Issue 123

December 2014

The man who won two UFC fights in two weeks on why nail clippers are vital

KING SHIN GUARDS

“I didn’t actually pick those out, they were actually bought for me by Team Takedown. They said, ‘Put these on,’ and I said, ‘Thanks, I don’t plan on doing much kicking anyway (laughs).’ They work well for me though and they’re comfortable so I’m pretty happy.”

NAIL CLIPPERS

“One thing I always, always bring to the gym with me is fingernail clippers. I hate going in there to grapple, spar or do anything with my fingernails or my toenails too long. I despise grappling with people who have long fingernails and toenails as they’re scratching you up. It’s gross, and dangerous too.”

16oz WINNING boxing GLOVES

“I really like my Winning gloves. They feel great for when I’m sparring. I’ve also got some Ringside gloves and they’re also pretty fantastic. They sponsor us too. However, the Winning gloves are my favorites because they’re the most expensive. I’m a classy broad who enjoys the finer things in life.”

BAD BOY HEADGEAR

“I actually have an old-school Bad Boy head protector. It doesn’t have any of the new flashy stuff, it just looks like the normal type of headgear. I use it because I’m comfortable with it and it serves multiple purposes as it’s good for grappling too and you can get concussions grappling these days, man. The way that we spar at Team Takedown, we have everything on so we don’t get injured. That head gear doesn’t feel like it slides around a lot on my head and it’s small enough that it makes the grappling OK. Plus, I like to cheat so if anyone has me in a guillotine I’ll just unstrap it and pop my head out (laughs).”

CHOCOLATE BAR

“My vice, the one thing I can’t stay away from, is chocolate. I’m a chocolate fiend. I eat really healthy when I’m in camp but outside of camp you’ll always see me sneaking some chocolate in at some point of the day.”

DUCT TAPE

“This might sound strange but I always have this for when I go to the gym. The velcro on MMA gloves will scratch the s**t out of your wrists. You know, we’ve got to wear MMA gloves every time we grapple because that’s what Marc Laimon, the Team Takedown head coach, wants us to do. A lot of guys put tape on because you’ll get burns and 

stuff like that all over your face if you don’t.”