Eye pokes ruining UFC fights and driving fans crazy have been going on for ages. But after UFC 321 ended in a no-contest, things hit another level. While debates are heating up over whether Tom Aspinall should’ve continued fighting or if Ciryl Gane deserved a DQ loss, a bigger question has surfaced: Is the UFC finally going to bring a real solution?

At the post-fight press conference, Dana White made it clear that we’ll see the rematch soon. However, the UFC CEO didn’t say a word about the eye-poke issue or any drastic steps to prevent it. That left fans wondering if the UFC is even working to stop eye pokes from ruining more fights. Well, to clear that confusion, former UFC fighter Josh Thomson revealed that the UFC is actually planning to bring some new changes, and they might be in action as early as next week. 

Josh Thomson hints UFC will introduce drastic changes to eye-poke rule next week

At the Weigh in Podcast, ‘The Punk’ said,“I mean, there’s gonna be changes coming soon. I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I mean, I’ve heard it yesterday, and today. Basically, this might happen by next week. They are looking to make these changes quickly, and it’s going to basically take things out of the ref’s hands. The ref will not be able to call it a judgment call. It’ll happen quickly.”  

Well, going by the former UFC lightweight’s words, after an eye poke, the referee won’t be the one deciding where the fight goes next, and that’s definitely a major change. However, Thomson didn’t reveal what the next step would be. Probably, the judges will take charge of deciding the fight’s outcome once the referee stops it due to an eye poke. Also, with UFC Fight Night: Garcia vs. Onama happening this weekend, we might finally get some answers.

After that, Thomson also revealed how he actually got this inside information. It’s because the former UFC fighter has been working with referees like Big John McCarthy and has also been in touch with the commission officials. Because of that, he was able to answer another big question: Why didn’t the referee take a point from Ciryl Gane after he eye-poked Tom Aspinall at UFC 321?

Thomson explained on The Weigh In Podcast, “I’ve had extensive conversations with the commissions yesterday and today, as well as with some referees. They don’t take a point until they know the fight is going to restart. There’s no reason to. If the fight isn’t going to continue, they just rule it as a no-contest or a DQ. Now, Herzog did a great job. He didn’t need to do anything else. The fight didn’t continue, so make it a no-contest. We didn’t see enough.”

Again, that’s some valuable insight from Josh on why Jason Herzog ruled the fight as a no-contest, staying true to the current ruleset. As for the penalties, several solutions have been tossed up in the air by fans and pros alike. The UFC’s amended gloves did not help the cause, so more drastic measures like point deduction and financial penalties are being suggested by fans. But will any of that address the core issue?

Even as fans hope the UFC changes the eye-poke rules soon, a former UFC champion believes it will never truly be fixed.  

Demetrious Johnson believes there won’t be any solution to eye pokes 

Mixed martial arts is already a sport where fighters can land illegal strikes in the heat of the moment. Michael Chandler often gets backlash for getting too carried away, but fighters like former middleweight champ Michael Bisping have defended him, saying fights are too chaotic to always stay perfectly clean. Similarly, Demetrious Johnson has spoken up about the eye-poke issue, claiming that as long as fighters keep their fingers exposed, eye pokes are bound to happen.

‘Mighty Mouse,’ on his YouTube channel, said, “People don’t understand. They always talk about, ‘When are we going to fix eye pokes in mixed martial arts?’ Newsflash: You’re never f— going to do it. The reason why is because as human beings, our natural reaction when somebody comes toward us is to open our hands and stick them out.”

Johnson also explained how Muay Thai-based fighters like Ciryl Gane can accidentally cause eye pokes when they throw kicks. He added, “When I throw a body kick, when you learn Muay Thai and you throw kicks, they don’t teach you to throw them like this (hands close to face). They teach you to open your hands. You put your hands in front of your opponent’s face to block him.”

So, fighters accidentally eye-poking their opponents due to their fighting style might be another issue. But does that actually justify committing a clear foul? And is the referee’s handling of it really the only solution? Let us know your take in the comments below.