“Somewhere out there in UFC land, listen to me, please, they are the best gloves.” UFC color commentator Joe Rogan made a passionate plea on his Fight Companion podcast last year, urging the organization to change its gloves to renowned MMA coach Trevor Whittman-designed gloves. The classic black leather gloves carry a lot of history, but persistent fouls, especially eye pokes, became a major concern.
This eventually led to the introduction of the redesigned 3Eight and 5Eight gloves, which made their debut at the UFC 302: Makhachev vs Poirier event. The ‘Golden Gloves’ were used for a few events, but they quickly drew heavy criticism from fighters.
Responding to the backlash, Dana White addressed the issue during a press conference in New York, saying, “There were a lot of complaints. We originally created these gloves to stop eye pokes, and we had good intentions with them. They didn’t work out—people weren’t happy with them. So I actually made the decision,”
As a result, the classic black leather gloves made their return just in time for UFC 309’s highly anticipated heavyweight clash between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. However, bringing back the old gloves without any real upgrades didn’t solve the core issue UFC fighters have been dealing with: eye pokes. One recent example? At UFC Seattle, Song Yadong accidentally slid his finger across Henry Cejudo’s eye in the third round, forcing an abrupt stop to the fight.
So, what’s the solution? UFC legend Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson thinks a throwback might be the answer. He believes the glove design used in Pride FC could offer a solid fix to this long-standing problem that he’s planning to bring to his future MMA promotion.
‘Rampage’ on the JAXXON podcast said: “So as I was saying, you’ve never seen the pride gloves, huh? They’re hard to find the original ones cause they used to take them from us after the fight. You could barely keep your glove, they won’t let you keep it. The way they are designed. I’m here doing my own MMA league soon, and I’m getting the same type of glove. They curve your hand, it was a perfect mix of a boxing glove and an MMA glove. And you can’t eye poke people with it. The way it makes your hand curve, and that’s how you fix the problem.”
The former light heavyweight champion was a major figure in Pride FC, with several iconic moments etched into MMA history. Having experienced both glove styles firsthand, he definitely knows the difference.
Pride FC gloves were designed with a unique fit and padding that naturally curved the fingers, reducing the chances of fighters extending their hands straight out and causing accidental eye pokes. And if there’s still any doubt about the effectiveness of that design, another MMA legend has weighed in as well.
Demetrious Johnson ranks Pride gloves above the UFC gloves
When it comes to breaking down the mechanics of MMA, former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson isn’t just a master at analyzing fights, he also has a deep understanding of martial arts equipment.‘Mighty Mouse’ wasn’t a fan of the 3Eight and 5Eight gloves when the UFC rolled them out. While he did appreciate the classic black leather OG UFC gloves, he didn’t hold back on the Golden Gloves, completely thrashing them. As for his top pick, Johnson ranked the Pride gloves among the best in the sport.
In a glove breakdown video, Johnson said: “These things are straight trash, they are very thin. There’s like nothing to them. The next gloves I’m gonna show you guys beat all of these gloves by a 100 years, and ladies and gentlemen, that is the Pride gloves. It comes with the laces, slides on, it lays on my hand like a lay of a pillow. There’s a little sleeve for my thumb to go in. And then you just basically tighten up your glove to make sure it’s nice and tight, you tie it, you wrap this around.
While ‘Mighty Mouse’ was trying on the Pride gloves, the subtle differences in their mechanics were immediately noticeable. He spoke highly of the comfort, but also emphasized the improved mobility, another crucial factor in MMA.
He added, The Glove moves with one of my fingers. If I wanna flip you off, it’s covering my fingers. I have full mobility in my hands. Look at the striking surface; none of my knuckles are exposed at all. I have all the padding right here and leather is probably the best leather out of all the gloves I’ve ever used.”
That’s Demetrious Johnson’s firsthand experience testing the gloves. But whether this design would actually reduce eye pokes and other fouls is something we’ll only find out if the UFC ever decides to adopt a similar style. So, what do you think? Could bringing back a Pride-style glove solve the promotion’s problem? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
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