How To Wear MMA Gloves | What You Should Know


If you are one of the increasing numbers of people drawn to MMA fighting, it is important to know how to wear your gloves properly. With so much focus on your hands while performing in this sport it is vital that you understand how to protect them.

How to Wear MMA Gloves

MMA gloves should be put on over the entire wrist and palm area of the hand so that they can easily cover the necessary wrapping. There are different styles of MMA gloves offered to fighters today, but they should all be worn in conjunction with proper hand wraps to provide good protection. 

Wearing gloves the proper way will help make your MMA experience more positive and enjoyable.

This is how you can protect your hands and ensure that you stay safe while participating in this fun and exciting extreme sport. Please continue reading to learn more about the principle to keep in mind when it comes to wearing MMA gloves. 

How Are MMA Gloves Supposed to Fit?

It is important to consider how your selected pair of MMA gloves fit on your hand. When you put them on, they should fit snugly on your hand.

Make sure that they do not slip and slide when you start to move. At the same time, you do not want MMA gloves that are too tight. This will only serve to restrict the blood flow to your hands, and that will not be good. 

Gloves that are too tight also limit how freely you are able to use your hands. Since your hands are essential to your success as an MMA fighter, it is important that you have gloves that allow you the needed flexibility.

On the other hand, gloves that are a bit too loose will tend to start sliding off at the most inopportune of moments, usually right in the middle of a fight. 

Is It Ok To Use MMA Gloves On A Heavy Bag?

One of the most used training techniques in a gym for MMA continues to be hitting a heavy bag but wearing MMA gloves for this is not advisable. This is a tremendously powerful workout as it builds up endurance and strength. It also teaches MMA fighters proper technique, which can go a long way towards helping them win a fight. 

When hitting the heavy bag, you need to have proper protection on your hands and wrist. This is because hitting a bag that can weigh as much as 110 pounds can create quite a bit of stress, resulting in micro-fractures throughout your hands if you are not careful.

Many MMA fighters make the mistake of thinking that their gloves provide adequate protection, but they do not. 

MMA gloves are much too thin to provide the type of protection needed when hitting a heavy bag. They are designed for an actual fight with a human opponent, but they lack the padding necessary to absorb the constant impact that comes from hitting a heavy bag.

Instead, you will want to invest in some gloves that are specifically made for heavy bag training. 

How Do You Break in MMA Gloves?

Because it is so important to have full mobility in your hands as an MMA fighter, it is important to first break in your gloves. When you first get a new pair of gloves, they will probably be quite stiff.

If you simply put them on your hands at this point, you will find that the freedom of movement that you have come to depend on, simply will not be there. 

To break in your MMA gloves, you will want to start by balling them up and then bending the fingers over for a few minutes at a time. You will repeat this process over and over again until you notice the gloves starting to loosen up on their own. The key is to get the stiff feeling out of the gloves so that your hands will remain flexible and protected when fighting. 

What do MMA Fighters Wear Under Their Gloves?

It is important to wear hand wraps under your MMA gloves. This is necessary in order to protect the hands and wrist. Remember that MMA gloves are extremely thin, and they do not provide nearly the level of padding that you would get with a set of boxing gloves. This is because you need to retain full use of your hands as an MMA fighter. 

As you start to punch and fight, you will really grow to appreciate the hand wrap that you have placed underneath your MMA gloves. This will help reduce the impact of each punch and minimize the risk of injury.

Punching can definitely hurt your hands if you do not have the right type of protection and padding. Do not neglect this important part of your MMA arsenal. 

What are the Best MMA Gloves?

If you want to maximize your MMA fighting experience, then you will want to have the best gloves possible ready to put on your hands. Here are some of the very best that currently available on the market. 

Combat Sports Max Strike MMA Training Gloves

These are rated as the MMA gloves that have the best padding available. They are best for strikers, so you will want to keep that in mind.

As a training glove, they are made with two inches of solid padding that provides a great amount of protection for the knuckles. This is also beneficial for MMA fighters who tend to ground their punches a lot. They are durable and comfortable. 

RDX MMA Fighting Gloves

These MMA gloves will give you the best price for the quality that you get. They are rumored to last for years of heavy fighting use, so they will be well worth the investment.

There is a Velcro strap that wraps around the wrist twice for added support. These gloves also give your thumb some added mobility that other fighters might not have, given you a competitive advantage. 

Fairtex FGV15 MMA Sparring Gloves

You will find these to be the best rated all-around MMA gloves, so you should expect to pay a bit more for them. These are made to a slightly smaller and smoother than other MMA gloves on the market, so you will likely find that they are better suited to fighters who like to grapple a bit.

They are rated the most durable glove on the market and are great for striking as well. 

Sanabul Essential MMA Hybrid Sparring Gloves

These MMA gloves provide you with great value and incredible artistry at the same time. If you are on a budget, you will find this to be a great glove that gets the job done.

It should be noted that these gloves are more suitable for fighters with wider hands due to their design. These are great beginner gloves that should serve you well. 

Venum Challenger MMA Gloves

These gloves have less padding than other MMA gloves on the market today, so they are not used for striking. Instead, these provide fighters with a great option for grappling and light ground work.

They look great and are manufactured by a well respected brand. If you do not do much striking, the price of these MMA gloves is right, so you should consider buying them. 

Wrap-Up 

Simply wearing gloves when engaging in MMA is not enough. You need to ensure that you are wearing them properly. The information contained in this post should help you to do exactly that. This will protect your hands and make the sport much more enjoyable to you in the end. 

Interested in MMA? Check Out My Recommendations

Looking For Gear To Use When You Train?
If you are interested in training MMA, here is some of the gear I recommend:
Best Mouth Guard
Best MMA Gloves
Best Groin Protection
Best Rashguard
Want To Learn To Fight, But Don’t Want To Go In Person?
CoachTube has online training videos for Wrestling, Boxing, MMA and more. And best part is you can do it all from your home allowing you to go at your own pace. Check them out here.
Interested In Training Other MMA Fighters?
Click here to check out the MMA Conditioning Association and see what you need to become an MMA conditioning coach and begin training fighters.

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