Transgender fighter Fallon “The Queen of Swords” Fox earned her spot in the finals of the inaugural CFA women’s featherweight tournament tonight at Championship Fighting Alliance 11 in Coral Gables, Florida. Fox used a unique shin choke to submit Allanna “Hands of Stone” Jones in round three.

On the other side of the bracket, Ashlee Evans-Smith advanced on to the finals by default when late-replacement opponent Anna “Smiles” Barone came in 11 pounds over the featherweight limit. Fox and Evans-Smith will meet for the newly-created CFA women’s featherweight title later this year.

Fox (3-0-0) scored with a series of kicks to her opponent’s lead leg early in tonight’s semi-final bout. Jones (2-2-0) responded with short counter hooks and kept her distance. The fighters traded punches and Fox landed a combination. She tried unsuccessfully to take the fight to the mat and landed more kicks to Jones’s leg. Jones fell after a lunging hook from Fox, but she quickly recovered and worked for an armbar. Jones scrambled up and Fox took her back down with a headlock. She attempted a scarf hold armlock, but Jones escaped and came on strong with strikes late in the round.

As the middle stanza began, Fox appeared to be fatigued and her offensive output slowed down considerably. Jones landed quick hooks from a distance, but Fox shot in for a takedown and managed to drag Jones to the mat. She landed short elbows from the top and followed with two right hands. Fox stood and dropped down more punches before returning to Jones’s half-guard shortly before the bell.

Fox landed more leg kicks early in round three and tried to go high with a head kick. Jones blocked it and countered with a kick of her own, but Fox caught it and took her down. She landed elbows and escaped a Jones armbar attempt. Fox transitioned to North-South position and locked on a modified North-South choke. When Jones did not tap out, Fox placed her shin on Jones’s throat and pressed down, forcing Jones to tap out at the 3:36 mark of round three.

Since March, when it was revealed that she is MMA’s first transgender fighter, Fox has faced backlash from fans and fighters alike. That trend continued tonight, as the crowd in attendance booed the Illinois native on multiple occasions. Nevertheless, Fox will have a chance to become the first CFA Women’s Featherweight Champion when she returns to the promotion in the coming months.

In what was intended to be the second semi-final bout, Evans-Smith (1-0-0) instead received a bye to the finals when Barone unofficially weighed in at 156 pounds and refused to get on the scale for the public weigh-in. Barone has struggled to make weight during her career and she previously came in at 151 pounds for her January 2012 bout with Kaitlin Young. That fight was first set to be contested at 140 pounds and was moved up to 145 on short notice, but Barone was still unable to make weight.

While she was disappointed that she did not get to compete tonight, Evans-Smith’s path to the CFA championship became one step shorter as a result of Barone’s forfeiture. Evans-Smith looks to keep her unblemished professional record intact when she faces Fox for the title later this year.

(Photo Credit: Rolando de la Fuente)