Mma Fight News - Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

During several fights on the UFC, WEC and IFL the fighters involved unintentionally thumbed the other in the eye.  This is going to be a big problem unless a solution is found and quick!

Boxing also had suffered from these kinds of digital strikes to the oculars the rest of the glove making it improbable to stick out and stick it to their opponent.

Thumbs to the eye during a MMA fight can cause major damage like detached retinas and scratched corneas not to mention blurred vision. Getting poked in the eye may not always be the most painful of strikes but for a fighter it is more than just a minor nuisance. The battle could continue if there is no serious harm done but the combatant moves about the cage or ring with hesitance and in many cases, diminished vision which makes the playing field uneven, all other things being equal.

But unlike boxing, where grabbing the opponent is illegal, MMA fighters need to have full grip capacity. Try applying a Kamora without your thumb to wrap around. Impossible! Without the thumbs eliminates most JuJitsu and wrestling techniques.

So what to do?

Most fighters in the MMA keep their hands open in a defensive posture and close them at the last second upon the strike. Those that don't respond fast enough usually jab a finger or thumb in their opponent's face and subsequent eyeball. Their may be a solution though.

The gloves worn by Bruce Lee in the classic martial arts film that started the whole western craze for the genre - "Enter the Dragon" may hold the key. In the beginning of the film Bruce is fighting Samo Hung for the honor of his Temple. The kick, punch, throw and grapple their way through several minutes of combat. Bruce wins by the way.

And how does he defeat his opponent? No not just with Kung Fu/JKD. He gets Samo in an armbar and Samo submits.

One of the intriguing aspects to the fight are the gloves being worn. They look to be the size of hockey gloves with just as much padding.

These are over sized compared the ones used in today's MMA contest but perhaps incorporating slightly larger mitts that cover the fingers and thumbs would prevent inadvertent finger and thumbs being stuck in the eye and allow the fighters to go on unmolested. At least to the eyes.