Joe Rogan seems to have changed his stance on the subject of transgender women competing against cisgender women in the sport of mixed martial arts.
The UFC commentator and popular podcaster previously caused an uproar when he spoke out against Fallon Fox, who transitioned from male to female in 2006, and began an MMA career in 2011. Fox went on a winning streak, beating women until it was revealed she was born a man in 2013. At that point, the athletic commissions who sanctioned her fights came under intense pressure with Rogan leading the opposition against Fox.
“First of all, she’s not really a she. She’s a transgender, post-op person,” Rogan said. “The operation doesn’t shave down your bone density. It doesn’t change. You look at a man’s hands and you look at a woman’s hands and they’re built different. They’re just thicker, they’re stronger, your wrists are thicker, your elbows are thicker, your joints are thicker. Just the mechanical function of punching, a man can do it much harder than a woman can, period.”
Joe Rogan Changes His Tune On Trans Women In MMA
During a recent appearance on Tim Dillon’s podcast, Rogan reflected on the uproar he caused with his comments about trans women in MMA. The comedian also explained how he feels about the subject now after another trans female, Alana McLaughlin, recently started her career in professional MMA
“Well the trans MMA thing was big. But it wasn’t, it wasn’t valid. It was people that don’t want any criticism whatsoever about trans people,” Rogan said.
“And I was like: ‘Look, I don’t have a problem with trans people right I have a problem with someone pretending that they’re a biological woman and fighting women.
Rogan says he’s fine with trans women fighting cisgender women as long as everyone is aware of the facts before the fight and has the option to accept or reject the bout.
“Once you say you’re trans and everybody says okay I’ll fight her – Fine. I’m fine with that,” Rogan said. “And in fact MMA is one of the best places for that because you know exactly who your opponent is. Unlike like this swimmer. Was it UPenn? Is that what it is? The swimmer that’s like lapping all these biological women, that’s f—-d because they don’t have a choice they have to compete. “ (Transcribed by Calfkicker)
Do you agree with Joe Rogan? Is it ok for trans women to fight cisgender women?