Transgender mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Fallon Fox is the target of criticism after brutally injuring an opponent.
Fox defeated Tamikka Brents just two minutes into the first round of the match. Brents suffered a damaged orbital bone, which required seven staples, and a concussion.
Brents summed it up: “I’ve never felt so overpowered ever in my life.”
“I’ve fought a lot of women,” Brents stated. “And never felt the strength I felt in a fight as I did that night. I can’t answer whether it’s because [he] was born a man or not, because I’m not a doctor,” she stated. “I can only say, I’ve never felt so overpowered ever in my life, and I am an abnormally strong female in my own right.”
The video of the Brents-Fox fight was pretty brutal: Fox threw knees to Brents face and torso right at the beginning, to kick off the fight. Brents ultimately turned her back to avoid more damage–and took almost a minute of hard strikes from Fox’s elbows and fists, before the referee stopped.
Because of how men and women are differently built–Fox, who was born a man, has larger hands, shoulders, bones, and muscle mass–a transgender opponent has a huge advantage. Because Fox transitioned her gender so recently, she still has many of the advantages that being a man has.
And, on Saturday night when Fox fought Brents, those advantages were very clearly on full display.
Already, criticism is mounting, both from MMA fighters and the greater public at large. Mixed martial arts champ, Ronda Rousey, has refused to fight Fox over her “unfair advantage.”
It remains to be seen if the latest fight, which left an opponent so severely injured, will affect the rules of MMA fighting. But for now, Fox remains classified as a female fighter–and ready to fight, with the advantage of being born a man.
Should a man that changes to a woman be allowed to fight women? Let us know in the comments below.
Read about another boy turned girl who beat high school girls on the track!
