“The new gloves are now the old gloves.” That’s how Dana White put the equipment change that will take place at UFC 309, and that will be the scenario moving forward.
Earlier this week, news of the UFC reverting back to its old glove design made the rounds, originally reported by Uncrowned’s Ariel Helwani. Numerous fighters confirmed the switch to media outlets, including Cageside Press, during Wednesday’s media day, with many in favor of the switch back.
Jon Jones was one of those.
The “new” glove design, introduced over the summer, included a curvature of the hand designed to reduce eye pokes. It seems, however, that they were not all that popular in practice.
Asked about the reason behind the switch at Thursday’s UFC 309 pre-fight press conference, Dana White explained that it came “because there were a lot of complaints. We originally created these gloves to stop eye pokes. 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 chief operating officer, Lawrence [Epstein], and said ‘I’m switching the gloves, I want the old gloves back.’
When asked if that would be the case moving forward, White answered in the affirmative. “Yes,” the UFC President and CEO replied. “The new gloves are now the old gloves.”
The UFC is not the only promotion to try switching glove designs to reduce eye pokes. Bellator MMA took a similar step back in 2014.
