Khalil Rountree is aware of why the brand new UFC gloves didn’t final—and the reply won’t be what you assume.
When the UFC debuted an up to date glove design in April 2024, the initial reaction was mixed, with fighters questioning how the gear may have an effect on efficiency and whether or not it may doubtlessly scale back eye pokes. Lower than a 12 months later, the design was abandoned in favor of the older mannequin, resulting in additional hypothesis as to the reasoning.
Had been they uncomfortable? Did they make it harder for fighters to attain knockouts? Was it simply to appease an sad Jon Jones?
Throughout an interview on the The Joe Rogan Experience, Rountree—who was concerned in creating and testing the brand new gloves—revealed the actual motive for the recall.
“The primary factor was that due to the leather-based, the logos weren’t sticking,” Rountree mentioned. “So the logos have been peeling off, peeling off, peeling off. I’m telling you, we tried a whole lot of various methods to get the UFC emblem printed on the gloves in order that they won’t come off within the octagon. From me testing it on the canvas, doing dwell conditions, sparring, rubbing it within the cage, blah blah, it simply wouldn’t [stay on].”
When the brand new design was first introduced, it was introduced as having the potential to cut back hand accidents and permit for improved hand dexterity. Followers blamed the gloves on decreasing the quantity of knockouts throughout their period of utilization, however as a result of comparatively small dimension, knowledge is inconclusive as as to whether the tools was actually at fault.
Rountree competed as soon as within the new gloves, donning the gold variant as he challenged champion Alex Pereira for the sunshine heavyweight title at UFC 307. Neither man’s punching energy appeared to undergo from the design as they battered one another for the higher a part of 4 rounds earlier than Pereira discovered a end heading into Spherical 5.
Based on Rountree, the difficulty had extra to do with manufacturing materials than manufacturing knockouts.
“As a result of with all the things on the earth, however particularly within the business of leather-based and suede and all that stuff, if I had a pair of leather-based footwear from 1970 it’s going to be completely different than the leather-based that’s made in the present day,” Rountree mentioned. “You get what I imply? It’s a distinct sort of leather-based. It’s simply not the identical. It was somewhat softer, nevertheless it’s handled otherwise whereas it’s being processed or no matter that complete course of seems like, it’s simply there’s some sort of chemical or one thing that’s simply completely different.”
Rountree added that there have been security considerations surrounding the brand new gloves, however not essentially associated to bruises or damaged bones. It was really the finicky that was the primary supply of their issues.
“It has nothing to do with the knockouts,” Rountree mentioned. “It’s that each time when the fighters come to return a pair of gloves or no matter and even within the combat, it’s peeling off or chipping off and that’s a hazard if it will get in your eye. It’s extra concerning the security of the fighters, not like, ‘We want extra knockouts, change the gloves.’
“It’s extra that the emblem wasn’t adhering and it doesn’t look skilled to have these guys combating a championship combat after which right here’s this man elevating his hand and there’s no UFC emblem on the glove. All of it will get worn off.”
