The issue of fighter safety has been, and will always be, one of the main talking points in MMA, and with the tragic death of Joao Carvalho in Dublin last month we have heard from many sources different ideas as to what needs to happen to bring the sport forward.
One of those suggestions was that the gloves worn by fighters in combat should be bigger, like in boxing, but aside from that making grappling, a key aspect of the sport, almost impossible, Joe Rogan believes that MMA gloves help prevent against "teeing off" on an opponent as you must take greater care with your shots for fear of damaging your hand.
Furthermore, Rogan revealed that he believes that no gloves, and no wrist taping is the "answer" for the sport.
While Rogan's points do make factual sense, there was very little consideration given to the downside of making such a rule-change. Firstly, pretty much every single fight would be ended due to a cut, as the exposure of the face to strikes from a bare fist would be extremely susceptible.
Then there is the long-term damage that would be done to the fighters' hands, as while they would be more careful with the shots they throw, the ones that land would still do lasting damage to the hand, and wrist.
It is also never going to happen in the UFC, as with the organisation clearly making a great effort to break into mainstream sports media coverage worldwide, the idea of "bare-knuckle boxing" would likely be chastised by those who already look down upon the sport.
Nevertheless, it was an interesting discussion and did prove to further dispell the idea that MMA fighters should wear boxing gloves.
Rogan was speaking with Steve Maxwell on episode 790 of his 'Joe Rogan Experience' podcast, which you can watch in full here:
