The co-main and main-event fighters of UFC 309 haven’t fought since the new gloves came to the fore a few months ago. To make these fighters comfortable, Dana White decided to bring back the old gloves for these ‘veterans’. And guess what? It turned out to be a great decision because the fans at Madison Square Garden got to witness some exciting knockout victories.

There was an honest motive behind the introduction of the new gloves, which was designed to avoid the recurring instances of eye pokes, which is not only an illegal move but also a dangerous one. The New York State Athletic Commission registered these gloves for UFC 309, but Dana White decided to go back to the old ones, as Jon Jones expressed having some fitting issues with them.

Fast forward to UFC 309, a fight card with high-quality fighters, saw many competitive matches go to decision. However, the event had three knockout wins, which looked impressive, to say the least. When we take a look at what transpired after fighters started using the new gloves, the knockout rate reportedly dropped down to a shocking 22 percent., and in return, the rate of fighters winning by decision shot up by 11 percent.

With the new gloves being in commission for 6 months, we didn’t get to see them in action for too long in comparison to the old ones. When the new gloves were introduced at UFC 302, and the fight card saw no finishes via KO, and three submission. The gloves definitely had the MMA world buzzing when they were introduced, but when Dana White announced the switch back to the old gloves, it visibly left a lot of fans confused. Let’s see what they had to say!

Fans share mixed reactions to Dana White’s beneficial move

The fact that the old gloves increase the chances of a knockout during a bout had fans talking about how powerful featherweight champion Ilia Topuria really is. ‘El Matador’ became the first UFC fighter in history to knock out the legendary Max Holloway, and he did it with the new gloves that Jon Jones doesn’t seem to be a fan of. “How hard hits Topuria then,” one fan wondered when he reacted on X.

There were a lot of fans that thought the new gloves could have also worked out, just like the old ones. After all, it was there only for a few months, and a fan claims that the gloves aren’t at fault because the fighters who wore them didn’t perform well enough. That fan stated, “Lol the event when they released those gloves they had the most boring slow fighters.” On the contrary, one user posted, “Old gloves bring the heat! Can’t deny the results,” and other, “And they sound better! Keep the old great gloves,” in favor of the old gloves.

UFC Fight Night 247, gave fans a total of five knockouts, leading one user to point out the fact, “Didn’t we get like 4-5 knockouts in a row last weekend with the other gloves?”. In the same vein, another fan raised a question about the last PPV, “We gonna act like UFC 308 didn’t have 2 KOs?” Some fans believe that the restoration of the old gloves was for Dana White’s favorite fighter, Jon Jones, whose questionable moves inside the Octagon with the old gloves are well documented. “It’s for Jones can eye gouge crazy they brought them back for him,” an X user added.

What is your opinion regarding the restoration of the old gear at UFC 309? Would you like fighters to keep using it in future events?