Joe Rogan’s old fix for MMA eye pokes regain attention after UFC 321 incident

After an eye poke at UFC Seattle in February, Henry Cejudo joined the calls for a change in how the sport handles the issue.

Song Yadong ended up with a technical decision win that night, after Cejudo could not continue into the fourth round of their main event. It was a big moment for Yadong and another reminder of how common these fouls have become.

Not long after, fans brought back an old clip of Joe Rogan discussing his thoughts on how to address it. He spoke about it on his podcast back in September 2024, suggesting some changes to glove design.

“I keep saying it, but I feel they should cover those fingertips. You’ve got to cover the fingers. There’s no reason to not cover the fingers like a bad glove.

“Just have a piece of leather that goes over the fingertips, so you have one thing. It’s not gonna invade your grappling, and it’s not gonna change your striking. It’s not going to change anything.

“This way, at least if you get poked in the eye you are getting a blunt thing, you are not getting something that goes into your eyeball.

“Have them all covered and have a soft-foamed ridge over the top of it. So even if you are getting poked in the eyes, you are not getting an individual thing going deep into your eyeball with an eyeball, which is what you get now. You get f—— fingernails!”

Dana White shares thoughts on UFC 321 eye poke incident

Last year, the UFC introduced new gloves, but the eye pokes did not stop and fighters quickly voiced their concerns.

Those gloves were officially retired just before UFC Vegas 102 in February.

Following the events of UFC 321, Dana White was asked whether he would consider bringing in another new glove design.

The UFC CEO then replied: “No matter what you do with the gloves, they’re gonna happen.”

White’s subsequent remarks led fans to believe he was furious with Aspinall for declining to fight Gane while he was visually impaired.

“There probably will be a lot more interest in the rematch.

“I mean, he had Tom bloodied up. And you know – Tom didn’t want to continue in the fight. So, the rematch is very interesting.”