How Fallon Fox became the first known transgender athlete in MMA

There wasn’t going to be an easy way for Fallon Fox to do this. She knew it. Her family knew it. Her manager knew it. The biggest battle would come outside the cage.
A fighter, born male and now anatomically a female, wanting to climb into a cage to punch, kick and choke out other women? It would raise a lot of questions. It would bring on a flood of criticism. But to keep Fallon’s dream of fighting professionally alive, the price would be her anonymity.
On Tuesday, amidst whispers from snooping journalists and licensing issues looming with two athletic commissions, Fallon bravely stepped forward as the first on-record transgender female athlete to compete in MMA.
Fallon already had three amateur and two professional victories on her record, but her admission quickly shined a light on how an athlete with a unique medical history such as Fallon’s should be handled moving forward.
It might be an unfamiliar concept for MMA fans, but transgender athletes are nothing new to professional sports. Such athletes have flourished for decades in boxing, motor racing, track and field, tennis, skiing and muay Thai, to name a few. MMA now joins that growing list.
SI FLASHBACK: THE TRANSGENDER ATHLETE

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mma/news/20130307/fallon-fox-profile/#ixzz2Mt9ihPFj

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