Eye injuries in mixed martial arts are among the most devastating setbacks a fighter can endure. Even a minor poke can instantly derail a fight, forcing athletes to deal with painful repercussions both inside and outside the cage. Legends like Daniel Cormier and reigning welterweight champion Belal Muhammad have suffered firsthand experiences from these incidents. The latest victims of this is former UFC dual-champion Henry Cejudo during his last fight with Song Yadong. 

In the third round of their fight at UFC Fight Night 252, against the Chinese fighter, Henry Cejudo found himself on the receiving end of not just one, but two fingers straight to the eye. In an instant, the fight’s momentum took a sharp turn, leading to an abrupt and disappointing end. Now, the former double champion is left grappling with more than just the physical toll of the injury.

He’s battling double vision and an overwhelming sense of frustration. One of the biggest questions is how can we stop such incidents from happening? Well, according to Cory Sandhagen, the referees need to step in much earlier to protect the fighters.

During a conversation with Din Thomas, the #4 ranked bantamweight fighter said, “Honestly, for as like a fighter’s perspective, in my opinion, they need to do a little bit better of that. So for example, like, if you commit a foul on me multiple times at that point to me it’s not a fight anymore. It’s like a fight for survival type of situation where I feel like the ref is going to do anything about this, that kinda changes stuff in my head” 

‘The Sandman’ however, then shared an incident where he had to take the matter into his own hands when the referee didn’t quite provide him the protection in the fight. So what exactly did he do? Well, he decided to take the tit-for-tat approach.

Sandhagen further added, “So for example there was a fight I won’t say his name but I got fouled like multiple times. Like kicked when my knees were down. Got poked in the eye I’m pretty sure on purpose a couple of times. And the ref didn’t do anything about it. And I asked him to and that left me in a spot where I had to take my thumb and like jam it into his eyes so that he would stop poking me in the eye.”

More than fans, fighters face the biggest problem from such type of mishaps. Now Henry Cejudo has come forward and urged the UFC to make some changes in the rules surrounding eye pokes.

Like Corey Sandhagen, Henry Cejudo wants a point deduction for eye pokes

The 38-year-old  is calling for a change in the UFC’s rules after his last loss against Sadong. Cejudo believes officials should have the ability to use replay for illegal strikes beyond just fight-ending sequences. While Cejudo acknowledged that Yadong didn’t poke him on purpose, he argued that the foul still warranted a penalty.

“Did Song do it intentionally? No. Should there be a point deducted? 100 percent, man,”  he stated. Cejudo also took issue with referee Jason Herzog’s handling of the situation, especially considering that he had already suffered a low blow earlier in the fight.

Frustrated by the sequence of fouls, he didn’t hold back. “I got kicked in the b—s a couple of times and then eye poked. Bro, something has to be done,” he said, stressing that fighters deserve better protection, even when fouls are unintentional. The former dual champion also pointed out that although Yadong didn’t quite intentionally poke him in the eye, it should have been avoided.

He still feels the UFC and the management should make some changes to protect the fighters and further added, “Even if it wasn’t intentional, you still can’t do this,”. With this defeat adding to his losing streak, it remains to be seen whether the UFC will take Cejudo’s concerns into account and consider any rule changes.

But what do you think about the rule changes he has offered? Do you agree with ‘Triple C’? Share your thoughts in the comments below!