Issue 086
March 2012
UFC welterweight contender Jake Ellenberger demands quality from all of his fight gear, including his tennis balls
TapOut Bag
“TapouT Pro have been a good sponsor of mine. They make good gear. It’s a good bag for my training gear.”
Adidas Wrestling Shoes
“I’ve had the same pair of shoes for the past five years. They’ve been to hell and back, it’s pretty funny. I’m not really superstitious, but these were the only shoes I had through college and they’re awesome. They’re still my golden shoes so I keep them around.”
Everlast Gloves
“My Everlast gloves are heavily padded so you’re not hurting people when you spar. Also they protect your hands really well and they’re comfortable. They don’t leave nasty stains on your hands like some gloves do. They’re tight and they pad your thumb too so you’re not going to hurt your hand at all.”
UFC MMA Gloves
“I think these ones are from the Mike Pyle fight. My last few fights I’ve kept my UFC gloves with the shorts. The UFC gloves make it as realistic as possible when you’re training, but obviously in training you can’t hit as hard as you want with the small gloves on. When you’re grappling and rolling you’ve got to keep it as real as possible.”
16oz sparring gloves
“I use those mostly for mitts and Thai shields when I do Thai boxing with master Rafael [Cordeiro]. I’ve sparred in them too but I’d say they’re mostly training gloves for mitts and shields.”
Everlast Shin Guards
“You can wrestle and grapple in them as well and not worry about cross facing someone’s face with some Velcro. They’re not just for Muay Thai. They’re awesome; multi-functional.”
‘The Stick’ massager
“It helps roll out your legs and back and I’ve used it for years. It helps push the lactic acid out of your muscles. Even before practice when you’re just waking up it helps loosen everything up and push all the waste out of your muscles. It’s a good tool for recovery and one of my coaches always rolls me out with it after workouts.”
Tennis Balls
“I lay on them and loosen up my lower back and glute area. My back gets really tight a lot. I’ll just lay on those when I’m watching TV and hanging out and help relax some of those muscles.”
Kneepads
“I wear them pretty much every day because everything we do is so hard on your knees, especially wrestling and grappling. I’m just trying to save those knees for the future.”
TapOut Mouthpiece
“I’ve worn them for all my fights in the UFC
and never had any problems at
all. I look for as much quality in my training and fight gear as I can possibly find. You’ve got to protect your grill for the future, man.”
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