Eye pokes are all the rage in the UFC right now.
Last month at UFC 321, we saw a heavyweight title fight end in a no-contest after a double eye poke from Ciryl Gane left the champion Tom Aspinall unable to continue.
In the co-main event of UFC Vegas 110, Aspinall’s training partner Ante Delija celebrated like he won after he poked opponent Waldo Cortes-Acosta in the eye.
Cortes-Acosta fought through the injury and got the win by knocking out Delija seconds after the fight restarted.
Jon Jones, arguably the greatest fighter of all time, poked his opponents in the eyes multiple times throughout his legendary UFC career.
One of his former foes recalls swatting Jones’ extended fingers like they were flies.
- READ MORE: Jon Jones trolls Tom Aspinall by riding a specially dressed horse to the DBX4 weigh-ins
Rampage Jackson complained to referee about Jon Jones’ eye pokes
Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson fought Jones almost 15 years ago at UFC 135.
The UFC light heavyweight title was on the line, but it was no ordinary title fight for the former champ Jackson, who endured his fair share of eye pokes from Jones across four rounds.
“I got poked in the eye in a championship fight against Jon Jones several times,” Jackson recalled on the Jaxxon Podcast.
“He kept his fingers in my eye when I was, like, swatting away like flies,” Jackson added.
“[I was] even looking at the referee, begging him to ask Jon to keep his fingers out of my eyes…
“Right there during the fight.
“And I never break character in the fight and talk to the ref.
Jackson continued.
“I knew Jon Jones was gonna poke me in the eyes. I just knew it, but I still fought. I kept going. It’s a championship fight.”
“My eye was f—– up, but I didn’t want Jon Jones to know that my eye was f—– up,” said Jackson.
Jackson ultimately lost to Jones via fourth-round submission (rear-naked choke).
Jon Jones never fought in the new UFC gloves
Last year, the UFC introduced an all-new glove design.
The gloves made their debut at UFC 302, but they wouldn’t stick around for long.
It wasn’t until UFC 309 last November that the UFC ultimately decided to go back to their old glove design after hearing complaints from their fighters.
Jon Jones headlined the card and the former two-division champion apparently didn’t like the new gloves either, which could have prompted the UFC’s decision to do away with them entirely.