2024 has brought a lot of changes in the UFC. With the return of some of the biggest fighters and the historic UFC 300 last year, it’s safe to say that the year has been a big one for the company. That said, the introduction of their brand new Official Fight Glove has seemingly flown under the radar.
Following the UFC 300 weigh-ins, fans were treated to a very special presentation, unveiling the brand new fight gloves. Owing to reports and rumors about it at the start of fight week, many were keen to see what the promotion had to reveal. For the most part, many were calling for the UFC to finally work with Trevor Wittman and ONX Sports and take inspiration from their gloves.
New gloves coming to an Octagon near you 👀
More info: https://t.co/LM2GpGfS2p pic.twitter.com/IV17byIapl
— UFC (@ufc) April 12, 2024
Although that wasn’t the case, what the fans got was something that drummed up a lot of hype. With a very impressive documentary on how the gloves were theorized and developed, there was a lot of in-depth information for the fans. However, with the gloves coming into effect at future events, many may already have forgotten about what makes the gloves special.
How does the new UFC glove improve on its previous iterations?
As per the announcement, the new UFC Official Fight gloves were set to come into play from UFC 302, on June 1 in Newark, New Jersey. That said, let’s take a look at all the new improvements that the gloves bring on their previous iterations. One of the key demands from the gloves was to have them reduce eye pokes, which the UFC was rife with in recent times.
For the most part, the redesign of the iconic Official Fight Glove seeks to offer athletes enhanced protection, improved fit, greater comfort, and maximum flexibility. Notably, it is designed and engineered by VICIS, a premium football helmet company, who are known for making protective gear for athletes. That said, the new glove features advanced layered foam technology, which will allow the fighter’s hand to be in a much more natural position, reducing injury and the risk of eye pokes.
Interestingly, the gloves feature a wristband locking system as opposed to a strap, thus removing any space that would permit an opponent to grab the glove. Additionally, all the seams and stitching for the glove are now on the inside which will help reduce cuts and abrasions suffered during a fight. Not only that, but the new and improved innovative padding makes it so that the fingers are in a natural position, reducing eye pokes and protecting any pressure on the bones.
Further improvements include the removal of finger binding, which will reduce the bulk and minimize seams that can cause abrasions and cuts. Lastly, the new gloves also feature padding added to the sides of the glove at the index and pinky fingers which will protect vulnerable bone structure. Thus, the new improvements make it so that both fighters are at lesser risk of inadvertently injuring their opponent or themselves.
When will fighters get their hands on the brand-new UFC gloves?
As it turns out the gloves, or rather a prototype version of them, have already been in use in the Contender Series. Athletes who have appeared in the past 10 weeks, along with their coaches have been instrumental in providing feedback and ironing out kinks in the product. Similarly, fighters like Vanessa Demopoulos, Julian Erosa, Jessica Andrade, Chase Hooper, and others were also involved in the early testing of the gloves.
“I can bend my fists, wonderfully, and being able to close properly, means that I can get my grapple.”– Vanessa Demopoulos (UFC strawweight)
View this post on Instagram
“They’re so comfortable really I mean, compared to other gloves one of the biggest differences is like, they already feel rounded. Like, the other gloves felt a bit stiff.” -Julian Erosa (UFC featherweight)
The glove will have five variants, a default (Gunmetal), a championship (Gold), a TUF series (Black), a contender series (Blue), and Road to UFC (Red). As mentioned, these gloves will come into use from UFC 302, on June 1 in Newark, New Jersey. Thus, UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier will be the first athletes to don the championship variant of the gloves.