"Believe me, eye pokes will stop then" - when Dana White proposed a solution to eradicate eye pokes from MMA
UFC president Dana White is arguably regarded as the greatest promoter in mixed martial arts history. But alongside being the person who calls all the shots, the 51-year old is also known for his headstrong attitude and personalized opinions. Following the most-recent UFC Vegas 21 bout between Belal Muhammad and Leon Edwards, Dana White was once again very vocal about his take. And this time, it was about the infamous eye pokes.
Mere seconds into the second round of the fight, UFC welterweight contender Belal Muhammad found himself on the canvas, wailing in pain. This was due to a non-intentional eye poke that nearly left the 32-year old with serious eye complications. As a grim picture of the horrid event surfaced online, UFC fans and experts found themselves searching yet again for a possible answer.
The Dana White quick fix
In early 2015, UFC boss Dana White took to his Twitter in an attempt to answer questions from individuals online. One question that grabbed his attention was in regards to eye pokes, to which Dana White seemed to have a fitting solution.
After the Belal Muhammad incident at UFC Vegas 21, a few fighters from the roster had their two cents to share on the matter. One among them was the newly crowned champion of the 135-pound weight class, Aljamain Sterling. Posting on his Twitter page to bring this to the attention of the UFC, Sterling said:
"We need new gloves. Period! They’re out there. I just don’t understand what we’re waiting for to make these changes. How many more eye injuries do we need to bring these new gloves in, that significantly reduce the spreading of the fingers." #UFCVegas21
Further elucidating his stance in response to UFC bantamweight contender Louis Smolka, Sterling replied:
"There’s these gloves that force the fingers closed. You have to fight to keep them open and I think that will significantly reduce possible eye pokes."
Intentional or not, the debate surrounding eye pokes seems to be a troublemaker for everyone. With fighters potentially putting their eyesight at risk during a fight, an immediate solution is the need of the hour.
Do you think gloves that are curved at the knuckle area will help inhibit this persistent problem? If so, should they be employed by Dana White on the spot?
Let us know what you think in the comment section below!