Ronda Rousey on Conor McGregor: You Don't Have to Get Arrested to Promote Fights

Ronda Rousey has some words of advice for Conor McGregor.

Speaking to TMZ Sports, the former UFC women's bantamweight champion said there is a line that doesn't need to be crossed when selling a matchup.

"I understand promoting fights and having to sell them. I really do," Rousey said. "But I don't think people have to get arrested in order to do that."

McGregor was arrested in April for attacking a bus that was carrying UFC fighters during a media day at the Barclays Center to promote UFC 223.

He was charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief but agreed to a plea deal in July that called for five days of community service and up to three days of anger-management classes.

Rousey used her own history with UFC as evidence it's possible to be a big draw without doing anything illegal.

"I think I've been able to prove that you can make a fight exciting and make people really wanna see it without crossing any legal lines," she said.

Per MMA Fighting's Dave Meltzer, Rousey headlined two shows—against Holly Holm in November 2015 and Amanda Nunes in December 2016—that did over 1 million pay-per-view buys.

McGregor's promotional tactics have paid off. UFC President Dana White told TMZ Sports that McGregor's loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, which was promoted heavily around the bus attack, did at least 2 million buys on PPV.