[2] After leaving the navy, Fox enrolled at the University of Toledo, but dropped out after ongoing psychological stress from her unresolved gender issues.

[2] Fallon Fox came out as transgender on March 5, 2013, during an interview with Outsports writer Cyd Zeigler and Sports Illustrated, following her two initial professional fights in the women's division.

[6][failed verification] UFC color commentator and stand-up comedian Joe Rogan opposed Fallon Fox receiving licensing, saying,[7]First of all, she's not really a she.

"[2] Fox claimed in her video interview with Cyd Zeigler to be within the rules of organizations such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for postoperative transsexuals and wishes to continue fighting in MMA.

UFC "was appalled by the transphobic comments" he made,[8] and, referring to itself as "a friend and ally of the LGBT community", immediately suspended Mitrione,[9] and fined him an undisclosed amount.

[11] Whether or not Fox possesses an advantage over cisgender female fighters was a topic on the April 2014 edition of HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

"[17] Eric Vilain, the director of the Institute For Society And Genetics at UCLA, worked with the Association of Boxing Commissions when they wrote their policy on transgender athletes.

He stated in Time magazine that "Male to female transsexuals have significantly less muscle strength and bone density, and higher fat mass, than males"[10] and said that, to be licensed, transgender female fighters must undergo complete "surgical anatomical changes ..., including external genitalia and gonadectomy" and subsequently a minimum of two years of hormone replacement therapy, administered by a board certified specialist.

In general concurrence with peer-reviewed scientific literature,[18] he states this to be "the current understanding of the minimum amount of time necessary to obviate male hormone gender related advantages in sports competition".

[10] Fox herself responded to the controversy with an analogy comparing herself to Jackie Robinson in a guest editorial for a UFC and MMA news website:[19] Has anybody ever watched the movie 42?

Remember when commentators said Jackie Robinson had an unfair advantage because black people had "larger heel bones" than the white men he was competing with?

I feel that all of this is so ridiculously unnecessary and horribly mean spirited.The documentary Game Face provides an inside look into Fox's life during the beginning of her MMA controversy.