It seems that a lot of past and present MMA fighters are eager to solve the problem of eye-pokes in the sport, and unsurprisingly Michael Bisping is one of them, given that he lost an eye due to damage he suffered during a fight in the Octagon.
There’s often been talk that changing the design of the fighters gloves could help alleviate the problem, but in recent days the feedback from some stars is that stricter punishments for the person doing the poke is the way to go.
The leading suggestion, pushed by the likes of Jim Miller and Belal Muhammad, is for a point to be deducted immediately if a fighter pokes someone in the eye, regardless of whether it was deliberate or not, but Bisping’s idea takes that a step further.
“Going forward there needs to be a change because, as I said, almost every event there’s been eye pokes. Accidental, intentional, unintentional, whatever you want to call it, they happen,” Bisping said on YouTube. “The rule right now is, because we have the fingers out the fingerless gloves, the rule is we have to have the fingers up. I hate that rule. It’s stupid.
“When you’re on your feet, you have to have a closed fist. Simple as that. Not tight, not squeezed, not clinched, but the fingers bent in an almost fishlike kind of shape.
“Maybe if you’re throwing a kick, because when you throw a kick a lot of people the arm comes down to accentuate, then you can open the fist a little bit. When you’re parrying a jab, or a straight right, you can open the fist. But if you’re not engaging, you have to be like this (hands closed). And of course, if you’re throwing a punch, you have to have your fist closed.
“If you don’t, the referee straight away, without stopping them, says, ‘Hey, fingers. Fingers,’ so they know to close them a little bit. If they continue to do it, they say, ‘One more time, I’m going to take a point.’ And if they continue doing this, you stop the fight. They say, ‘You have been warned on multiple occasions, you are losing a point.’ Simple as that. If they do poke them in the eye, they take a point regardless whether or not it was intentional or unintentional. It doesn’t matter.
“Sometimes, accidentally, they do happen, but we need to be responsible for our weapons. And if we know that if one happens we’re going to lose a point, and in a three-round fight, that is massively impactful. If that happens, there’s going to be a lot less eye pokes.
“And if someone accidentally pokes someone in the eye and it wasn’t intentional, well, hard lines, so what? Who cares? The sport will improve. Less fights will get cancelled. There will be less injuries, and situations like this will not occur. And I guarantee most fighters would be on board with this.
“The Worldwide Athletic Commission should all say, ”Right, that’s it’ going forward to hopefully eradicate eye pokes. We’ve just got to make a fist. It is the most simple fix in the world.”
It’s good to see so many high-profile stars speaking out on the situation, and hopefully that will lead to some kind of change in the near future that can help ensure that there’s less risk of another fighter suffering a serious injury like Bisping.
