Issue 072
February 2011
An Xtreme Couture-trained stocky UFC lightweight known for his grinding fight style, Tyson Griffin demands that his equipment keep up. The most important? The family jewels protector.
Fairtex steel cup
Tyson: “Outside of it being made out of steel, just the design of it allows you to hold yourself in there and not fall out when you’re fighting or training. Anybody who’s been hit with a cup on when their stuff’s halfway out, they know how it feels. That Fairtex cup will hold it all the way in.”
Thai rope
“My jump-rope is a Thai rope – a big, thick, heavy Thai rope. I like to use that because it’s harder work on your shoulders and your forearms. My kickboxing coach once, years ago, made me use it for an entire camp and I just haven’t been able to go back since. I like a heavy rope.”
TapouT glutamine
“I’ve got a glutamine supplement by TapouT Nutrition. I always tell people to read the back. It’s basically to prevent muscle fatigue and rebuild tissue, but the one thing that really catches on for me is that it’s the most abundant amino acid in your body, and the one that breaks down the soonest. I take it before and after workouts. It’s not necessarily to make me big and strong. It’s to keep me going.”
Cleto Reyes headgear
“The Reyes headgear I’ve been wearing for a long time. My boxing coach actually gave me one years ago. I’ve worn a lot of headgear and this is the most comfortable I’ve ever worn, and the most protective I’ve worn. You can’t see well, but it protects you and that’s what it’s all about.”
16oz Fairtex Mexican-style sparring gloves
“I like the Mexican-style glove because it’s all-the-way lace-up, keeps your hand real tight and protects your hand when you’re hitting hard; if you don’t make a closed fist it doesn’t cost you.”
Handwraps
“I use pretty much as long of a handwrap as I can find, because the more support you can get for your hand and your wrist the safer you’re going to be. I also like to use a hand pad to help cushion my knuckles, so if I do happen to punch through my glove there’s a little bit of extra padding there.”
Kneepads
“I’ve got some kneepads from Cliff Keen. They’re wrestling kneepads but they’ve got a nice big pad on the front to keep me safe while I’m checking kicks, and to keep my partner safe if I’m throwing knees at them.”
Fairtex shin guards
“I like the Fairtex shin guards because they’re light but they’re thick enough to protect your shins. I don’t necessarily want to hurt my training partners when I’m kicking them but I want to be able to kick hard. It goes both ways. Keeps me safe and it keeps them safe.”
Fairtex MMA gloves
“Fairtex have got a lot of good gear. These are probably the closest to the UFC gloves that I’ve found. You can pretty much use all Fairtex equipment until the padding breaks down and it’s not safe to hit anybody anymore. At Xtreme Couture we use a lot of control with our MMA gloves and you can get a lot of wear out of the Fairtex gloves.”
Unbreakable mouthpiece
“I’ve used mouthpieces all throughout my career. I’ve done ten different kinds: the mail order, mold it yourself, the boil ones, and I haven’t found anything that makes me feel more comfortable than an Unbreakable. It keeps my jaw in tight and it stays on there; it doesn’t bounce around when I’m sparring. I can open my mouth and still breathe and then close it, and the guard is still going to be where it’s supposed to be.”
Tyson Griffin spoke to Gary Alexander
