Right before UFC 302, Dana White hyped up the new UFC gloves, claiming that they would be more comfortable for the fighters while preventing injuries in the fights. However, the gloves received mixed reactions from the fighting community, with some criticizing the aesthetics of the new gloves. But just before UFC 309, the UFC head honcho decided to revert to the old gloves for good.

During the pre-fight press conference for UFC 309, the UFC CEO said, “Because there were a lot of complaints about it. We originally created these gloves to stop eye pokes and, you know, we had good intentions with them. They didn’t work out. People weren’t happy with them. So, I actually made the decision, called our, you know, Chief Operating Officer Lawrence [Epstein], and said, ‘I’m switching the gloves, I want the old gloves back.’” And when a reporter asked to confirm if the gloves were gone for good, White stated ‘that old gloves were now the new ones’. 

Even the undisputed heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, was not a fan of the golden gloves. ‘Bones’ said, “I put the new gloves on a few times, and man, they are very uncomfortable. I think they’re uncomfortable. They’re a lot smaller than the original glove, I was a 2x and there is no glove, and I’m a 3x in the new glove and the natural curve – it just feels funny.” 

The news of the old gloves being brought back broke the internet, leading to many speculations and theories. When ‘Haymakers’ shared it on Instagram, the fighting community didn’t waste any time expressing their true thoughts on the whole situation. 

Jon Jones gets dragged into the debate after Dana White ditched the new gloves before UFC 309

Needless to say, most fight fans believed that White’s decision was a result of Jon Jones’ disliking the gloves. One of the fans reflected on the heavyweight champ’s words and commented, “All because Bones said they were uncomfortable.” On the other hand, a few others compared Ilia Topuria, Max Holloway, and Islam Makhachev, with Jones. Topuria seemed unbothered with the new gloves fighting Holloway at UFC 308, eventually knocking the BMF champion out. Holloway slept Justin Gaethje in a last-second KO with the golden gloves on his hands at UFC 300. At UFC 302, Makhachev submitted Dustin Poirier with the new gloves, and both were some of the first to use the new gloves. But the same can’t be said for Jones.

However, Jones is the first champion with complaints about the new gloves. Keeping this in mind, a fan commented, “All ’cause of Jon.. Think about it, Topuria had no problem, Max had no problems, Islam had no problems….but here comes Jon ‘I don’t like em.” But as the speculations continued to rise, ‘Bones’ was quick to address them, claiming, “No no, this was not my request. This was brand new news to me, just a few days ago.” 

A few fans disliked White’s decision to revert to the old gloves, claiming that it wasn’t a solution that a promotion like UFC should resort to. A comment read, “The new ones may not be great but going back to a bad version isn’t the solution. Biggest fight organization in the world somehow cannot shell out the resources to continue iterating and improving their glove designs?” On top of that, fans were quick to criticize the UFC’s investment of money and time into making the new gloves. A fan sarcastically wrote, “didn’t they say something about putting [$] 4mil and years of time into making these?”

On the other hand, many others were happy with the decision. Some of the fans claimed that the new gloves were a bit too tight and uncomfortable. One user wrote, “This makes me happy. The new ones just felt so tight and were very hard to break in prior to the fight in the locker room.” Meanwhile, few others expressed their dislike of the new gloves’ aesthetics. A fan highlighted this by quoting, “Thank you, always thought the new gloves looked ugly, puffy and [un]comfortable. [The] old ones were better.”

What are your thoughts on White’s decision to ditch the new gloves? Will this change play a major role in deciding the winner of the UFC 309 main event? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.