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The Notorious Conor McGregor has accomplished many great things in the UFC, and now it seems he wants to put an end to eye pokes in the octagon.
The Irish fighter has launched a new MMA glove design as part of his McGregor FAST range of products. He tweeted an image of the gloves, which include a quote from the former two-time UFC champion.
"There is no talent here. This is hard work. This is an obsession." - Conor McGregor.
The perennial eye poke problem
Eye pokes have been an ongoing problem in MMA for years. The recent UFC Fight Night main event between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammed was stopped due to an eye poke.
Countless UFC fighters have suffered serious eye injuries in the octagon, including Stipe Miocic, Daniel Cormier, Michael Bisping, and Alan Belcher.
There have long been calls to change the UFC glove design to help reduce the risk of eye pokes, and it seems like McGregor has heeded the call.
A new-look design
From what we can see in the image. McGregor’s gloves differ significantly from the current UFC gloves. Firstly, they’re white which is opposite to the famous UFC black color.
McGregor’s design is more rounded and includes a cover over the fingers entirely, resembling the old Pride Fighting Championship gloves. This would help stop fighters from extending their fingers straight out, which is the main cause of eye pokes in MMA.
Happy to work with the UFC
Unlike other MMA glove designers, it seems that Conor is more than happy to work with the UFC. Always the businessman, he tagged the UFC in a tweet offering his new glove design to the MMA leader.
If agreed upon, it could not only help keep fighters safer in the octagon, but bring McGregor a healthy profit.
A glove for MMA fighters
The former ‘champ-champ’ McGregor has had over 25 professional MMA fights, so he has the experience to know what works in the cage.
While well-known MMA trainer Trevor Wittman has been pushing his MMA glove design, he hasn’t fought inside the famous UFC octagon.
X-factor gloves have been publicized by former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans on Joe Rogan's podcast recently.
However, McGregor seems to be skeptical, as seen in his tweet below. Maybe Conor can go on Rogan's podcast to explain his design to the MMA community in a little more detail.
Safety first
The results of an eye poke can be disastrous and career ending, so whether it’s The Notorious Conor McGregor’s design or Trevor Wittman’s, let’s hope the UFC can implement a new glove that improves fighter safety.
