Did the UFC's New Gloves Reduce Knockouts? What Data Says

Quick answer

The UFC's redesigned gloves arrived with a sharp drop in knockouts, but that timing doesn't prove causation. Sherdog counted KO/TKO finishes in 22.6% of 252 bouts fought with the new gloves. The first 213 UFC bouts of 2024, using the old design, finished by KO/TKO at just under 32%. That gap deserves attention, yet the samples had different fighters, divisions, attacks and matchups. The safest answer is that knockouts fell with the UFC's new gloves, while the reason remains unresolved.

Data snapshot: The comparison covered 465 UFC bouts in 2024, including 213 before UFC 302 and 252 through UFC Fight Night 247. The reported KO/TKO rates were just under 32% and 22.6%.

What happened to knockouts with the UFC's new gloves?

The visible change was large: the redesigned gloves became mandatory at UFC 302 on June 1, 2024. Sherdog then compared that run with the first 213 UFC fights of the year.

ESPN reported a separate analysis by MMA data scientist Nate Latshaw. It compared old-glove fights from January 2023 through May 2024 with the five-month new-glove run. ESPN described the result as an 8.5% drop-off in knockout rates.

The comparisons use different old-glove windows, so you shouldn't blend them into one estimate, though both point in the same direction.

That is a signal. It isn't a verdict.

What changed in the redesigned UFC gloves?

The UFC introduced the 3Eight and gold 5Eight gloves to improve fit and reduce eye pokes and hand injuries. AP reported several physical changes:

• Padding aimed to hold the fingers in a more natural position.
• Finger binding was removed to cut bulk and exposed seams.
• Seams moved to the palm side below the fingers.
• Ten unisex sizes replaced separate male and female sizing.
• Each glove weighed 3 to 4.9 ounces, 1 to 1.5 ounces less than the prior design.

The stated goal wasn't fewer knockouts, as the UFC presented the glove as a safety and function update. Its Performance Institute counted an eye poke that disrupted action once every 14 fights, with about a 50-second delay.

Dustin Poirier and Islam Makhachev gave opposite early reviews before UFC 302. Poirier found the glove comfortable and easier to close. He also wondered whether its less-dense padding might cause more cuts. Makhachev disliked the feel and said opening his fingers was harder.

Their title fight supplied a useful warning about single examples. Makhachev submitted Poirier in round five, but one result tells you nothing about the design's knockout effect.

Why doesn't the drop prove the gloves caused it?

A before-and-after chart can spot a change, but it can't isolate the cause on its own.

The matchup mix changed

The UFC didn't assign old and new gloves randomly within the same fight card. Every sampled bout from UFC 302 through Fight Night 247 entered the new group. That means the fighters, weight classes and matchmaking changed too.

A different balance of divisions or striker-heavy matchups can move the total rate without a glove effect. Short-notice matchups and athlete quality add more uncontrolled differences.

KO/TKO includes attacks that don't use the glove

Latshaw gave ESPN the clearest warning: his count included knockdowns and finishes from kicks, knees and elbows.

A glove can't directly change the force of a head kick, so those finishes can move the headline KO/TKO rate. A cleaner test would separate punch knockouts from every other stoppage.

The new-glove window was short

The Sherdog sample had 252 bouts across about five months, producing a visible nine-point descriptive gap. It is still small for splitting results by division, strike type, round and betting price.

Rare clusters happen, and a few knockout-heavy cards can shift a short sample fast.

Fighters knew which glove they wore

This was not a blinded equipment trial, and fighters trained in the new design before discussing its fit. Any measured effect could mix the glove's materials with comfort, confidence and adaptation time.

That doesn't make the data useless, but it changes the claim you can make.

Does glove science explain the lower knockout rate?

Lab evidence shows that glove construction can change impact, but it doesn't settle this UFC comparison.

Benjamin Lee and Stuart McGill tested one 4-ounce MMA glove against one 16-ounce boxing glove. They mounted the gloves on a molded fist and ran 10,000 controlled impacts over five hours. The MMA glove produced four to five times the peak force and a five-times-faster loading rate.

The MMA glove also changed with wear: peak force rose 35%, while loading rate rose 60% during the test.

Those results show that padding, thickness and material condition matter. They don't compare the UFC's old and redesigned gloves or use human punchers, moving heads or live fights.

You can't use that paper to explain the 22.6% figure, though it makes a glove effect physically plausible.

Why did the UFC return to its old gloves?

The UFC brought back the prior design at UFC 309 in November 2024. Dana White publicly pointed to fighter complaints, not knockout data. Sherdog reported that he called the switch permanent at the time.

Fan debate doesn't change that distinction: the falling knockout rate wasn't confirmed as the reason for the reversal.

The rollout then became messy, and MMA Fighting reported that the old gloves returned full-time in early 2025.

The subject reopened in June 2026. Coach Trevor Wittman said UFC executive Hunter Campbell had contacted him about restarting talks over Wittman's curved glove. White confirmed that the sides had discussed that design before and could talk again, but no adoption was confirmed.

As of August 11, 2026, the old UFC gloves remain the active design. Makhachev is now the welterweight champion and is booked to defend against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330. That fight should not be treated as a glove experiment.

How should analysts use glove type in a UFC model?

Don't assign a fixed knockout penalty from the 2024 split because the sample doesn't support that precision.

A better test would label every bout by glove design, then record the exact finishing strike. It should also control for weight class, sex, scheduled rounds, pre-fight odds and each fighter's prior knockout history. Card-level effects matter because several bouts share the same venue and date.

You would then test the model on later fights it never saw during training. Calibration matters more than finding a dramatic coefficient in the original sample.

Until that work exists, glove type is a possible context flag, not a pick by itself. A model should still account for style, opponent quality and price before treating glove type as useful.

How solid is this data?

The core count comes from a public Sherdog report covering 465 UFC bouts in 2024. ESPN's separate comparison supports the direction of the change, but uses a longer old-glove period. UFC and AP sources document the design, launch date and fighter reactions.

The main weakness is classification. Public KO/TKO totals combine punches with kicks, knees, elbows and some ground finishes. Neither comparison controls for division or matchup quality in the published headline figures.

The design lasted only months, leaving temporal confounding, changing matchup composition and limited subgroup sizes. The lab paper tests different glove categories, not the two UFC models.

The evidence supports one narrow statement: knockouts fell during the redesigned-glove period, but it doesn't show why.

FAQ

Did the UFC's new gloves reduce knockouts?

The knockout rate fell after the new gloves debuted, from just under 32% to 22.6% in one 465-bout comparison. The before-and-after data cannot prove the gloves caused that drop because the fights, divisions and finishing attacks also changed.

When did the UFC introduce the new gloves?

The redesigned UFC gloves became mandatory at UFC 302 on June 1, 2024. The promotion returned to its previous design at UFC 309 in November 2024, then restored the old gloves full-time in early 2025.

Why did the UFC switch back to the old gloves?

Dana White said fighters had complained about the redesigned gloves and were unhappy with them. He did not confirm that the lower knockout rate caused the switch, so that explanation remains speculation.

How much did the redesigned UFC gloves weigh?

The redesigned gloves weighed between 3 and 4.9 ounces. AP reported that they were 1 to 1.5 ounces lighter than the prior UFC design and came in ten unisex sizes.

Is the UFC planning another glove change?

The UFC had not announced another change by August 11, 2026. Trevor Wittman said the promotion reopened talks about his curved glove design in June 2026, but no deal or rollout was confirmed.