The New York Athletic Commission is at it again! Ahead of the UFC 309 anticipated fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, the athletic commission and the promotion decided to bring back the old gloves. The new gloves were introduced in June this year, keeping in mind athletes’ comfort, protection and flexibility using the gloves. Naturally, with this decision co-inciding with Jon Jones fighting on the card, fans speculated the move as having something to do with the two-weight champion.

The r͏͏eason for ͏th͏is ͏move͏ is unk͏n͏own, a͏͏cco͏rdin͏g to journalist Ariel Helw͏ani. ͏However͏, he as͏sure͏d tha͏t͏ the͏͏͏ use͏ of͏͏͏ t͏͏͏he o͏l͏d gl͏͏o͏v͏es ͏wi͏l͏l b͏e ͏limite͏d to ͏UF͏͏͏C͏ ͏309 only, “UFC has informed the fighters competing on Saturday’s 309 card in NYC that they will be using the old gloves not the new ones introduced back in June, per multiple sources. The specific reason is unclear at the moment.”

With this development happening during fight week, many members of the MMA community find this move to be quite fishy. Furthermore, the UFC hasn’t released an official statement regarding the same either.

According to MMA Mania, with the introduction of the new gloves, there has been a 11.5% increase in the number of fights going to the judges’ scorecards. Furthermore, the number of knockouts decreased by 10% compared to when the old gloves were in use prior to June. Perhaps the UFC wants more knockouts and less decision fights at the annual MSG card? Whatever the reasoning is, fans didn’t hesitate to speculate while making Jon Jones the center of the argument.

Jon Jones gets called out by fans as Dana White decides to go for old gloves at UFC 309

Was it really necessary for th͏e promot͏ion͏ ͏to rev͏ert to the old͏ gloves? We can’t draw any conclusions at this point, but it does seem a bit odd considering the decision was made for a card involving Jon Jones. With the Jon Jones v͏s. Stipe ͏Mioci͏c f͏ight being anticip͏at͏ed ͏for ͏over a year now,͏ Dana Wh͏ite might have been a͏ bit lenient for this ͏speci͏fic bout. ͏Man͏y ͏fans speculate that ͏t͏his ͏de͏cision might have been made keeping Jones in mind – “This has something to do with Jon Jones.” 

One of the prime reasons for introducing the new gloves was to reduce the likelihood of eye-pokes which were a constant issue UFC fights. The first fight between Belal Muhammad and Leon Edwards and the BMF fight between Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje had some brutal eye pokes. Keeping this in mind, the UFC introduced gloves that would limit eye-pokes. However, with the most recent development involving using old gloves, it appears that the UFC has reverted on it’s own bid to ensure fighter safety – “Jon Jones [has an] eye poke advantage.” Echoing this sentiment, a fan reiterated Dana White’s favoritism towards ‘Bones’ – “Jones said he can’t eye poke properly, Dana zipped it up” 

Noting the 10% decrease in the knockout as a result of the new gloves, some fans expressed a preference of the old gloves over the new –  “After fighters started using this new glove, knockouts decreased considerably, happy with the old ones.” Furthermore, another fan called to bring back the old gloves echoing Donald Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ with, “Bring back the eye pokes and make UFC great again.” Last but not least, a fan stated that he is ok with the old gloves but the timing is beyond fishy, “I hate the gloves and all… but to get rid of them in the Jon Jones fight? Hell nah, mf just gonna eye poke all night.”

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The promotion is yet to clarify bringing the old gloves back for UFC 309, but what do you think? Was this change made keeping Jon Jones in mine? Let us know in the comments below.