The UFC’s ambitious attempt to revolutionize MMA gloves has officially come to an end, with the promotion quietly abandoning their new design in February 2025 and returning to the tried-and-true original gloves. The decision, announced during UFC Vegas 102, marks the conclusion of a troubled rollout that began in April 2024 and involved months of mixed reactions from fighters officials and commentators.
UFC play-by-play commentator John Gooden confirmed the change during the broadcast, stating:
“One note starting tonight and moving forward, all fighters will return to using the old gloves, not the ones recently introduced.”
The gloves were initially designed with noble intentions: reducing hand injuries and the dreaded eye pokes while maintaining hand dexterity. However the reality fell far short of expectations. Complaints about comfort sizing and performance mounted quickly. Even Dana White acknowledged the failed rollout in November, stating:
“Because there were a lot of complaints. We originally created these gloves to stop eye pokes and we had good intentions with them. They didn’t work out. People weren’t happy with them.”
The most high-profile concerns came from Jon Jones, whose sizing issues were so problematic that he had to switch from XL to 3XL. The discomfort was immediate and significant enough that the UFC reverted to the old gloves for his planned bout with Stipe Miocic, a sign that the new gloves were on their way out.
Jones explained:
“I tried them on and I thought they were tight. I used to fit in XL and in the new glove I had to put on a 3XL. The shape, curving your hands like that, they were very uncomfortable for me.”
Statistical analyses even suggested a drop in knockouts during events using the updated gloves. While the sample size was too small for definitive conclusions speculation about performance issues grew louder. The UFC operated a dual-glove system for several months – using old gloves for pay-per-view events and the new ones for Fight Nights – until manufacturing caught up.
But in an unexpected twist, Khalil Rountree revealed that the gloves’ demise was due to something far more mundane. Speaking on Joe Rogan‘s podcast, Rountree shared the real reason: the UFC logos wouldn’t stick to the new leather.
Rountree explained:
“The main thing was that like because of the leather, the the logos weren’t sticking. So the logos were peeling off, peeling off, peeling off.”
He described an extensive year-long testing process in collaboration with the UFC’s equipment team, which included live sparring cage work and other real-match conditions. Despite the superior fit and function of the new gloves for some fighters the peeling logos became a branding and safety issue.
According to Rountree:
“Joe, I’m telling you, we tried hundreds of different ways to get the UFC logo printed on the gloves so that they will not come off in the octagon… It’s a different type of leather… it’s treated differently… there’s some type of, you know, chemical or something that’s just different.”
The peeling wasn’t just cosmetic. It created visual inconsistencies during broadcasts and could even pose a safety hazard if logo fragments ended up in fighters’ eyes.
“It doesn’t look professional to have these guys fighting a championship fight and then here’s this guy raising his hand. And you don’t even know like there’s no UFC logo on the glove. Like what?”
Despite early assumptions that the gloves were scrapped due to technical or safety failures Rountree emphasized the true rationale:
“It’s more about like the safety of the fighter, not like we need more knockouts, change the gloves.”
The entire saga reflects how seemingly trivial manufacturing issues can derail even the most well-intentioned innovation in professional sports. The UFC’s failed glove redesign serves as a reminder that in combat sports — as in life — the simplest problems can often be the most insurmountable.
For now the promotion appears content to stick with the original gloves that while imperfect offer reliability both in function and in branding.
