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Bas Rutten says fighters would quickly stop poking eyes if it came with a financial punishment As a martial arts legend of the 1990s, Bas Rutten was competing at the highest level when mixed martial arts was very different to what it is today. The Dutch icon was famous for his ruthless striking and grappling techniques that helped him to become the UFC heavyweight champion in his second to last fight. Since UFC 321, there has been a conversation regarding how eye pokes can be prevented in MMA. Rutten, in an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow, agreed with Jim Miller’s stance that there needs to be a financial penalty to discourage fighters from extending their fingers forward. “Red card. Do what Pride Fighting Championships did. Ten percent of your pay gone, boom. Hurt them in the financial business. Watch, suddenly they have the rules. That’s the same with crime. You put heavy things on a crime, suddenly people don’t do it anymore… That’s the only way it works.” “Penalties and money should hurt somebody. Let’s face it, we all fight for money. Sure, we fight for glory, but eventually, you’d like to fight for money. We didn’t because we didn’t make any money all the way back then but still.”
