick Team Jones fighter from the top with strikes, prompting amazement from UFC president Dana White.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania & The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com