UFC Quick Quote: It's ‘nonsense' that eye pokes aren't treated like low blows in MMA

"I think that is all nonsense. You're not going to put fingers over the gloves. That's just ridiculous. Eye pokes are mostly isolated. It doesn't really happen that often, and nobody's lost their eyeball. I never think about getting poked in the eye when I'm fighting. I'm not, 'I hope I don't get poked in the eye by this guy', [laughs]. One thing I think they should do, though, and I said this on Twitter ... eyes are just as sensitive as balls. You should get five minutes with an eye poke, to see if you can get your vision to clear up. Villante should have gotten some time after he got poked in the eye. You see a black spot for a little bit, but if you're given five minutes, you can probably recover. Don't take the fight away from him without giving him the five minutes. That's nonsense. You should get as much time for eye pokes as you do for kicks to the balls."

-- Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight Jason High talks to Stephanie Daniels of Bloody Elbow about one of the hot topics in mixed martial arts (MMA) as of late -- eye pokes. The subject has picked up a tremendous amount of traction in recent weeks after two bouts at UFC 159 (Gian Villante vs. Ovince St. Preux, Michael Bisping vs. Alan Belcher) ended in unfortunate fashion due to accidental eye pokes. Since then, a debate has sparked regarding what can possibly be done to solve the problem. Some have suggested a complete overhaul of the way MMA gloves are built, UFC President Dana White has said there is no solution to the issue, but High seems to believe a simply change to the rules would benefit all competitors. "The Kansas City Bandit" feels fighters should be given a five-minute recovery period after an accidental eye poke, much like the recovery period given for an accidental low blow. Do you agree?