Controversy & discipline
2 stories on this topic, newest first.
Dana White says $100M asking price killed Wittman glove deal
With eye pokes again in the spotlight after Tom Aspinall's injuries, Dana White revealed at the Vegas 119 presser that talks to license Trevor Wittman's curved ONX gloves collapsed because Wittman's side wanted around $100 million for the design. Wittman, who has stepped back from his company's business side, told Joe Rogan that UFC's Hunter Campbell recently reignited the conversation. Justin Gaethje, Wittman's protege, said the Freedom 250 gloves felt different and easier to make a fist in.
Why it matters: The curved glove is pitched as a genuine fix for MMA's chronic eye-poke problem, so the stalled deal keeps a known safety issue unresolved even as renewed talks offer a glimmer of progress.
- How a $100 million demand scuppered new glove talks between Justin Gaethje's coach and the UFC (Bloody Elbow)
- Dana White explains why UFC has delayed using Trevor Wittman's new fighter gloves: 'It's impossible' (BJPenn.com)
- UFC in talks with Trevor Wittman to use ONX gloves: 'The ones we're using now are terrible' (MMA Mania)
Herb Dean faces fresh back-of-head controversy in Oliveira-Fili finish
Vinicius Oliveira moved to featherweight and stopped Andre Fili by TKO just before the second-round horn at UFC Vegas 119, earning Fight of the Night. Some of the finishing shots appeared to land on the back of Fili's head, and a bloodied Fili was seen complaining to referee Herb Dean, who checked his head and showed him replays. It's the second such controversy for Dean this month after Ciryl Gane's win over Alex Pereira at the White House.
Why it matters: Repeated disputes over illegal blows in fight-ending sequences put officiating standards under scrutiny just as the UFC weighs glove and rule changes.