The controversial eye poke stoppage between Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong has ignited a larger debate in the UFC community about handling fouls inside the cage.
Cejudo was stripped of the opportunity to break a two-fight losing streak when Yadong extended his fingers into both eyes during a fighting exchange. The former double-champ was denied a point deduction and took five minutes before fighting on to the fourth round.
The fight was sent to the scorecards after Cejudo admitted he couldn’t see. Yadong won on points, but it sparked a discussion on whether the rules were more of a suggestion than something being enforced.
Fortunately for fans, 45-fight UFC veteran Jim Miller has weighed in on the debate.
‘It’s the culture’ … Jim Miller calls for pay cuts for flagrant fouling in UFC fights
Taking to X on February 24, MMA veteran Jim Miller gave his honest opinion on how to deal with mid-fight fouls. Some might consider his solution as extreme.
“It’s not the gloves, it’s the culture,” Miller wrote. “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.
“. . . 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.”
As a veteran of 45 UFC fights, Miller believes his experience lends some credibility to his claims.
“I’ve come to these conclusions after being taped into those gloves 45 times, totaling over 7 hours inside the Octagon, landing over 1200 significant strikes (none of which were thrown with extended fingers)…”
Michael Bisping calls for harsher penalties in the UFC
Sharing a sentiment similar to Miller’s is former middleweight champion Michael Bisping. ‘The Count’ notoriously fought with one eye for a good portion of his career, winning a championship. Bisping also weighed in on the Cejudo-Yadong fiasco by calling for harsher penalties.
“Number one, I think we should have seen a point deduction,” Bisping remarked on his YouTube channel. “. . . People need to know there’s f—— consequence, eye pokes are terrible, you know all about my history with the eyes, eye pokes are bad.”
A point deduction against Yadong would have scored the fight a majority draw. This might have justified a rematch, but UFC CEO Dana White is against seeing Cejudo-Yadong again. Referees should stop giving athletes multiple ‘final warnings’ if reform is needed and begin taking points after the first final warning.