'Guys would be a lot more conscious of it': Dana White's 2-word solution could change how UFC fighters approach eye pokes

UFC boss Dana White has shared his plan to stop eye pokes in fights. He says the organization needs “harder penalties.” White talked about this on the Triggernometry podcast. He said you can’t stop eye pokes completely, but tougher punishments would make fighters more careful. These eye pokes ruin great fights and mess up the flow of matches.

According to Give Me Sport, White wants to focus on penalties instead of changing equipment. The UFC has tried fixing this problem before. White said they tested different gloves and tried other solutions, but nothing worked well enough to solve the issue.

White explained why eye pokes happen so often in fights. They usually occur when one fighter throws punches while the other blocks with open hands and fingers stretched out. This leads to accidental eye contact when someone moves forward. White said there have been about 100 eye pokes across thousands of fights. But when it happens in a big fight, it can ruin the whole event.

Tom Aspinall’s injury shows why this rule change matters

The problem became clear earlier this year during Tom Aspinall’s fight. Aspinall hadn’t fought since 2024 and was facing Ciryl Gane. Gane’s fingers poked Aspinall in both eyes during the match. This damaged Aspinall’s vision right away. The referee had to stop the fight and call it a No Contest.

Aspinall is still injured from that incident. Nobody knows when he can start training, sparring, or fighting again. This delay is causing problems for the heavyweight division and the championship plans. The UFC continues working on improvements, including recent gameplay fixes and updates to their video game franchise. This is exactly why the UFC needs to fix this problem now.

White also talked about the backlash after the Aspinall-Gane fight. Fans booed Aspinall even though he was the victim. Some people said he “quit” the fight. White strongly disagreed with those critics. He said Aspinall took the criticism too hard, but he also slammed people judging from home.

White said people watching at home don’t understand what really happens. He pointed out that getting knocked out is different from an eye injury. You can recover from a knockout and get back to training. But eye injuries are much worse and take longer to heal. Fans have been discussing these rule changes heavily online, especially with UFC 6 gameplay details emerging recently.

White had suggested a rematch between Aspinall and Gane would make sense. But Aspinall’s injury is taking too long to heal. The UFC might need to change plans. Gane could fight someone else for the interim title instead, which would push back a fight with Aspinall.