Issue 085
February 2012
The 14-5-1 Brazilian heavyweight reveals how his gear is all about safeguarding his sparring partners
PRO GEAR SHINPADS
“I really like these shin pads as sometimes you get them and they are just too heavy and are no good for sparring. But these are really light and when I wear them it feels like I have nothing on my shins. They are really comfortable and light.”
MOUTHPIECE
“I’ve had this mouthpiece for about two years. I don’t like the big ones and this is very good because it’s small and compact. It feels like I have nothing in my mouth so it doesn’t restrict my breathing or anything. I like them small.”
THROWDOWN BOXING GLOVES
“I use 18oz gloves for sparring as I do hit hard being a heavyweight. If I use smaller gloves people get cut and get hurt, so I have these for punching my friends, as they are like big pillows on my hands!”
MEDICAL TAPE
“I always have tape in my bag. It comes in really handy when you hurt your fingers and your toes, it’s always good to tape them up for support. If you are training every day there are always going to be little injuries and tape definitely helps.”
MMA SPARRING GLOVES
“Again I use these because they are a very good brand and they are nice and big so they don’t hurt my partners. It’s very important not to hurt your friends, so I use these big gloves so as not to hurt anybody… Although, at this gym there are one or two guys that I would like to spar with using the little ones (laughs).”
PRO GEAR JIU-JITSU BAG
“I’ve had this bag for six months now and I really like it because it is too big. When I load all of my clothes into it there is still a lot of space so it does not get smelly or anything. The extra space ensures that the air can move around the bag.”
KNEE PADS
“I use these a lot because of my fighting style, I like to throw knees in sparring. Sometimes I even use two, because I don’t like to hurt my sparring partners. I hurt my partner then tomorrow I have nobody to spar with so I like to protect him.”
ANKLE GUARDS
“I use these for technical sparring classes. I prefer the extra support they give me and make me feel nice and secure and firm. It’s really for when I am kicking; like pads, that extra support protects my ankles.”
HANDWRAPS
“I much prefer very long handwraps. It’s very important that you look after your hands, especially when you are sparring and you’re punching hard. It’s very important to look after your hands and the best way to do that is to use very long wraps.”
MHP SUPPLEMENTS
“MHP have been my sponsor for six months but I actually used their supplements a lot when I was growing up, back at home. I take Fast-50 which is great after training for recovery. I really like this supplement as it really picks me up when I am tired.”
...
