Strickland: New UFC Gloves ‘Absolutely Suck’

“It’s people creating problems that weren’t there.”

UFC rolled out a new line of MMA gloves designed to record stats and reduce eye pokes.

Unfortunately, the brains behind the new design failed to check with fighters on how they would impact performance. Reigning lightweight champion and UFC 302 headliner, Islam Makhachev, found the new mitts a little too stiff for his liking.

That almost seems like high praise compared to the assessment from UFC 302 co-headliner, Sean Strickland.

“They suck,” Strickland said during the UFC 302 media day. “Can 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. 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. How did you a**holes think this was a good idea? So no, they absolutely suck. You dropped the ball on that one.”

The design team should have enlisted this genius.

“What was the reasoning that they wanted, so people stopped poking people in the eyes? Well, they’re a little bit more like stitched and at the end of the day, people getting f*cking poked in the eye because they open their hands,” Strickland continued. “Unless you put a boxing glove on, that sh*t ain’t going to stop so it’s just people creating a problem that we did not have. If you get cut because you got hit in the f*cking head, don’t get hit in the f*cking head and you don’t get cut. If you get poked in the eye because you f*cking opened your hand, don’t open your hand and you won’t get poked in the eye.”

Strickland, 33, is looking to blast his way back into the win column at the expense of Brazilian bruiser Paulo Costa as part of the UFC 302 pay-per-view (PPV) event, scheduled for this Sat. night (June 1, 2024) at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

To see who else is fighting at UFC 302 click here.