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“Heroes” star Hayden Panettiere is currently dating boxing champ Wladimir Klitschko. During a recent interview Panettiere was asked whether or not she thought boxing was more dangerous than MMA.

Let me ask you this since I hear you’re a sports fan: Do you view boxing to be more dangerous than say MMA?

“Hmm…that’s a good question. I’m sure in some ways it is. You have obviously more to throw at them with MMA, but the thing with boxing is people really have to have endurance for it. People I have seen, guys go into fights and just take it for twelve rounds, keeping getting nailed over-and-over again for twelve rounds because they can take a punch. They can take a hit and then you’re dealing with the brain damage and the repercussions of being hit over-and-over that many times. You know MMA doesn’t seem to be the same kind of damage repeatedly.”

Why she was asked about this is anyone’s guess. Sure, she’s dating Klitschko, but it still seems sort of random that she would be asked about which combat sport is more dangerous.

But even a young actress like Panettiere can easily discern the difference between the two sports. MMA doesn’t have the standing 8-count, one of the most horrible rules in sports. A boxer can get his brains scrambled and still continue to fight after he takes 8 seconds to gather back some of his faculties. In MMA, that fight is stopped. Add to that what Panettiere mentioned — the sheer volume of strikes being absorbed — and the calculus becomes even clearer.

Some people with no knowledge of the sport assume that MMA is barbaric and brutal. But if they looked a bit closer, they’d find what most others are coming to realize: MMA is much safer than boxing.