Dana White Makes Huge Announcement, Takes Pressure Off Jon Jones

The UFC’s experiment with new gloves is over. On Saturday, fighters who compete at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York will wear old gloves.

According to UFC President Dana White, “the new gloves are now the old gloves,” as the UFC is returning to its previous design. The organization switched to a new look and feel this summer but is now pivoting. Many people on social media were ready to blame Jon Jones, but UFC White took accountability for the decision.

According to White, “there were a lot complaints. We originally created these gloves to stop eye pokes. We had good intentions with them. They didn’t work out. People weren’t happy with them, so I actually made the decision. I called our chief operating officer Lawrence and said I’m switching the gloves. I want the old gloves back.”

You can see the question and answer in the video below.

In the media scrum following the presser, White clarified that even the different color varieties for Dana White Contender Series, Ultimate Fighter, and Championship fight gloves are also going away.

Most fighters went on record saying they didn’t care for the stiffness of the new gloves. However, one rising flyweight fighter, Charles Johnson, took to social media on Thursday to express his appreciation for the new gloves and how they helped him avoid hand injuries.

Unfortunately, it appears he will have to readjust.

Fans originally thought Jones pulled a power move to get the gloves he’d become accustomed to back for UFC 309. Jones has been notorious for eye pokes in his career because he tended to extend an open hand toward his opponent.

As it turned out, Jones didn’t appear to have anything more to do with the situation than any other veteran who also didn’t like the gloves.

White’s decision to switch back to the old gloves should make most of the UFC’s veterans happy, but the folks at EA who develop EA UFC may be annoyed. To stay current with the promotion, EA updated the game with the new colored gloves.

It remains to be seen if the new colored gloves will be removed or if EA will stick with their update until the launch of EA UFC 6, which is expected to drop in 2025.

Changing the color of the gloves may seem like a small change, but in game development, what seems small to fans can impact various other aspects of the title.

As we look ahead to UFC 309, Jones’ title defense against Stipe Miocic is the headliner, and Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler 2 is the co-main event. Here is a look at the entire card.