Author: Dan Hiergesell

The new UFC gloves are officially gone. Like, forever.

UFC CEO, Dana White, announced the permanent move back in Nov. 2024 in the lead up to UFC 309 in New York City, but the promotion has still been using the newer gloves for Fight Night events. The older gloves have been utilized for pay-per-view (PPV) events only.

The promotion has simply been doing what it can to produce more knockouts.

On Saturday, UFC commentator John Gooden announced at the start of UFC Vegas 102’s broadcast that the promotion is done using the new gloves for all events. This includes UFC Vegas 102, which is being headlined by a middleweight clash between Jared Cannonier and Gregory Rodrigues. You can follow along HERE.

This change means different things depending who you are. For fight fans, this permanent move back to the older gloves is likely to lead to more knockouts, but also more pesky eye pokes that disrupt even the most important fights. For the fighters, this should lead to a higher knockout rate for those looking to strike, but it will lead to more of the aforementioned eye pokes and leave their hands less protected.

Check out some of the immediate reaction below and let us know what you think of UFC going back to the older gloves for good!

“You should all be thanking Jon Jones.”

“RIP new gloves that did nothing to limit eye pokes.”

“This was made clear early on by a ton of fighters.”

“What a fiasco.”

“Great news! We need more good fights.”

“I was digging the gold ones for the champions.”

“It was fun while it lasted.”

“Yea the new ones were not it.”

Valter Walker scored another impressive heel hook finish earlier tonight (Sat., Feb. 15, 2025) at UFC Vegas 102 LIVE on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, stopping heavyweight veteran Don’Tale Mayes in just 77 seconds.

Walker, who is the brother of UFC light heavyweight Johnny Walker, was 1-1 in UFC entering this weekend and really needed to prove he’s the real deal for a division desperate for fresh blood. Luckily, Walker was riding some momentum after stopping Junior Tafa with a heel hook submission his last time out at UFC 305 back in Aug. 2024.

Mayes isn’t considered a good grappler in the heavyweight division and for good reason. It took Walker little to no time to get inside along the fence and drag Mayes to the canvas. From there, “Clean Monster” worked from the top and eventually timed a slick transition to a heel hook. Mayes fought for a few moments before Walker reapplied the submission and forced the tap.

Check out the finish in the above video player.

Walker, 27, now has two-straight heel hook finishes inside of the Octagon and is proving to be a real force this early into his UFC stint. Considering Mayes was ranked No. 15 in the heavyweight division it wouldn’t e surprising to see Walker get another top 15 opponent or even a shot at the top 10 his next time out.

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For complete UFC Vegas 102 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title challenger Darren Till will make his return to the boxing ring at Misfits Boxing 21 on March 29 from inside AO Arena in Manchester, England, as “Gorilla” meets former UFC middleweight fighter Darren Stewart on the undercard for the KSI vs. Dillon Danis main event.

Till, who parted ways with UFC back in early 2023, made his professional boxing debut this past January with a blistering TKO stoppage over combat veteran Anthony Taylor at Misfits Boxing 20. It was originally supposed to be Till vs. Tommy Fury, but Fury pulled out after threats of a Till head kick. It was bizarre to say the least, yet Till still cashed in against Taylor in dramatic fashion.

While fans would have liked to see Till vs. Fury re-booked and witness that drama unfold, Till will now face another former UFC fighter and try to build on his new career. Misfits Boxing announced the booking on its social media account earlier Saturday.

While most will be watching to see how Till does in his second trip to the ring, this is a tremendous opportunity for Stewart. The 34-year-old veteran retired from MMA last year citing financial difficulties as the main reason. “The Dentist” now gets a second chance to put his good striking to use and make a nice payday in the process.

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Stick with Mania for more Misfits Boxing 21 fight card news

Gregory Rodrigues didn’t pull any punches in his preparation for Jared Cannonier later tonight (Sat., Feb. 15, 2025) at UFC Vegas 102 LIVE on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. “Robocop” went as far as hanging photos of Cannonier all over his house so he familiarizes himself with his future foe.

While most fighters wouldn’t want to see their opponent’s face plastered in multiple rooms at their own home, Rodrigues felt the need to remind himself who he’s fighting. It’s an important step for “Robocop” as he tries to build off a recent three-fight win streak and crack into the UFC middleweight top 15 with a win over “Killa Gorilla” on Saturday night.

“I aim to become UFC champion, to fight for the belt,” Rodrigues told MMA Fighting. “This fight will put me in an excellent position to call someone out. I already have a name in mind, but Cannonier first. I have pictures of him all over my house. That’s my target now. It’s Robocop-style. As soon as I put him down, I’ll aim at the next one and continue my journey towards the belt.”

Believe it or not, this fight camp wouldn’t be the first time that Rodrigues has hung pictures of his opponent around his house. One of “Robocop’s” close friends presented him with the idea prior to his fight against Brad Tavares back in Feb. 2024 (highlights HERE). Rodrigues adopted the pre-fight ritual and has been doing it ever since, hoping it leads to another win against an even more dangerous opponent.

“I have photos in my living room, at the door when I leave, in the bathroom,” Rodrigues explained. “There are photos in rooms I go the most, except for my daughter’s bedroom and mine. The rest of the house, it’s everywhere. I have nothing against him, brother, but he’s the one standing in front of me and he must be stopped. I like to stare are him. Not to familiarize with him, but to make it common. I’ve seen this guy already. I know who I’m fighting. It’s hard to fight someone you don’t know.”

Rodrigues, 32, is 7-2 overall since his Octagon debut back in 2021. His only missteps came in the form of a split decision loss to Armen Petrosyan in 2022 and a vicious knockout defeat to Bruno Silva back in 2023. “Robocop” will easily crack the top 15 with a win over Cannonier at UFC Vegas 102 and has the all-around skill set to make a fun run at contention here in 2025.

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 102 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 7 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 102: “Cannonier vs. Robo Cop” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

The tattered UFC Seattle fight card just received a little bit of help courtesy of an undefeated Contender Series standout.

Fight fans were left shaking their heads more than once the past two weeks after a slew of cancelations ripped through the upcoming UFC fight card in Seattle, Wa., which is set to go down on Feb. 22 live on ESPN+ from inside Climate Pledge Arena. The event will be headlined by the return of Henry Cejudo as the former UFC double champion takes on perennial bantamweight contender Song Yadong.

The first hit suffered by the UFC Seattle card was an injury to former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, who in turn announced his retirement from fighting and withdrew from his bout with Rob Font. Next, UFC officials decided to pull a heavyweight clash between ranked contender Curtis Blaydes and Octagon newcomer Rizvan Kuniev from UFC Seattle and moved it over to UFC 313 this coming March.

Unfortunately, the hits kept coming. Featherweight veteran Edson Barboza was eventually forced to withdraw from his fight with surging knockout artist Steve Garcia. Not to mention a scrapped women’s bantamweight contest between Ketlen Vieira and Macy Chiasson. It seemed like the UFC Seattle was doomed from the start.

Luckily, next weekend’s “Rain City” card has finally received some good news. According to a report by MMA Junkie, undefeated bantamweight prospect Jean Matsumoto will step up on short notice to fight Font in a 140-pound catchweight affair. Matsumoto was already scheduled to compete at UFC 313 against Chris Gutierrez. It’s a bigger opportunity for the former Contender Series star considering Font is a bigger name in the division, but he’ll have less time to prepare for a new opponent.

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For more UFC Seattle fight card news and coverage click HERE.

A welterweight clash between former UFC title challenger Colby Covington and former Ultimate Fighter (TUF) winner Michael Chiesa could be in the works later this year. That’s if Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen ultimately get their wish.

In case you missed it, TUF is returning for a 33rd season as Cormier and Sonnen have been selected to be opposing head coaches. Being that both fighters have been retied from fighting for a fairly long time they will not be settling their beef inside of the cage at the end of the season like most rival TUF coaches do.

Instead, Cormier and Sonnen are hoping that two active UFC welterweights will do their bidding for them. With Covington helping Sonnen coach his team and Chiesa helping Cormier coach his team, the two UFC legends feel like it’s only right that “Chaos” and “Maverick” square off at the end of the season to represent both squads.

“We aren’t fighting, I don’t want to fight anybody…but Chael and I came up with an idea,” Cormier explained during the TUF 33 pre-season press conference earlier this week. “So Chael and I are talking. I have Michael Chiesa on my coaching staff, Chael has Colby Covington on his coaching staff. Why don’t they just fight and Chael and I coach them? That’s about as close as we both would get to being in the Octagon.

“Why don’t those dudes just fight each other?”

Sonnen, who has coached TUF before, echoed the same sentiment. The outspoken combat veteran believes that a matchup between Covington and Chiesa is the only logical solution at this time. Do you agree?

“To back Daniel up, I can’t believe nobody is suggesting that, that’s the obvious fight,” he said. “I don’t think Colby and Chiesa are going to get through this process without finding one another.”