Ronda Rousey: Diaz got life sentence for 'parking tickets,' MMA shouldn't test for pot

GLENDALE, Calif. – This isn’t new territory for Ronda Rousey, but on Tuesday the world’s most popular fighter was asked again about something that hasn’t been sitting right with her.

After UFC welterweight Nick Diaz was given a five-year suspension for a third failed drug test in Nevada for marijuana, Rousey, the UFC’s women’s bantamweight champion, unloaded on the Nevada State Athletic Commission at a pre-fight news conference for next month’s UFC 193 in Australia, which she headlines.

Tuesday at her home gym in California, she reiterated her thoughts on her friend and sometime training partner’s punishment, comparing it to getting a life prison sentence for unpaid parking tickets.

“You know what it reminds me of? It reminds me of, say you got a parking ticket, and you didn’t pay for it, and then you got another parking ticket and you didn’t pay for it … no matter how many parking tickets, no matter how long you don’t pay for it, you never deserve life in prison,” Rousey said at a media day at Glendale Fighting Club. “Yeah, you could be a repeat offender and not be paying it, and whatever – you could do all of the worst things that could ever be associated with parking tickets, but at the end of the day, it’s a parking ticket and you don’t deserve life in jail.”

Diaz failed his drug test at UFC 183 after a unanimous decision loss to Anderson Silva. Silva failed multiple tests related to that event, including for steroids, and was given a one-year suspension by the NSAC. Diaz was suspended five years and fined $165,000.

“They’re pretty much trying to keep him from fighting ever again – five years is really the rest of the shelf life that he has,” Rousey said. “I think the punishment was cruel, and people know that. I don’t think they should be testing for weed at all. It has nothing to do with sports.”

Rousey (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) next month defends her title against Holly Holm (9-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) at UFC 193, which takes place at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, with a main card on pay-per-view. The UFC is hoping the event will set its new attendance record in the stadium that can seat upwards of 70,000 fans.

And for more on UFC 193, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.