Joe Rogan’s simple solution for eye pokes in MMA revisited after UFC 321 disaster

How Joe Rogan would stop eye pokes in MMA

Henry Cejudo called for a rule change after he was eye-poked at UFC Seattle in February.

Song Yadong walked away with the biggest win of his career by technical decision when the former dual-weight champion was left in no fit state to continue into the fourth round of their main event matchup.

Footage of Joe Rogan’s simple solution to the eye poke epidemic re-emerged in the days after UFC Seattle.

“I keep saying it, but I feel they should cover those fingertips,” the UFC commentator said on his podcast in September 2024.

“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 reacts to UFC 321 eye poke

The UFC brought in new gloves last year, but eye pokes continued, and fighters complained about them.

They were officially scrapped for good ahead of UFC Vegas 102, which took place on February 15.

Dana White was asked if he’d consider trying another new glove design in the immediate aftermath of UFC 321.

“No matter what you do with the gloves, they’re gonna happen,” the UFC CEO said on Saturday night.

White went on to make comments that convinced fans he’s furious with Tom Aspinall for refusing to fight blind against Ciryl Gane.

“There probably will be a lot more interest in the rematch,” the MMA mogul added.

“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.”