Sean Strickland rips UFC’s new glove design: ‘How did you guys think this was a good idea?’

JERSEY CITY, NJ – Well, it turns out Sean Strickland not a fan of new UFC gloves.

The former UFC middleweight champion, who returns this Saturday against Paulo Costa in the co-main fight of UFC 302, criticized the new design of the UFC’s official gloves for what he considered inferior quality. Strickland (28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) prefers the previous design and made a point of letting the world know at UFC 302 media day on Wednesday.

“Yeah, they suck,” Strickland said in an impassioned speech. “I don’t know who – could we talk to the person who designed these gloves? Have you ever had a fight in your fucking life?

“It’s like you take these idiots who have no idea and they say, ‘Oh, that sounds like a good idea,’ and they get it. …How did you guys think this was a good idea? They are absolutely terrible. The UFC dropped the ball on that.”

Saturday’s event will be the first time the new glove design has been used. The promotion revamped the old design to address the many complaints that the old gloves made eye poking easier, which is obviously illegal in MMA.

Strickland doesn’t think the gloves are the problem and instead puts the blame on the fighters.

“What was the reasoning? Did they want to get people to stop poking people in the eyes? Well, they’re a little more sewn together,” Strickland said. “And man, at the end of the day, people get poked in the eyes because they open their fucking hands. Unless you put on a boxing glove, this shit won’t stop.

“It’s just people creating a problem we didn’t have. If you get cut because you got hit in the fucking head, don’t get hit in the fucking head, you won’t get cut. You get slapped in the eyes because you open your hands. Don’t open your hands, you won’t get poked in the eyes. It’s just people creating problems that don’t exist.”

For more information on the card, visit the MMA Junkie events hub to UFC 302.

This story originally appeared on MMA Junkie