JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Well, it turns out Sean Strickland is not a fan of the new UFC gloves.
The former UFC middleweight champion, who returns this Saturday against Paulo Costa in the co-main event of UFC 302, criticized the new design of the official UFC gloves for what he found to be subpar quality. Strickland (28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) much prefers the previous design and made sure to let the world know at Wednesday’s UFC 302 media day.
“Yeah, they suck,” Strickland said in a passionate rant. “I don’t know who – could we talk to the person who designed these gloves? Have you ever been in a fight in your f*cking life?
“It’s like you get these f*cking dorks that have no idea, and they’re like, ‘Oh, this sounds like a good idea,’ and they make it. … How did you a**holes think this was a good idea? They absolutely suck. UFC dropped the ball on that one.”
Saturday’s event will be the first time the new glove design will be used. The promotion revamped the old design to address the many complaints that the old gloves facilitated eye pokes, which are obviously illegal in MMA.
Strickland doesn’t think the gloves were the problem and instead puts the blame on the fighters.
“What was the reasoning? They wanted to make it so that people stop poking people in the eyes? Well, they’re a little bit more stitched,” Strickland said. “And, dude, at the end of the day, people f*cking get poked in the eyes because they open their f*cking hands. Unless you put a boxing glove on, that sh*t’s not gonna stop.
“It’s just people creating a problem that we did not have. If you get cut because you get hit in the f*cking head, don’t get hit in the f*cking head, you don’t get cut. You get poked in the eyes because you f*cking open your hands. Don’t open your hands, you won’t get poked in the eyes. It’s just people creating problems that aren’t there.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.
