"Let's talk, UFC" - When Conor McGregor stepped up to solve the horrible eye poke issue plaguing the promotion
Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor once had a suggestion to solve the eye poke issue that has been existing in the company for years.
Most recently, Tony Ferguson was on the receiving end of a nasty eye poke in the very first round of his fight against Bobby Green at UFC 291. As a result, 'El Cucuy' claimed to have impaired vision for the remainder of the fight and blamed the same on his third-round submission loss.
The issue has been prevalent in the UFC for years and despite it plaguing the promotion, nothing significant has been done to solve the issue. However, Conor McGregor once tried to step up and solve the issue.
Back in 2021, Conor McGregor released MMA gloves from his company McGregor FAST that had a curved covering over the fingers which prevents fingers from over-extending. Reacting to the same, a fan questioned why the UFC isn't trying to make such gloves that would help to prevent eye pokes during the fights.
McGregor FAST MMA fight gloves!
Download the app and join the team today! @McGregorFast pic.twitter.com/GCygcQVUCA
Responding to the fan's suggestion, Conor McGregor seemed to be open to the discuss the idea with the UFC. He said:
"Let’s talk, @ufc. Happy to discuss our patented @McGregorFast fighting gloves prototype with you."
Let’s talk, @ufc.
Happy to discuss our patented @McGregorFast fighting gloves prototype with you. twitter.com/D4n1kCs/status…
Bobby Green responds to Tony Ferguson's accusations
Bobby Green was certainly not happy with the accusations made by Tony Ferguson about the eye poke which was ruled accidental during the fight. During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Green referred to Ferguson as a "crazy man" and chose not to argue with him.
While claiming that he would never do something like that intentionally, Bobby Green said:
“Tony said I intentionally poked him, and that threw his momentum off. From there, the fight just went my way. I disagree with that, I thought I was doing so much more than that the entire fight… If you argue with a crazy man, you’re probably crazy. I’m not going to argue with him. Listen bro I got nothing but love for you. I hope that you don't take any of this personally. It's the fight game. I would never try to do something dirty to a legend."
Catch Bobby Green's comments in the video below (21:00):