HBO report claims MMA has higher domestic violence arrest rate than NFL

The sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) has been rocked by multiple cases of domestic violence, linking high-profile male fighters involved in unfortunate physical altercations with their significant others.

Thiago Silva was let go by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) last year after the light heavyweight contender was involved in a police standoff, which stemmed from an alleged domestic violence issue.

After being briefly reinstated by the promotion, Silva was released -- this time for good -- after a follow-up video surfaced of Silva brandishing a gun (while allegedly high on cocaine) during a prior verbal argument with his ex-wife.

Perhaps the most shocking case of domestic violence came when former UFC and Bellator MMA fighter, Jon Koppenhaver (a.k.a. "War Machine"), allegedly beat his former girlfriend, Christy Mack, to a bloody pulp.

See the carnage here.

More recently, current UFC heavyweight contender, Travis Browne, was allegedly involved in a physical altercation with his wife (pictures here), which prompted UFC officials to remove "Hapa" from all fight week events during International Fight Week.

There was also this little "Rumble" from 2009.

According to a recent report from HBO's "Real Sports," there is an alarmingly high number of domestic violence arrests involving MMA fighters. In fact, it's more than double the national average rate, according to the study (courtesy of MMA Fighting).

Public records research done by the show found that, per 100,000 U.S. men, there was a domestic violence arrest rate of 360. In that same sample, HBO Real Sports found 750 MMA fighters and 210 NFL players. There was no comparison listed between UFC fighters and NFL players, however.

The NFL was also hit hard last season when multiple domestic violence cases resulted in fines and suspensions to several prominent players including former Carolina Panther, Greg Hardy. However, a few months later, the case against Hardy was dropped after the accuser was nowhere to be found.

But none of the other instances involving NFL players -- including Adrian Peterson -- compared to the brutality of the case involving former Baltimore Ravens running back, Ray Rice. Probably because his incident -- which saw Rice knock his wife out with a single punch -- was actually caught on film.

See it here.

Still, according to the report from "Real Sports," the domestic violence plague in the world of professional football pales in comparison to the one involving MMA fighters.

While domestic violence cases aren't specific to those two sports -- as it's a daily occurrence in every walk of life -- the report concluded by indicating that performance-enhancing drug (PED) use and head trauma in MMA could be a major reason the sport trumps NFL in reported cases.

Surprised?