Issue 125
February 2015
Bellator’s middleweight striking sensation tells FO why he never goes to the gym without his head guard anymore.
1/ FIGHTING GLOVES
“I have 16oz and 10oz gloves in my bag when I go to the gym. I use the 16oz gloves when I’m using the heavy bag and sparring, while I use my 10oz gloves for hitting mitts. I like to do the technical stuff - like the pad work and footwork stuff – as close to the fight as possible. That’s really when I start using my 10oz gloves.”
2/ GAUZE FIGHT WRAPS
“I like to mix it up in terms of what I wrap my hands with. Sometimes I use gauze fight wraps if I don’t particularly feel like training that day and I want to take some time to wrap my hands properly. If it’s a normal day I’ll just use elastic reusable wraps for my training sessions.”
3/ FAIRTEX SHIN GUARDS
“All my shin guards are usually made by Fairtex as they produce a lot of good quality equipment. They tend to last a really long time and that helps quite a bit when you’re kicking bags really hard as you don’t have to worry about having to buy new ones every camp.”
4/ WAR HAMMER RASH GUARD
“I have a couple War Hammer rash guards and they’re pretty cool. They’ve got some nice designs. Honestly, I just pick up whatever is close to me before I leave for the gym in the morning.”
5/ WINNING HEADGEAR
“I used to get cut a lot while I was sparring. I’d never get cut in fights but I’d always get cut in sparring. I would complain to my coach about the headgear because it was uncomfortable and I couldn’t see. Eventually my coach told me that if I wear it every day they’d buy me a Winning head guard. Those things are about $300 so they’re pretty expensive. We went and picked out this super-light white head guard and it’s been great for me. However, the first day I brought it into training I didn’t wear it and I got cut. My coach was super p**sed at me. I’ve worn it every time I’ve sparred since and never been cut (laughs).”
6/ GRIPS ATHLETICS GYM BAG
“My Grips gym bag is a pretty big bag and it holds pretty much all my stuff. What’s great about it is that it has fish netting so I can air out all my dirty clothes after I’m done with training for the day. No fighter likes to open their bag up to get hit with a pretty nasty smell.”
7/ STEEL THAI CUP
“I prefer to wear a steel Thai cup and I only ever wear it when I’m fighting, not when I’m training. When you’re in a fight it’s important to try and not hit your opponent in the crotch but sometimes it happens. However, when you’re in the gym there’s no way you should be hitting someone in the groin accidentally.”
