MMA is a combat sport that involves both striking and grappling so there are specific pieces of MMA equipment to aid your training.

This is because other fighting equipment may not be suitable for the needs of MMA. For instance, grappling with a pair of boxing gloves will be far from easy.

If you have already been training in other combat sports like Boxing, Kickboxing or Thai Boxing, you may be half way there to get all the equipment you will need for MMA.

Does Sidekick sell MMA Equipment?

Sidekick has been producing MMA equipment for nearly 10 years. Sidekick and have worked with many leading MMA promotions in the U.K since its opening.

Alex Reid was our first MMA sponsored fighter when you fought on BAMMA 11 back in 2012.

So, what Equipment do I Need for MMA?

There are a few different pieces of equipment you will need for MMA. These are mostly for your protection, as well as the protection of your fellow fighters.

The top eight piece that you will need to keep in your gym bag are:

• Hand Wraps
• Boxing Gloves
• MMA Sparring Gloves
• Hybrid Shin Guard
• MMA Shorts
• Mouth Guard
• Rash Guard
• Head Guard

Hand Wraps

Hand wraps are an essential part of your MMA kit. This is because wrapping your hands for boxing, kickboxing, muay thai or MMA  before applying gloves is a very necessary step to support the tendons and muscles as well as to provide additional support to the movements of the wrist too.

For more information about how to wrap your hands, please check out our blog post here.

Boxing Gloves

Boxing gloves are always essential, even in MMA, although they are not worn in a MMA fight.

This is because punching and kicking drills on Thai kick pads and bag work is still an important part of your training and using boxing gloves will be better as they are more protective and comfortable, especially if you are hitting hard.

16oz boxing gloves are best to use if you are going to practice striking sparring only.

MMA Sparring Gloves

MMA gloves are made with the same leather materials and padding that boxing gloves are made from.

These gloves are a padded version of what you would wear in a real MMA fight.

However, they have an open palm so you still have full use of your fingers during a fight. This is important when you are grappling so these gloves can be used through all your sparring.

Generally, sparring MMA gloves weigh 7oz. Even though these gloves have extra padding, it is still recommended sparring is controlled and relatively light as sparring is for practice and fun.

Hybrid Shin Guard

The shin guards you may already have for Kickboxing are unfortunately generally not suitable for MMA training.

This is because even though they are a well protected shin guard, they can be a bit bulky for when you are grappling during a fight.

Hybrid MMA shin guards are a mix of Muay Thai shin guards and elasticated shin guards so they are very comfortable and don’t slide around, even during a vigorous fight.

They slide on like a sock with the elastic material and have area on the front of the shin. The instep part only covers part of the foot and shouldn’t go over all the toe as it will get caught grappling.

MMA Shorts

These are more of a loose short. They are often a lot less restrictive than gym shorts which gives a larger range of motion. This is crucial, as MMA shorts need to be perfectly designed in order to allow the wearer to kick without any issues.

These MMA shorts also dry extremely easily, allowing a large amount of airflow at the same time. Women have always preferred the more fitted style of women’s MMA Shorts as it looks more fashionable than the larger board shorts.

For more information about the different types of shorts for MMA, Boxing & Kickboxing, please check out our blog post here.

Mouth Guard

This one is quite self-explanatory. Mouth guards are always necessary with any type of contact sport in order to protect your teeth and mouth during physical contact.

These are especially crucial to wear during fighting as blows to the face, and even other types of punches, can knock the teeth or even jar the mouth and crack the teeth.

Mouth guards should always be worn when sparring, no matter your training level.

MMA Rash Guard

A rash guard is used to prevent abrasions during contact in a fight.

Rash guards are typically worn over the upper half of the body and are a tight-fitting piece of clothing. usually made from spandex, or a lycra-type materials, rash guards come in both a short as well as a long sleeve design.

Head Guard

Although the first time you put on your head guard you may find it a little strange as it is something you have never worn before, but believe us, after weeks of training it will feel like second nature to wear it whilst sparring.

Head guards can also make you a bit more confident in training as you will feel more protected.

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