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Perhaps Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Women's Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey didn't get company president Dana White's mixed martial arts (MMA) memo (read it here) about conducting only purposeful interviews.
Instead, "Rowdy" injected herself into the most combustible conversation in the sport today, which centers around transgender female fighter Fallon Fox, who was born male, but underwent gender reassignment surgery back in 2006.
"She can try hormones, chop her pecker off, but it's still the same bone structure a man has," Rousey told NYPost.com. "It’s an advantage. I don’t think it's fair."
UFC Heavyweight Matt Mitrione voiced his vitriolic opinion on the matter earlier this week, calling Fox a "sick, sociopathic disgusting freak," and was subsequently suspended pending an investigation (read more here).
It was a move meant to send a message to fighters that they need to adhere to the UFC "Code of Conduct" ... or else. And the promotion took it one step further earlier this afternoon when it released its official policy in full (read it here) in a rare move of corporate transparency.
Rousey's comments, while not nearly as sensational or hateful as those of "Meathead," are still questionable under the intense scrutiny. She told the paper that while Mitrione "worded his view extremely poorly" (as if "chop off her pecker" is worded well) it still doesn't seem right that Fox is allowed to "beat up women for a living."
Even though Fox claims she is "technically, legally, physically and mentally female."
"It’s not something that happened to her," Rousey continued to the NYPost.com. "It was a decision she made. She should be aware in her career after that, it's going to be an arduous path. I don’t know why she’s surprised by that. It’s going to draw a lot of emotions."
Emotions, suspensions and many, many questions about where to draw the line of conduct unbecoming a UFC fighter.
The good news, at least as it relates to Rousey, is that it appears she has no issue handling grown men. Just ask The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 17 finalist Uriah Hall, who was forced to tap twice to Rousey armbars on the set of the FX-produced MMA "reality" show (watch it here).
And if one day the UFC asked Rousey to fight Fox, who responded to the Mitrione firestorm yesterday, she admitted that she would follow orders; however, it still doesn't seem to square just right, especially if Fox were to one day emerge a UFC champion.
"What if she became UFC champion and we had a transgender women's champion?" Rousey continued. "It’s a very socially difficult situation."
That might the understatement of a very odd, and controversial, week in MMA news.
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