Johnny Walker has one-word reaction to comparison of old and new UFC gloves
Light heavyweight contender Johnny Walker seems to approve of the new UFC gloves and finds them an improvement over the old ones.
In a recent post on Instagram, ESPN quizzed netizens on whether they could spot any difference between the new and old gloves. The post also included a picture of UFC bantamweight Garrett Armfield wearing both the old and new gloves.
Walker dove into the comments section of the post with a one-word response, noting his appreciation for the new and improved protective gear:
"Quality."
The new glove is engineered by Vicis RDI and features a plethora of improvements in terms of design and functionality over the old one.
Per the UFC's official website, the new design was formulated after consulting with various fighters and coaches, to produce an ergonomic design meant to reduce injuries and enable the natural dynamics of the hand.
Improvements include a new wristband locking system which negates space between the fist and the wrist, to ensure that the opponent can't grab or fishhook the gloves.
All the seams are now under the palm side of the gloves. The lack of seams on the side that come in contact with one's opponent while throwing punches, will reduce the chance of cuts.
Additional padding added to the sides of the glove, near the index and pinky finger is also expected to protect the bone structure and prevent injuries. The glove weighs between three to 4.9 oz.
The new gloves are also expected to reduce the risk of eye pokes. In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Michael Chandler stated that additional padding near the upper wrist area is going to prevent fighters from being able to bring their fingers all the way outwards and will thereby prevent eye pokes.
Catch Michael Chandler's comments about the new UFC gloves below:
Paulo Costa is not convinced with the new UFC gloves
While many in the MMA community are praising the functional improvements of the new UFC gloves, Paulo Costa is unwilling to jump on the hype train.
'Borrachinha' believes there is no noteworthy improvement to the new protective gear compared to the old one. Speaking on Jaxxon Podcast, the former middleweight title challenger said:
"I think they just, it's just color red [and] gold. Yeah, bro, it's the same glove. I think it's just a kind of training gloves because the fight gloves are different than the training gloves. Yes exactly [the training gloves have a lot more padding]."
Catch Paulo Costa's comments about the new UFC gloves below: