Dana White’s decision to change the UFC’s gloves may have some unintended consequences! The UFC CEO recently unveiled the latest version of MMA gloves to be used by the promotion going forward. He stated, “…hopefully they do everything they were designed to do which is make the gloves obviously more comfortable.”

Joe Rogan had also made a request to the UFC to change the UFC’s gloves to ones designed by renowned MMA coach, Trevor Wittman. In a ‘Fight Companion’ podcast from earlier this year, Rogan stated, “Somewhere out there in UFC land, listen to me, please, they are the best gloves.” But while it appears that Wittman’s gloves weren’t used by the UFC, the new glove design chosen by the promotion has received an interesting review from UFC star, Randy Brown!

Dana White and UFC’s glove change decision has given strikers an edge, says Randy Brown 

The latest UFC gloves have drawn a lot of eyebrows for their new design and changes but there have also been issues raised about their construction. In his appearance on the MMA Hour, former UFC star, Dan Hardy stated, “They look a lot like the gloves that they would ask you to autograph to give away.”

But according to Randy Brown, appearances aren’t exactly a great indicator of performance. On his YouTube channel, “RudeBoy Studios”, the UFC star recently uploaded a video of himself going through his training routine while using the new UFC gloves.  

After an intense session, Brown stated, “All in all, through that the gloves withstood the test, you know what I mean. Things I do love about em, again, is the way that it’s curved, you know what I mean, I feel like I hit with more knuckle when I punch. 100% this will result in more knockouts.”

He also pointed out that the new gloves are “an ounce lighter” than the old gloves, but the difference in weight is fairly noticeable. According to Brown, the lighter gloves allow him to move his hands faster, and for strikers, that may be a game changer and aligns with his prediction about the glove leading to more knockouts in the UFC.

‘Rude Boy’ also stated, “It feels good when I grapple, I can’t really feel no noticeable difference but punching, yeah. There’s a big difference.” And so, it seems that Dana White has made the right call according to Brown’s review, but it remains to be seen if the gloves do more than just increase the knockout percentage in the promotion.  Because according to many prominent voices in the sport, including Joe Rogan, eye-pokes with the old gloves were more of a concern than knockouts!

Will the new UFC gloves lead to less eye pokes? 

Eye pokes have been a major concern in the UFC with multiple fights being impacted by the result of fighters inadvertently putting their fingers in their opponent’s eyes. At the recent UFC Atlantic City clash between Bruno Silva and Chris Weidman, the fight ended in a win for Weidman but not before replays showed two brutal eye pokes that led to the finishing sequence.

As such, Joe Rogan’s statements from his conversation with UFC fighter Sean Brady on the JRE MMA Show no. 152 highlight the benefits of using gloves based on Trevor Wittman’s designs that specifically address the issue of eye pokes.

He had proclaimed, “I don’t know how it went wrong, but the UFC was talking to Trevor about, about his MMA gloves, he has absolutely superior MMA gloves. They’re the best. Yeah, no one even comes close. And when you make a fist with those, it actually it encourages a closed fist.”

And in the aforementioned January episode of the ‘Fight Companion, he stated, “They curl the hand and you don’t have to worry about closing your hand. I bet it would leave 20% of eye pokes.”

However, it remains to be seen if the UFC decides to adopt Wittman’s designs sometime in the future. But for now, Dana White’s decision to introduce new gloves to the UFC will need a period of adjustment and evaluation by the fighters before a definitive verdict can be reached.

What are your thoughts on the new UFC gloves? Are they better than the old design? Why or Why not? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!