Nevada Athletic Commission just approved a change that Conor McGregor has said will help him score a first-round knockout on Floyd Mayweather

John Locher/AP

The Nevada Athletic Commission made a surprising vote to allow Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather to fight with 8 oz. gloves instead of 10, according to ESPN’s Dan Rafael.

The fight was previously supposed to feature 10 oz. gloves, but both Mayweather and McGregor said they’d like to use 8 oz.

As NAC executive director Bob Bennett said when the appeal was made, he can’t recall ever hearing of a request to use lighter gloves.

The ruling is unusual, as according to ESPN, Nevada rules state that fighters above 147 lb must wear 10 oz. gloves. Mayweather and McGregor will fight at 154 lb.

The change could be viewed as a win for McGregor, who had noted to Mayweather that he fights with 4 oz. gloves in UFC. McGregor had previously said that a lighter glove will help him knock out Mayweather in the first round.

“If we’re 8 ounces, I’m struggling to give him two rounds,” McGregor told reporters.

“The only reason I’ll maybe give him two rounds is because, in this game, the referee stops me from pounding his head into the canvas and he has 10 seconds to recover. That’s the only reason he might get to the second round.”

On Tuesday, McGregor’s trainer, John Kavanagh was asked about McGregor’s prediction and paused before agreeing.

“Yes, I do. Obviously Floyd is an incredibly accomplished boxer, fantastic defensive boxer, but … how many times have we seen it? [Conor] lands [a punch], people fall. And that’s just how it is. So, yeah, it could be a one-round fight.”

Of course, some believe that nothing will truly help McGregor, such is the disadvantage he’s facing in his first pro boxing match.

Nonetheless, the size of the gloves will be a point of focus during the fight, and Mayweather did say he would fight with them to give fans a better show.