Should the UFC Gloves Cover Fingers to Avoid Eye-Pokes?

Following the events of UFC 252, the MMA community has been involved in an intense debate surrounding eye-pokes. UFC Heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic successfully defended his belt against Daniel Cormier in a highly anticipated rubber match in Las Vegas.

The fight simultaneously ran a narrative surrounding eye-pokes that seemingly played a huge role in the overall performance of the fighters.

Moreover, the first two fights of the famed trilogy saw Cormier poke Miocic at critical intervals in the bouts. Fight fans were heavily engaged in the narrative surrounding illegal strikes going into the main event at UFC 252.

Interestingly enough, the bout on August 15 saw eye-pokes yet again, this time the Croatian-American champion landed the significant damage.

UFC gloves: Do we need a change?

Twitter exploded and immediately weighed in on the unfortunate fallout out of the fight. Several users chimed in on what the best alternative was in terms of correcting this frequently seen transgression.

Not to mention, fighters are rarely penalized despite the offense having a bearing on the fight as a whole.

Several fighters on the roster utilize an open-hand grip in order to enter into the range of their opponent. The Olympian in Cormier has notably utilized this technique of parrying his opponent’s hand to circumnavigate his disadvantages.

Chiefly, he had a 7.5-inch reach disadvantage against Stipe Miocic, thus possibly leading to numerous eye-pokes.

A clear-cut solution as a Twitter user mentioned would be to return to the cup over style gloves that Pride FC used. This ensured that fighters no longer extended their fingers while trying to lower their opponent’s guard.

MMA coach Trevor Wittman also broached the subject of revamping UFC gloves during an appearance in ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast.

Additionally, Wittman tested the gloves he had designed and provided a comprehensive overview of the same.

Chiefly, it remains unclear whether Dana White and the UFC brass will be receptive to changing the now-iconic UFC gloves. They are a staple in terms of merchandising for the company and are synonymous with the brand, and parting with them may be a tad bit difficult for the promotion.