MMA gear blog for MMA gear, clothing, and equipment reviews | mma-gear-news.com

Review: Can Any Shorts Be Used for MMA Gear?

In North America, professional fighters use either trunks or board shorts as bottom wear during mixed martial arts competition. Many brands have been given good to very good reviews on this site. Due to their popularity, fight shorts can be quite costly. Not everyone can afford more than US $20 for a pair of shorts (and possibly double or triple that amount), Why not use any athletic pair of shorts found in most people’s drawers?

Common shorts have pockets; pockets that may catch a partner’s finger and dislocate it during grappling or mma training. Some shorts have belt loops that have the same risk. Other shorts have zippers or buttons that can inflict a huge gash or even a gaping wound on one’s partner. This will happen during intense groundfighting where fighters are extremely close to each other.

Board shorts and trunks used as mma gear have velcro and drawstrings are used instead of hard buttons and zippers. They also have no pockets. However, beachwear board shorts may have pockets. Such beachwear should not be used on the mat to demonstrate the utmost safety for one’s partner.

The fabric of common shorts absorb sweat instead of it wicking off. Soggy shorts clinging to one’s legs is quite uncomfortable during training or resting in between rounds. Basketball shorts, though meant to wick off sweat, may have an inner garment that can get wet. This can cause the same discomfort previously mentioned.

Doing splits is a sign of flexibility. It is also required if one desires the ability to perform high kicks. Common athletic shorts, like basketball shorts hinder this movement with a lengthy crotch area. This is why mma board shorts either have stretchy fabric or slits in the crotch and/or outer thighs. The shorts may also be ripped when submissions such as Eddie Bravo’s electric chair are attempted.

Eddie Bravo’s Electric Chair on YouTube

Hunter or Bad Boy trunks or Speedo-style swimming trunks can be used during mma training or submission wrestling. Unfortunately, teammates may refer to the wearing of such mma gear as “GAY!”

So those are the disadvantages of using common athletic shorts as mma gear. They may have pockets, buttons or zippers that can injure a training partner. The fabric can cling uncomfortably upon having absorbed sweat. Splits and high kicks can cause a tear in such shorts. And you may look gay.

MMA Gear Review: Combat Sports Fight Shorts - Seek and Destroy

I wanted to review Combat Sports International shorts labelled “Seek and Destroy” because they can be purchased for only US $19.99. That is a savings of about $20 from the original price of $39.99 from some online mma gear merchants. Even before the price cut, the shorts are already less expensive than more popular brands of board shorts for mixed martial arts.

mma gear: Combat Sports Fight Shorts - Seek and Destroy

The shorts are mostly made out of some sort of spandex-like material. This appears to be the same sort of fabric used for the crotch and outer leg area of other fight shorts. Other people I know do not complain of the material but it does feel funny against my skin for whatever reason. Of course, during actual sparring I forget whether this mma gear from Combat Sports is comfortable or not. So although I feel funny wearing the shorts, it’s not that uncomfortable when rolling. Anyhow, I do not actually wear the shorts outside the gym or in the beach.

The Seek and Destroy fight gear have two drawstrings for the waist area. One ties in front and one at the back. I have to tie the drawstrings of this mma gear in a special way so that the knots formed are not aligned. If one knot is directly in front of the other, there is a noticeable lump below my belly button. Unlike the feeling I have with the fabric, the lump does make certain positions in jiu-jitsu training uncomfortable like being mounted or being in side control.

One more thing is that the lettering on the left side of the shorts is unattractive to say the least. The black and white Combat Sports logo on the right leg, on the other hand, are quite nice.

The above are only minor discomforts. Seek and Destroy mma gear are a good deal from Combat Sports International at only $19.99, about half the original price. At full price, other brands with superior and more comfortable designs should be considered.

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 Gear Review: Windy Training Gloves

This is a review of Windy training gloves for training punches. It was submitted by a reviewer who is primarily a colored belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner training Muay Thai for a few months now. This is of course, for future mixed martial arts training. Typical routine at the mma gym involves bag work, mitts and sparring. A cheapskate, the reviewer wanted to use only one pair of gloves for training kickboxing.

The reviewer uses a pair of 16 oz. Windy training gloves with a velcro wrap and is similar (or probably exactly the same as) the product pictured above. It was purchased from an online mma gear store. Here is his review below.

“Windy training gloves have a comfortable fit with wraps. Also I feel like wrists are supported more with my Windys that when I tried other gloves before. The velcro is quite strong as well. I guess thats good when you don’t want them getting thrown off your hands during muay thai sparring. But plenty of times, I’ve needed a friend to take the velcro off when I’m done for the day. When I go for the thai clinch on my training partner, his neck is protected from the velcro on my Windys. Unlike my neck which occasionally gets a few scratches from his [brand name deleted] gloves which sucks big time.

“After a lot of use [about 3 months] with the gloves in mma training, the pair is still comfortable in fit and does not look like it will be falling apart anytime soon. So I will say the gloves are durable.

“One thing though, when I just bought the WIndys, they were a little hard so my partner asked me to lighten up during training so he doesn’t get roughed up too much. They got much softer around the 2nd or 3rd week of use.”

To summarize, the Windy 16 oz training gloves have a great fit, are durable and have excellent Velcro straps.

MMA Training Gear: Cliff Keen F5 Tornado Headgear

Let’s review this particular wrestling/ mixed martial arts gear: the Cliff Keen F5 Tornado Headgear. Headgear or earguards are of course, optional in training mma, wrestling or submission wrestling. However, it is recommended for those who tend to bang up their ear/s and especially for those who currently have a swollen ear or two. Wearing headgear can prevent cauliflower ear or at least protect inflamed ears from hurting even more during training.

According to online mma gear merchant websites, the Cliff Keen F5 Tornado Headgear comes in over 40 color combinations. This allows those who care for aesthetics to match the color of their ear guards to that of their gi, singlet, rashguard or board shorts. It also has a PowerTab™ strapping system for a better fit. The design of these straps are quick to adjust system for convenient tightening and loosening, even during intense drills. More so, this product has Greater Audible Sound™ technology, to decrease hearing loss during sparring sessions. This way, the user can still receive instructions from their coach. Last but not least, the padding surrounding the ears and chin feel comfortable and not too bulky.

Wrestling/ MMA Gear: Cliff Keen F5 Tornado Headgear

This particular headgear does not choke or slip off too much from the user to obscure vision. Neither does it hurt one’s partner with unwanted sharp edges and iIt is also easy to clean after mma training. It also performs its main purpose well, that is provide adequate protection for the ears.

I have seen the Cliff Keen F5 Tornado Headgear used repeatedly for months on end during jiu-jitsu, submission wrestling and mma training. It has survived countless crossfaces, guillotine chokes and takedowns. On proper fitting, it rarely moves on the user’s head. If ever it does, vision is not limited and the ears still feel comfortable with the padding and ventilation.

The size of the Tornado Headgear does tend to be bigger than other similar headgear. However, it is built for safety and comfort rather than for looking cool. Consumers should keep this in mind when purchasing one as mma training gear and when wearing the ear guards in front of a mirror for the first time. It costs around the US $ 29.95 mark with plus plus for taxes, shipping, etc.

MMA Gear Review: Truth Fightwear Board Shorts

Several mma gear companies exist with prominent brands displayed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and other mixed martial arts organizations. An average price of US $40 to 50 for a new pair of shorts from one of these companies however, can be quite expensive. This is particularly more so among beginners. Such a price for shorts, plus about $50 for gloves, maybe $120 on a jiu-jitsu gi and the gym membership fees can be a bit too much for a potential student to afford.

We have already reviewed an affordable pair of mma gloves on this site. From the same company, Truth Fightwear also has affordable board shorts for use as gear during training in mma or submission wrestling. Check out one design in the image below:

MMA Gear: Truth Fightwear board shorts

See other designs (such as red/black, black, green, gray camo and others) at THEIR OFFICIAL WEBSITE.

At only US $24.99, this and other designs are about half the amount of more famous brands of mma gear but with comparable quality. For this price you get a waistband that is tightened with a drawstring but is also elastic for ease of wearing. The latter feature eliminates difficulties with the sizing so buyers can play safe by ordering one size smaller. The fabric is very comfortable and seems to allow breathability. Sweat is also wicked off so there is no feeling of wearing a soggy pair of shorts to hamper training. One more feature in Truth Fightwear shorts are the black stretching panels located on the inner and outer thighs. Just like the panels found in other mma gear, these are made so that the shorts do not get in the way of high kicks and ground fighting. (Other brands’ approach to this issue is to put slits in their shorts. But this may not be precise enough for some wearers.)

Truth Fightwear is an excellent pair of board shorts at a very affordable price. This is highly recommended mma gear for all who train (in North America, at least).

MMA Gear Review: Everlast Free Standing Heavy Bag

All boxing and kickboxing gyms I’ve seen have heavy bags hung from their top. This is an essential gear in mixed martial arts training as well. It greatly improves one’s striking power when used properly. Used improperly (i.e. no hand wraps, full force strikes by children) heavy bag work can cause injuries such as boxer’s fracture, a fracture of one of the hand bones.

As stated some heavy bags are hung from the top. Pedestal-type heavy bags on the other hand, are mounted on a solid base. This has the advantage of not requiring the chains and a stable fixture from which to hang the heavy bag. Because of this, it can be used as training gear at home. Everlast, a world-renowned boxing and mma gear supplier, sells such pedestal heavy bags.

MMA Training Gear: Everlast Free Standing Heavy Bag

Here is the product description from Everlast’s website:

“Ideal for use in home, gym, school, dojo, fitness and cross-training workouts.

The Everlast Freestanding Heavy Bag combines the world-renowned features of the Nevatear™ bags with a precisely engineered, reinforced, high-density LDPE base that provides maximum flexibility with outstanding durability and resilience. Spring action provides awesome workout. Three height adjustments allow bag to stand from 52″ to a full 70″ tall. Base holds up to 24 gallons of water (approx. 200 Lbs.) for extra sturdy use. Comes unfilled. Professional work-out, professional results!

Product features:

• Rounded Design allows easy movemnet around target increasing cardio & leg conditioning & hand-eye coordination.
• Air-Foam Chamber provides lifelike feel.
• High Density Base easily filled with water or sand (approx. 250 lb.). Solid base provides easy-to-hit target maximizing your workout.
• Adjustable Flex Neck provides six height settings for multiple workout options including boxing, kick boxing & mixed martial arts.”

The product being sold in the picture costs US $99.99 plus taxes and shipping. Black and gray versions are also available, strangely enough at US $129.99 plus plus. Their descriptions are the same, so unless the color of the bag is extremely important, I suggest getting the red one pictured above.

I find that the Everlast Free Standing Heavy Bag has a swivelling mechanism that decreases the impact to one’s hand and wrist bones. As stated in the product description, the height is easily adjusted for transitioning from targetting the top of your opponent (head and arms) to body shots to leg kicks. The heavy bag is quite soft so it’s somewhat more comfortable than the usual heavy bag at the gym.
However, if you’re one of those people who hit real hard this gear will move during training. This will happen even with the base filled to the brim with sand. You will then need more support for the bag such as those sandbags at stage plays. This is a disadvantage not present in the hanging-type heavy bags. Perhaps a metal base instead of a plastic stand would have added some more weight. There is some fun in chasing the bag until you wander into the training space of a high-intensity mma fighter and well… try it and see what happens if you get in Mirko Cro Cop or Wanderei Silva’s way. In addition, the base of the bag as mentioned, is plastic and the bag does not appear to be high in quality. It appears that continuous full-force striking of this mma training gear is not recommended. Maybe it’s made more for leg kicks or not too intense training at home. But then, that won’t strengthen your strikes and large muscle groups as much as you may desire.

This Everlast Free Standing Heavy Bag is not bad to have at home for some training there. It looks cool as well as long as not much full force workouts have been done on it. Still, more than US $100 a pop is expensive and it is this author’s recommendation that the product is not a replacement for the heavy bags at the local boxing, kickboxing or mma gym.

MMA Gear Review: Truth Fightwear MMA Gloves

Quality mixed martial arts gloves are a good investment. You use this mma gear for stand up training, wearing and tearing them on the bags, and for getting used to grappling with fight gloves. Most quality fight gloves available today are quite expensive, ranging from about $40.00 to $60.00. Truth Fightwear mma gloves are an excellent alternative for only US $24.99 (exclusive of shipping and taxes of course). This fabulous mma gear from TXMMA.com has tough stitching and is of excellent quality. I say the stitching is strong because I’ve seen people spar with them for several months with not a loose stitch visible.

MMA Gear: Truth Fightwear Gloves for only US $24.99

The gloves themselves look great and comes with their own small bag. This allows people undergoing mma training to separate their gloves from other mma gear in the gym bag.

One downside is that the only design that is available is apparently only black. You may not be able to relive those days from Pride (where blue gloves were the official mma gear used).

Check the photo below to the open palm design. This allows for easy access in putting on and removing the mma gloves. Such a feature is a prefered option for mma gear among practitioners who train in grappling and clinching.

MMA Gear: Truth Fightwear mma gloves with open palm design

The holes through which you insert your fingers are quite smooth. My fingers do not seem to irritated as much with this mma gear. This lessens the chances for chaffing of the skin on the knuckles as well as irritation.

If you are searching for an inexpensive pair of mma training gloves or need a new pair to satisfy state athletic commission requirements on mma gear, then .

I have honestly not seen Truth Fightwear in stores so if you’re interested, you will have to visit www.TXMMA.com.

MMA Gear Review: Everlast EverGel Glove Wraps

Among the products used as boxing, kickboxing or mixed martial arts training gear, handwraps are among the most used but the least noticed. These are of course the covering between one’s hands and gloves, that usually take time and patience to put around one’s hands. (Unless you like sweating directly onto your mma gloves.)

MMA Gear: Everlast EverGel Glove Wraps

The gear for review in this article is Everlast Evergel Glove Wraps, an alternative to said handwraps and is supposedy more convenient to wear and more protective. The product is meant to be worn under bag gloves or training gloves or alone for use on light bagwork or the speed bag. It comes in various colors as seen in the picture. (Keep in mind that unlike other mma gear such as board shorts, these wraps are not too visible under bag gloves and so the color may not be so important.)

As the name implies, there is a gel layer for the knuckles covered with neoprene for added protection. The strap for locking the wrist has Velcro. There is a hole in the palm and mesh on top of the hand area of the glove wraps for air circulation in this mma gear.

During actual use, the gloves are very comfortable and easily slip onto one’s hands. The gel layer more than adequately protects the knuckles from getting too sore. In addition, unlike the traditional handwraps used under mma or boxing gloves, EverGel glove wraps do not move within the bag gloves. Too much shifting of the handwraps will cause the knuckles to be less protected during training.

On the other hand, these EverGel glove wraps also have negative attributes for use as mma gear. Compared to the usual handwraps, the main hand covering of EverGel is elastic material. Thus, the carpals (i.e. small bones of the hand) are less secure. Furthermore, using the glove wraps on the heavy bag will show evident wear-and-tear after just one session. The instructions actually do not recommend heavy bag use with the glove wraps. In that case, better have the traditional hand wraps as mma gear on the next session when using the heavy bag. All in all, Everlast Evergel glove wraps are a timesaving alternative to the handwraps when one is NOT about to pound the heavy bag.

MMA Gear Review: Windy Shin Instep Guard

Windy muay thai equipment and other windy products are a popular brand among muay thai circles and are being used by many mixed martial arts fighters.  The Windy company is based out of Thailand, and all the products are handcrafted from leather in Thailand.  Windy training equipment can be purchased here in the United States through the many websites that specialize in mma equipment.

One of those products from Windy is the pro-style shin instep guard.

This shin pad is made from 100 percent leather, which should add to the durability of the product and is available in two different colors, red or black.  There are three sizes available, large, regular and extra-large. These shin pads are priced at $59.99 from ringside.com.  After some checking around the prices for the shin pads do not vary from other websites.  The shin pads themselves are very slim and compact compared to other shin pads/guards that are available.  Some of the other shin pads out there feel like your wearing a catcher’s shin guards with the way the extra material hangs off your leg.  The Windy shin pads fit very comfortable around your lower leg and no extra material is hanging off from the sides.  Because of their slim fit they can be used to not only train in muay thai, but can also be worn when mixed martial arts training as they do not get in the way when doing ground work.

They have two Velcro straps with a metal loops. The metal loops are never against your bare leg, as there is a piece of leather behind it to insure comfort. The only negative I saw was that there was too much excess strap around my ankle.  This I assume can be fixed possibly cutting it down for a perfect fit, but risk fraying of the strap.   One feature that can be noticed is the extra padding right down the middle of the shin pads.  Extra protection in this area is vital for a muay thai fighter.  It will also insure that you aim your kicks perfectly so not to hit with another area of your lower leg. 

These pads can be used by a muay thai fighter or because of the slim fit can also be used by the mixed martial artist when sparring and it ends up on the ground.