American Tamikka Brenz fell to the canvas after a powerful knee to the jaw. The referee immediately stopped the fight, awarding the opponent a knockout victory. Tamikka was diagnosed with a concussion and a fracture of the orbital bone. The athlete had to spend several hours on the operating table.
Severe injuries are common in martial arts. However, Brenz's situation was unique and controversial throughout the MMA community. After all, rival Fallon Fox became the first transgender athlete in the history of professional mixed martial arts.
I left my wife and child
Fallon was born in a small town in Ohio to a deeply religious family. More precisely, he was born. After all, a boy named Boyd Burton was born in 1975. Already at the age of five, he began to feel like a girl, but he could not tell his family or friends. Around him were devout relatives who would definitely not accept the boy's confession.
As a teenager, Boyd began to consider himself gay. At the age of 17, he decided that he needed to make a transgender transition. However, for this he had neither the money nor the support of his relatives. Under family pressure, he even got a girlfriend, who soon became pregnant.
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"At the age of 19, my daughter was born. Honestly, at that moment I did not want to get married. But I was brought up in such a way that I had to propose to the mother of the child. They portrayed a family idyll,” Fallon explained many years later.
To support his family, Burton went to serve in the army on a contract basis. It was assigned to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Enterprise, one of the largest ships in the world. During the service, Boyd began to practice martial arts, but could not get rid of the thought that he felt like a woman.
![](https://cdnn21.img .ria.ru/images/07e7/03/1d/1861616787_0:0:1080:913_600x0_80_0_0_b5bd436b614bd43321690df506f53e57.jpg br>Some time later, Boyd decided to spit on everything and retire from the army. He divorced his wife and began to save money for a sex change operation. For several years the guy worked as a truck driver and by 2006 he had collected the required amount. Burton went to Thailand, where he underwent surgery: breast implants were inserted and hair transplanted. This is how Fallon Fox was born.</p>
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<p>“Before the operation, I destroyed myself by looking in the mirror. From childhood, some force pushed me to become a woman. I was confused for a very long time and felt out of my body,” Fallon explained.</p>
<p>Fox continued to engage in mixed martial arts, and soon began to fight at an amateur level. Fallon chose only women to compete with whom she did not tell that she was transgender. The physical advantage and masculine body structure allowed the American to win easily.Fallon's success led to a contract with the Championship Fighting Alliance promotion. Fox continued to perform without revealing an identity. She had to come out after the second professional fight in her career. The local media had learned by then that she used to be Boyd. . Joe Rogan commented the situation most vividly.</p>
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<p>“She should never fight women. She has huge arms, huge shoulder joints. I don't care if she cut off her cock or not! Physically, Fallon remains male. Realize that surgery cannot reduce bone density. Look at the male and female hands. They differ. It’s just because of the mechanics of the body that she can hit much stronger than her rivals,” Rogan explained.</p>
<p>Following her rise in popularity, Fallon challenged Ronda Rousey. The ex-UFC champion said that she could beat even a former man. Rhonda also speculated about the fairness of Fox's fights and came to the conclusion that such fights should not be held due to a clear physical advantage. However, the meeting never took place.</p>
<p>The head of the UFC, Dana White, did not stand aside either. His opinion was no different from the majority. </p>
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<p>"Fallon has big hands, big feet. She has more and more than her rivals, besides, a different bone structure. This gives an advantage. I don't think that whoever was a man should fight women,» White expressed his position.</p>
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Since then, another transgender flickered in the MMA world — Alana McLaughlin, who used to be Ryan. The girl had one fight in the Global Combat promotion, but ended her performances there.
Both transgenders never made it to the UFC. It's all about the strict rules of the main promotion, established specifically for such cases. To get into the UFC, a transgender person must tell the athletic commission that he has changed his gender. The promotion also requires reports on an athlete's testosterone levels. It must be acceptable to women. The last item on the list is a drug test.
At the moment, not a single transgender person has been able to fulfill all the conditions.