Issue 115

June 2014

The essential gear used by today's athletes. UFC lightweight ‘The Spaniard’ never goes to the gym without his headgear – and for good reason.

EVERLAST GLOVES

“I have 14oz Everlast sparring gloves and I also have the small Everlast combat gloves. I’m a big fan of Everlast stuff. And then I always carry my UFC gloves, so I have three pairs in total.”

EVERLAST HEADGEAR

“Again, I really like the Everlast headgear. I always wear headgear when I’m sparring, ever since Chris Liguori accidentally blew out my orbital socket with a kick when we were training. I had to get surgery and it was not a good experience. I was sporadic in wearing headgear before that but now it’s pretty much a constant.” 

MOUTHGUARD

“I’ve only had one mouthguard done professionally. It’s royal blue with big letters that read ‘Spaniard’ on the front. I actually designed it, which was fun. I’ve had it for a number of fights and it works well for me.”

T-SHIRTS

“I wear my ‘Spaniard’ T-Shirts, although I don’t sponsor myself (laughs). I’m actually sponsored by a chain of stores called Sheetz, which started up in my home town. I also wear my Lock Haven wrestling shirts. They are from my time at Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania, so they’re more than 10 years old and there is 10-plus years of sweat ingrained in them.”

JACO SHORTS

“I wear Jaco shorts in training a lot, although I also like Cruz Combat fight shorts. The company has sponsored me in the past and has a great product.”

SUPPLEMENTS

“I used to do a lot but then decided to stop taking them. I like being as pure and as supplement-free as possible. My post-workout meal is just a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some chocolate milk.”

MISCELLANEOUS

“One go-to item I have in my bag pretty much all of the time is my GoPro camera. Also, when I train my wedding ring goes in the bag. It is from Kranich’s Jewelers in Pennsylvania, who have supported me and been one of my sponsors. I have done several meet-and-greets at those stores over the years. With Sheetz and Kranich’s, I work with them basically because I am a local success story, if you will.” 

GYM BAG

“The bag I carry all my stuff around in is a Cliff Keen Edge wrestling bag. It’s a school in New Jersey, and it’s the special edition bag used there, so it’s pretty cool.”