I am talking about eyepokes.
You are right - accidental eyepokes has always happened, and it has never been a major problem. Then Jones started doing it on purpose (he admitted to that). In every fight. Repeatedly. And boom - they made the new rule. Yes, they did not come out and say it was because of Jones, so if one wants, one can say it has nothing to do with him.
However, they did not say they changed rules about nut shots because of Hackney, but it happened pretty fast after that fight.
They did not say Tank was the reason for new rules about throwing opponents out the octagon, but the rule change happened quickly after he tried to do it.
The fact is - Jones was gaming the system, and as he lack morals of any sort, he saw a loophole that allowed him to poke his opponents eyes out repeatedly. Even with the new gloves. I don't remember what fight, but Jon got like 5+ warnings for outstretched fingers. How the hell do you get 5+ warnings, and no point deduction?