Following last weekend’s controversial ending to the main event, many fighters have commented on how to prevent eye pocks and why they are so normalised.
Jim Miller, a UFC veteran who has amassed 58 MMA fights in his career took to X to explain why eye pocks and so common and how they can be prevented.
Miller said “It’s not the gloves, it’s the culture. The shameless, win-at-all-costs mentality amongst fighters and the “eye pokes are an accident and not a foul” mentality most people seem to have.”
Amongst many other former and current fighters, such as Rampage Jackson who frequently talks about eye pokes on his podcast, Miller believes harsher punishments should be put in place for eye poking.
Miller has a solution: “Penalize the foul immediately during the pause in action after confirming a strike or post was thrown with outstretched fingers. I believe not only a point deduction but also a purse deduction would have a rapid effect on how many pokes we see.”
Miller, in his 45 UFC bouts has never committed a single eye poke but has been eye poked twice himself, which he claimed has caused “permanent damage to his vision.”
Miller went on this eye-poke rant following Henry Cejudo’s coming out on social media to reveal that he suffered diplopia, soft tissue damage and corneal abrasion, following abuse from fans for supposedly quitting in his technical decision loss to Song Yadong.
Jim Miller clarified that not all eye pokes are done with malice and that “doesn’t mean that all pokes are intentional. A vast majority seem to come from a passivity or a lack of aggression. Trying to create space or avoid being hit or clinched. Penalizing them would make a huge impact.”
Miller is scheduled to fight Chase Hooper at UFC 314, lets hope for his sake he has not jinxed himself and will not commit an accidental eye poke!
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