"There will always be something" - Daniel Cormier has his doubts about glove rethink following Belal Muhammad eye poke
Daniel Cormier believes that no amount of engineering can yield a perfect design of gloves to eliminate eye pokes in MMA fights altogether.
Cormier shared his thoughts on the recent issue of the DC-Helwani show when co-host Ariel Helwani asked for his opinion on the matter. It comes following Leon Edwards' accidental eye poke of Belal Muhammad that caused the fight to end in a no-contest at UFC Vegas 21.
Daniel Cormier told Helwani that the nature of the sport of MMA is such that you can never eliminate fouls like eye pokes. However, the former two-division champ believes that fighters can significantly reduce the instances with proper solutions like gloves.
"The reality is there are going to be issues even if gloves are curved. You are never going to find something that works perfectly. Having curved gloves will help because it does allow you to still lock your hands and wrestle... I am all in for the different designs of the gloves, but I do think that the different designs, you don't know what they will be but there will always be something because, in a fistfight, it is never perfect. But we should do what is necessary to try to limit those things," said Daniel Cormier.
Daniel Cormier and Belal Muhammad are the most recent victims of eye pokes in the UFC
The conversation between Daniel Cormier and Ariel Helwani is about the issue that has plagued the sport of MMA since its inception.
MMA involves a mix of grappling and striking techniques. As a result, the glove design needs to have open fingers for the fighters to grab their opponents to engage in grappling exchanges.
Eye pokes are the by-product of this necessity as most instances result from fighters' attempts to keep their opponents at a distance with their palms and open fingers.
Many UFC fights have had their course altered due to eye pokes, and Belal Muhammad vs. Leon Edwards and Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier 3 are the latest additions to the already long list.
The UFC gloves have been the subject of criticism for a long time as they require fighters to wear hand-wraps inside. The combination of gloves and hand-wrap material between the fingers puts pressure on a closed fist to force it open. This is cited as one of the primary reasons behind frequent eye pokes in UFC compared to Bellator and erstwhile Pride FC.
Many designers, including famed MMA coach Trevor Wittman, have proposed glove designs that can significantly reduce fighters' tendency to stretch their fingers outwards. However, the UFC is yet to adopt the design.