Florida State Boxing Commission officials are reviewing the mixed martial arts license of Championship Fighting Alliance women's featherweight tournament participant Fallon Fox after learning she is a transgender female.
Fox revealed her original gender to SI.com on Monday, two days after Fox landed a knee to the chin of Ericka Newsome, who was knocked out in 39 seconds of their quarterfinal bout in Coral Gables, Fla.
It is believed that Fox is the first transgender male or female to participate in an MMA event.
Neither FSBC officials nor CFA founder and CEO Jorge De La Noval was aware that Fallon was a trangender female. On the application she submitted March 1 for a Florida fighting license, Fallon listed her gender as female.
De La Noval said Fox was "heartbroken" as news of her 2006 sexual reassignment surgery went public, drawing intense scrutiny and criticism from fellow MMA fighters as well as triggering an investigation as to whether the 37-year-old was properly licensed for last weekend's fight.
"As a promoter, obviously everyone who comes into my office, what I see is a fighter," De La Noval said. "I don't ask anyone what their sexual preference is. What they do with their personal life is not my business. She's a sweet girl. ... And where we stand as a company is that she's a female. She has an Illinois driver's license (as a female). She's a female and she's definitely a fighter. I just don't see how anybody can revoke her license."
Fox claimed to be licensed in California, but her application still is being reviewed by that state's athletic commission.
The confusion, said Fox's agent Brett Atchley, came after a journalist who knew Fox's previous identity began inquiring about her. Atchley said they then went to a reporter he knew from SI.com, who wrote the story earlier this week.
"The bone of contention for Fallon seems to be people characterizing her as dishonest and manipulating, that she somehow manifested her destiny by saying, 'I'm going to have this operation and then I'm going to be a fighter and world champion,' " Atchley told ESPNChicago.com.
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