Ronda Rousey says MMA is 'most responsible' form of violence

"I think a lot of people that are ignorant about [MMA] think that it promotes violence, when it really is the most responsible outlet for it," Rousey said.

UFC bantamweight fighter Ronda Rousey says she thinks that mixed martial arts fighting is the most "responsible" outlet for violence.

Rousey made the comments in a documentary called The Hurt Business: A Deeper Look at MMA, of which she is one of the subjects. She says that a person's involvement in the sport could lessen the likelihood of committing violent crimes.

"I think a lot of people that are ignorant about [MMA] think that it promotes violence, when it really is the most responsible outlet for it," Rousey said. "It's a human instinct to fight, and if you try to suppress it entirely and put everyone in a bubble-wrapped society, that's when people end up going nuts and shooting movie theaters."

Rousey, 29, has not fought since losing her bantamweight crown in shocking fashion to Holly Holm at UFC 193 in November. It was the first loss of Rousey's career.

UFC president Dana White has said that Rousey will not fight at UFC 205 in November at Madison Square Garden in New York City, so the date for her return to the octagon has yet to be determined.

Rousey says that the MMA is not "violence for the sake of violence," adding that there is a reason the word "art" is associated with her sport.

"If any of those people that had all of that aggression built up in them had some sort of outlet, I think that we would have a lot more societal health," she said. 

"I go in there, yeah, I'm fighting, but really what I'm trying to do is outsmart the other person," she adds. "It's a puzzle to be solved. I'm not going in there and spazzing out, swinging my hands—lifting weights so I can swing my hands even harder. It's more mental and tactical than anything else, and I think it's the purest, most beautiful sport in the world."

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