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MMA Clothing: Affliction T-shirts

Since around 2005, the California-based Affliction clothing has been seen on many celebrities, particularly mixed martial arts athletes. The design is easily recognizable on fighters such as Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Josh Barnett, Fedor Emelianenko and Georges St-Pierre. Outside the mma community, Ozzy Osbourne and other musicians wear Affliction as well. To put it simply, this mma clothing is very very fashionable today.

Check out the pictures for Affliction designs. Note the dark images that are intriguing and just simply need to be on your back. It is best to judge for yourself if you want such evocative imagery on your person. You’ll just either know if you have the compulsion to wear the shirts or not. If you do feel compelled enough, you may order from their site: http://www.afflictionclothing.com/

mma clothing: Affliction shirt with typical dark, gothic imagery.

mma clothing: Affliction shirt for Chuck Liddell with typical dark, gothic imagery.

mma clothing: Affliction shirt for Fedor Emelianenko with typical dark, gothic imagery.

For those who train martial arts like mma, jiu-jitsu or muay thai, seeing so many other people wear a Georges St-Pierre Affliction shirt may be a bit disconcerting. Keep in mind though, that Affliction heavily supports the sport of mma especially by having had a recent event with Fedor Emelianenko going against Tim Sylvia for somthing called the World Association of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) heavyweight title in the main event. The company needs much capital to put up a big event like that. Though a lot of people train mma or mma-related disciplines, that’s not enough of a market for Affliction to make money. The company needs to market to the whole 18-to-40-year-old age group. So the next time you see an overweight person, who probably has not done a sit-up in 10 years, wearing mma clothing like Afflcition, keep in mind that that person contributed to Affliciton and therefore contributed to the sport of mma.

Like other known clothing lines with terrific designs, Affliction mma clothing costs a bunch. Can you imagine spending between 60 and 90 US dollars on a T-shirt? Of course, if looking cool at a party is that important then the Affliction shirts are very much worth that much of your money. It must be noted though, that due to its popularity, you are definitely not going to be the only one who thinks they’ll look cool going out wearing Affliction.

Affliction also has jackets, polos and jeans with designs similar to the shirts. However, they are also the expensive kind. So if the price is more important to you that the design or the need to wear mma-related clothing, stick to the clothing you’ll commonly find at stores like Sears or Target.

MMA Gear: Melee FightGear Ranked No-Gi Shorts

This site has previously given a favorable review to another brand of mixed martial arts board shorts with belt rank over here. There are many others out there, likely influenced by UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn’s custom fight shorts with a black belt. One such brand is Melee Fightgear Ranked No-Gi Shorts.

According to the Melee Fightgear website which also sells other mma gear and clothing, their Ranked No-Gi shorts are double stiched, have “stretch microfiber crotch and side panels” (as opposed to spandex), dual split sides. velcro fasteners and elastic waistband with drawstring. The dual split sides and elastic waistband make these shorts easy to put on or remove. The shorts are comfortable and appear to be made of material that is lighter than other brands. Following multiple training sessions, the pair of shorts this reviewer purchased proved durable and breathable.

mma gear: Melee Fightgear 10th Planet Shorts

The design on the fight shorts is embroidered. This makes this piece of mma clothing look great. The design includes the 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu logo on the lower portion of the right pant leg, “Melee” spelled down the left side and “10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu” on the right side. (For those who may not know, 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu is Eddie Bravo’s bjj academy in Hollywood, California.) Custom designs will also be embroidered although pricing may be different.

Speaking of price, that seems to be where Melee does not have an advantage. At a whopping US $53, their Ranked No-Gi Shorts are competitive with the other top brands in the market, but are much more expensive than those from Ouano or OTM (On The Mat). With recent economic news such as the one about subprime mortgages tends to make consumers think more about cost rather than quality.

Melee shorts are a lot better as grappling or mma gear than other brands out there. But more than $50 for a pair? I could have purchased a slightly inferior but still great brand at a far less expensive cost. Admittedly however, their mma shorts are very, very cool and are really eyecatching.

MMA Clothing: NoGi Industries

No-gi industries is an action sports clothing company that is owned and operated by mixed martial arts veteran Chris “The Westside Strangler” Brennan.  It is not necessarily an mma clothing company, but has sponsored some mixed martial arts fighters in the past and continues to do so.  This company has no relation to the No-gi company out of Brazil who specialize in mma clothing.  No-gi industries has a variety of t-shirts and other accessories including kids apparel, available of at their own company website or other websites specializing in the mma clothing.  No-gi offers 7 separate designs of t-shirts for the adults and 5 different designs for kids.  With the most expensive shirt only costing $17.99 and the rest of the adult t-shirts at $9.99, the kids t-shirts are valued at $8.00.  I was fortunate to get a couple of their t-shirts with designs that are no longer available through the company website, but can still be found through other websites.  Also a couple of other t-shirts still available through the company website.

The main thing that caught my attention with No-gi was their simple design on all their clothing.  This is what makes these t-shirts different from other companies associated with mixed martial arts. Usually a simple “No-gi” is written somewhere in the front of the t-shirt in some simple lettering that still draws the attention to the casual on-looker but not their complete attention.  The No-gi logo at times also appears somewhere on the t-shirt if it’s not the main character in the middle.  The logo is sometimes located in the lower back of the t-shirt off to one side.  These simple designs aren’t for some people but for this author it was perfect.  The t-shirts are of great quality made of 100% ring-spun cotton. 

No-gi also has some great board shorts available. As I own a pair of their board shorts, and have had them for over two years.  They are also a very comfortable pair of board shorts, but the only draw back that I see is that they are a little loose around the waist even though I ordered my size.  They are made of great quality and have not ripped or frayed in the two years I’ve had them. I’ve used these shorts to train, swim and just lounge around. These shorts can also be seen being worn by the likes of Hermes Franca, Jeff Monson and of course Chris Brennan. Here are some pics of the new line of board shorts they have.

The No-gi website has gone through some changes throughout the years but they still have a good selection of clothing, and as mentioned before their apparel is also available through other mixed martial arts websites. 

MMA Clothing: Tap Out Board Shorts Review

Alright check out these shorts with a camo design that you can buy at your usual place for mma clothing.

mma clothing: tap out shorts

If they look familiar its likely because Tap Out shorts are seen on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and other mixed martial arts organizations. Tap Out sponsors several well-known fighters including Keith Jardine, Stephan Bonnar, Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes and even Kimbo Slice. They of course, wear this mma clothing inside the octagon (and probably outside as well). Wearing Tap Out mma clothing then allows fans to identify with their favorite mixed martial artists, particularly those mentioned.

The particular shorts in the photo may be very familiar to certain people. Yes, former welterweight champion Matt Hughes wears camo shorts in the UFC but it’s not exactly the one in the photo. If you’ve ever wanted to purchase Tap Out shorts for mma training or just for everyday mma-related clothing, you may have come across the camo design. Why? Because all the other cooler and louder color schemes are usually sold out or sized out. (No research was done there; just my personal experience when shopping for mma clothing so please do not quote me on that.) So if you’re not one to go for loud designs and are okay with camo design the shorts in the photo can be an option for mma, bjj and submission wrestling training or even everyday wear. Keep in mind though, that mma shorts do not have pockets if you decide to use them outside the mats. Oh yes, for kickboxers you can conveniently perform a high kick while wearing the shorts to Muay Thai class. (Convenient that is, if you are flexible enough. Wearing the shorts does not guarantee easy high kicks, low kicks or submissions despite the name.)

Tap Out shorts like the one above are among the more expensive type of mma clothing with prices ranging from under US $40 to over $60. In this reviewer’s personal experience, the board shorts are durable enough after nearly a year of constant use (at least once a week). The laces can be hidden and are of high quality. They are not the kind to loosen up into shreds after numerous training sessions and washings. Are they worth the amount of money you would give up to purchase a new pair of mma shorts? It depends on how big US $40 is for you to drop on a pair of board shorts. One advantage is your kimura defense improves. Hell if you’re going to hold on to $40 mma clothing to prevent a chickenwing lock on your arm during mma sparring. You’ll think of a another escape or better, avoiding the guard pass that makes that submission possible altogether.  Still, they definitely make a good gift as clothing or gear for an mma fan, athlete or weekend warrior.

MMA Clothing: A Review of the Knoxx Gear Hoody

I have a Knoxx Gear hoody that I bought at the mixed martial arts clothing area of a gym in Northern California. It’s supposedly 100% knit cotton but this reviewer is not that kind of person who can tell the material in clothing. This one hoody cost $49.99 (plus tax) making it slightly less pricey than more popular brands and just about as expensive as other mma clothing.

MMA clothing: Knoxx hoody

The hoody itself is black/ dark blue with a white Knoxx logo on the chest and left forearm. I’ve placed this article of clothing in the washing machine and dryer and it still looks pretty good afterwards.

There is nothing particularly special (good or bad) about the hoody. It keeps you warm at night (in the western United States anyway) and that’s about it. Buying mma clothing is not about practicality of course (considering this is about $50 for a sweater). It’s about showing you know of or train in mixed martial arts. Or it can be about being a rebel by wearing supposed outlaw mma clothing… like everyone else.

One may get tired of seeing plenty of people wear Tap Out, Sprawl or Affliction gear (whether these people train or not) because these brands of mma clothing are too common or too loud. Knoxx is a good alternative to these brands. The design, i.e. logo placing, of the Knoxx hoody is simple. If loud logos that scream “I want attention” or “Hey I watch the UFC!” are not your thing, then Knoxx is a good choice to make.

Ultimate Fighters sponsored by Knoxx gear include Chris “Lights Out” Lytle and Jake O’Brien. Other sponsored, popular mixed martial artists outside the UFC are Cung Le and Josh Thompson, both champions in the San Jose-based Strikeforce organization. Heavyweight UFC veteran Paul Buentello also wears Knoxx mma clothing. Knoxx gear is then something to consider if you want to wear the same clothing with the Sanshou practitioner who broke Frank Shamrock’s wrist.

Wearing mma clothing these days makes one just another face in the crowd but it came in handy for this reviewer one night. I was standing outside Vivid in San Jose trying to call my friends who were already inside for a postfight party. I was within sight of the bouncer who was checking if people came from the mma event just an hour before. The bouncer was actually future Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson and seeing me wearing this Knoxx hoody, he let me in with a pass to the “V.I.P. section” of the party where I met up with my friends (conveniently chatting up girls instead of answering their phones). That positive experience made my Knoxx mma clothing memorable but to be fair, gives this review some potential bias.

MMA Clothing: Ouano grappling shorts

I bought the Ouano “grappling shorts with belt” online at $30.00 plus tax. The merchandise along with other mixed martial arts clothing (mma) I ordered arrived earlier than the shipping schedule given.

The design is simple and although the shorts can be worn by anyone as beach wear, leisure wear mma clothing or as actual mma gear, they are likely meant to show the wearer’s rank in the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). Colors are available in blue, purple, brown and black which corresponds to the ranking system in BJJ. This is similar (but not identical) to the type of state athletic commission-approved shorts seen worn by UFC lightweight champion, BJ Penn.

MMA gear or MMA clothing: Grappling shorts with belt

The board shorts are grey all over with the Ouano logo on the lower left leg. This emphasizes the  main feature of this piece of clothing made for mma. A colored belt lines the waist area of the mma shorts. Two tails appear to hang from what would be the knot of this colored belt. The “knot” is the area where the Velcro pieces are located. No part of the belt actually protrudes from the board shorts. The “belt” is meant only for display purposes. That is to say one cannot actually hold the colored belt lining of the mma shorts for a kimura defense as one would a belt worn with a jiu-jitsu or judo gi. The belt is as much separate from the shorts as one’s collar is from one’s shirt.

Several washings of the Ouano shorts have not changed the product much. (I forget if I wash my mma gear and clothing in the pile with bleach or not.) The color of the belt lining is barely lighter. As with all new garments, washing these mma shorts with other similar colors is highly recommended.

Functionally, one can move well with the shorts and I can say nothing negative with respect to my movement while wearing this particular mma gear while rolling on the mats or performing high kicks.

After more than eight (8) months of use, at about once or twice a week, the grappling shorts have no tears or thinning areas. I would gladly wear this kind of mma clothing to the beach or mats anytime.

MMA Affliction Clothing Copy Cat?

Eternal Unlimited is a relatively new mma gear company that focuses on mixed martial arts shirts and other mma clothing items.  The Eternal Unlimited design team state they have “next generation” mma shirts, using bold, edgy and Urban/Hip-hop based designs that surpass or stand above current rock and roll design themes offered by different competitors.  However, their designs still seem very similar to many Affliction and Tapout shirts.  It seems like all mma gear companies cannot escape having very similar designs. 

We have seen their shirts and they do have great designs, although not as original and “next generation” as their website advertises.  They do have good quality shirts with good printing which does make for a higher quality product.  They offer 8 designs in regular trim shirts and 8 designs in a slim fit cut. 

Eternal Unlimited has a small following that seems to have grown a bit since it started, but we have to wonder if it will continue to grow.  There are so many mma gear companies that make mixed martial arts shirts and many designs are similar.  Competition is fierce, yet no company has a unique selling point.

Well, you can decide for yourself by looking at their designs.  Here’s one below.  What do you think?

MMA gear company Eternal Unlimited