Renowned MMA commentator and podcast host Joe Rogan has expressed his reservations regarding transgender MMA star Fallon Fox’s involvement in women’s mixed martial arts. The clash between Rogan and Fox has been ongoing for several years, stemming from concerns over fairness and physical advantages.
One of the very first attempts to cancel Rogan stem from the time Fox was active in MMA. Rogan was outraged by Fox’s choice to compete against biological women.
Rogan blasted trans inclusion in sports saying:
“You’re forced to comply with this. And, you know, it’s f**king up women’s sports in a huge way. In a huge way. And, you know, some organizations are pushing back against that. And some people are pushing back against the organizations that are pushing back against it, which to me is insane.”
“Like, if you care at all about biological women, you should be against that. ”
“Yeah, it’s okay. There’s also different specifications. It’s like what you have to do and how long you have to take hormones before you can identify as a woman and compete as a woman. Like just f**king stop. I mean, who’s going to check all that? Yeah, there’s a reason why that’s women’s sports. There’s a reason why there’s men’s sports.”
Rogan went on to detail he’s particularly irked by one case.
Fallon Fox, a military veteran born in Ohio, underwent gender reassignment surgery as an adult, transitioning from a cisgender male to a transgender female. After competing in an amateur MMA bout in 2011, Fox made her professional MMA debut in May 2012.
While accumulating a professional MMA record of five wins and one loss, it was only after her first two professional bouts that Fox publicly disclosed her transgender identity as a woman.
Certain segments of the combat sports community, including prominent figures like Joe Rogan, criticized Fallon Fox following her revelation. They argued that Fox possessed physical advantages, such as higher bone density, muscle mass, and inherent hormonal benefits, which could provide her with an unfair edge against cisgender female MMA trainees.
“I say if you had a d**k at one point in time, you also have all the bone structure that comes with having a d**k. You have bigger hands, you have bigger shoulder joints. You’re a f***ing man. That’s a man, OK?” – Rogan was quoted saying at one point.
In a recent episode of his highly popular podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience (JRE), Rogan engaged in a conversation with hip-hop legend Ice Cube about transgender women competing in women’s sports. Rogan emphasized his frustration with Fox, who concealed her transgender status while competing as a woman, stating:
“The one that drove me the craziest was the MMA fighter [Fallon Fox]. Because that person became a woman for two years, and then started competing as a woman, and not telling them, and saying that it was a medical issue. [Saying] that I don’t have to disclose a medical condition. Like, no, no, no, no, no. That’s not what that is.”
“If that person said that they were a woman and competed against women, that’s deception. That’s a f***ing lie. But if you said you’re a biological male and the women still want to fight you, okay. All good.”
Fallon Fox’s final MMA bout took place in September 2014, where she secured a first-round TKO victory against Tamikka Brents.
Fallon Fox subsequently retired from professional MMA. However, at 47 years old, she remains a vocal advocate for transgender rights, including the rights of transgender women to participate in women’s sports.
Rogan has since softened his stance on trans participation and was understanding when Combate Global matched a trans female Alana McLaughlin with Celine Provost:
“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.”
“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.’.”
“Once you say you’re trans and everybody says okay I’ll fight her – Fine. I’m fine with that. 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. “