Report: Fighters to wear old gloves at UFC 309

The UFC informed fighters scheduled to compete at UFC 309 on Saturday that they'll use the old style of gloves instead of the new style introduced earlier this year, sources told Uncrowned's Ariel Helwani.

The promotion unveiled a new glove design in April that aimed to reduce cuts and abrasions, eye pokes, and hand injuries. Fighters wore the gloves for the first time at UFC 302 in June, and have been using them since.

It's unclear why the UFC decided to go back to the old design for UFC 309, according to Helwani.

A few athletes were critical of the new gloves when they first launched, including lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and former middleweight champ Sean Strickland.

"They absolutely suck," Strickland said before his UFC 302 fight. "UFC, you dropped the ball on that one."

Some pundits have speculated that the new gloves have led to a decrease in knockouts, though there isn't enough data to prove whether or not that's the case.

Jon Jones returns to defend the heavyweight title for the first time against Stipe Miocic in the UFC 309 main event.