The UFC introduced new gloves in 2024 in an attempt to cut down on eye pokes and protecting fighters’ hands from injury but the plan backfired spectacularly.
Fighters often complained about the design, especially when it came to the fit and feel, and suddenly the number of knockouts plummeted (although there wasn’t a big enough sample size to truly blame the gloves). Less than a year after the new UFC gloves were introduced, the promotion pulled the plug and went back to the old design instead.
But
famed coach Trevor Wittman, who just led Justin Gaethje to becoming undisputed UFC lightweight champion, says the promotion reached out to him just recently about his almost universally beloved glove design.
“Hunter [Campbell] reached out to me three weeks ago, four weeks ago, and said he wanted to ignite the conversation again,” Wittman revealed on Joe Rogan’s podcast. “So we’ll see where that goes.”
When the UFC first introduced plans for the new glove design, Wittman’s name was mentioned frequently, especially by fighters who had actually practiced or competed in his gloves in the past. Wittman’s design combines form and function into one package with a curved glove that puts the fingers into a more naturel fist-like position, which immediately cuts down on the dreaded eye pokes.
Rogan put one of Wittman’s gloves on during the broadcast and he praised the veteran coach for his design while remaining dumbfounded how the UFC hadn’t already struck a deal with Wittman.
“This is so superior to the UFC gloves,” Rogan said. “The fact that this isn’t being used by the UFC right now is f*cking criminal.”
Wittman admitted that he had consulted with the UFC in the past about his gloves as well as the promotion’s plan to use a new design but they never reached a deal to just use what he had already created.
“They did the right thing and tried to make what we spoke about,” Wittman revealed. “We had an NDA and we had a five-year [agreement] and they moved it to a two-year. Took a lot of great notes and I’m grateful to be a part of those. Because they did go out there and use a lot of ideas that I had. But they just couldn’t do it to the level that I could do it.”
While the old UFC gloves have been back in action on a full-time basis since early 2025, the promotion obviously hasn’t given up on eventually trying a new design again.
Wittman is confident that once he sits down with the UFC this time around, they’ll come to some kind of an agreement to use the gloves he designed and that could be a gamechanger for athletes moving forward.
“We’re going to get it done,” Wittman said. “I stepped away from the business part. I’m the visionary now. I’ve got my people who know how to make deals. The UFC’s going to be happy.
“I take full responsibility that I didn’t know that you could do deals all these different ways.”
And while Dana White does not necessarily share Wittman’s confidence that a deal will get done now, speaking at the UFC Vegas 119 post-fight press conference, he gave his side on how things fell apart last time, an acknowledged that they’re going to try again.
“We’ve been talking to Trevor for years,” White said. “Rashad Evans, whom I love and respect, came to me and said, ‘Hey, listen. I’m invested in this thing, we think that we have a great product here, and I would love to introduce our glove that Trevor built.’ … So we looked at it all, and I literally told my finance team, ‘Get this deal done. I don’t care what it takes, get the deal done.’ They wanted like $100 million for the glove. How many f*cking gloves do you have to sell to make $100 million? It’s impossible. So the deal never happened. …
“That deal should have been done a few years ago. I wanted to do that for Rashad. So, we’ll see.”
