UFC 309 to feature previous version of gloves

There’s an old saying that everything old becomes new again, and apparently that also holds true for MMA gloves.

Ahead of this Saturday’s UFC 309, the promotion informed fighters that they will be using the old version of UFC gloves, rather than the new style implemented across events on June 1. Multiple people with knowledge of the situation confirmed the change, though no reason was given. Ariel Helwani was first to report the news.

The newer gloves were designed in an attempt to reduce eye pokes and hand injuries and featured less rigidity than the previous version, along with updates to the seams, padding, wristband, and finger holes. They debuted at UFC 302 in New Jersey and have since become a source of controversy with some fighters speaking out against them.

Fans have also suggested the new gloves may lead to fewer knockouts after an apparent drop in the knockout rate from the beginning of the year compared to after the new glove implementation. However at this point that’s purely speculative and could be explained away by a small sample size.

UFC 309 is headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic and takes place this Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Guilherme Cruz contributed to this report.