Controversial UFC star Sean Strickland has once again made headlines. This time, he has taken aim at the newly introduced Official Fight Gloves.
Strickland claims the UFC “dropped the ball” with the new design. These gloves, dubbed “3Eight” for non-championship bouts and “5Eight” for title bouts, are set to debut soon. Strickland will be wearing the “3Eight” variant in his upcoming co-main event at UFC 302.
At UFC 302, Strickland will face former middleweight champion Paulo Costa in a middleweight bout. Strickland made waves during the pre-fight media scrum by harshly criticizing the designer of the new gloves. These gloves have garnered both praise and criticism, but Strickland did not hold back in expressing his disdain.
During the media session, Strickland questioned the expertise of the designer. He also expressed frustration over what he perceives as a lack of practical experience in creating the gloves.
Talking about the new gloves, he stated: “They suck, Can we talk to the person who designed these gloves? …Have you ever been in a fight in your fu*king life? It’s like…you get these fu*king dorks that have no idea…Like, this sounds like a good idea and they make it. Same thing with motorcycles…I’ve bought motorcycles and they put so much stupid sh*t on it…So no, they absolutely suck. You dropped the ball on that one.”
Strickland’s rant is not an isolated incident. Other contenders have also expressed concerns about the new gloves. While speaking to Sports24, Islam Makhachev raised issues about the potential for increased eye pokes with the new design.
This echoes the sentiments of many competitors who believe that glove modifications alone cannot prevent fouls like eye pokes.
Like Strickland, Joaquin Buckley has voiced doubts about the new gloves’ effectiveness in preventing eye pokes. The consensus among many contenders is that the root cause of such fouls lies in the fighters’ actions, not the design of the gloves.
