Sadistic voyeurism! 'Punchy' Ronda Rousey, UFC 'blood sport' unwelcome in Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne has spoken!

Well, more specifically, Susie O'Brien of Melbourne's Herald Sun has spoken, and she does not want mixed martial arts (MMA) back in her neck of the Outback. Probably because it's comprised of "muscled, tattooed men in weird outfits" who "bash each other up as blood sprays about the ring."

They fight in a cage, but far be it from me to get hung up over semantics.

While maudlin smear campaigns are not uncommon in combat sports (just ask these dopes), O'Brien is resurrecting cadaverous talking points to help rally her fellow tightwads, since both Melbourne and Sydney are rumored to be competing for the return of Ronda Rousey and her "punchy" sound bites.

That's news to me, but I guess "Rowdy" wasn't kidding about her disdain for big apples.

As for O'Brien?

Ronda, we don't need to encourage people to pay good money to watch you get battered into oblivion, or to watch you do the same to your opponent.

My colleague, Ron Reed, who went to the Holm v Rousey fight last year, said the crowd was roaring things like "cut off his f------ head" and "I want to see blood".

I don't think UFC is entertainment and it shouldn't be served up as such in any Australian city. It's nothing more than a dangerous form of sadistic voyeurism that feeds off the injuries sustained by others.

This is not sport. It's a bloodbath that glorifies violence.

So is A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: "Dream Warriors," but you can still stream it on Presto.

Rousey does not have a definitive date for her Octagon return after last November's knockout loss to Holly Holm, which took place inside Melbourne's massive Etihad Stadium. That said, an announcement is expected some time this summer after the Olympian wraps her commitments in Tinseltown.

Those of you with impressionable children? You've been warned!