Rose Namajunas wants stiffer penalties for eye pokes, cleared to train again

Former two-time UFC women's strawweight champion Rose Namajunas has been cleared to return to training.

Namajunas last fought in January, losing to Natalia Silva via unanimous decision at UFC 324. In the fight, the 33 year-old was on the wrong end of an eye poke that took three months to heal.

Namajunas posted a video to instagram showing the final procedure of her eye recovery. In the caption, "Thug" called for eye-poke reform and stiffer penalties even for accidental pokes.

"So you wanna be a fighter? Three months and now Im healthy finally. Thumb and eye are all fixed up. Im a bit out of shape but I’m cleared to train now," Namajunas wrote on Instagram.

Eye pokes have always been an issue in mixed martial arts due to the open finger gloves. The problem has garnered more attention as of late after heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall suffered a double eye poke against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 last October. The bout was ruled a no contest and Aspinall is still recovering.

"I really hope eye pokes will be taken more seriously in the future," Namajunas added. "I propose instant purse deduction even for an accident. An accident that could seriously affect a fighters health long term. Anyways I’m just grateful that it was not more serious."