Issue 049

May 2009

Robbie ‘The Flame’ Olivier, a full-time firefighter and a machine in the cage, has burnt an indelible mark on the stacked UK featherweight division in his seven-year MMA career. 

The Cambridge hardman is quick to point out that, in order to find success inside the cage, your training has to replicate exactly what you will face when the cage door slams shut. He scours the market for the best and most practical equipment that money can buy.  

Shorts

Koral fight gear is a firm favourite with Olivier, especially the shorts. “They allow so much movement and the flexibility in the fabric is brilliant. Less is more. I don’t really like too much stuff on the shorts. Obviously when I fight, I have the flames - it’s more of a symbol than anything else. But for me, it’s about comfort while training.”  

Rash guards

“Again, it’s Koral, I always go for Koral,” he said unequivocally. “The quality always seems good. I’ve got five or six Koral rash guards.” Grapplers are often concerned by the difference between wearing a rashguard and wrestling without a top on fight day. “There is a slight difference,” Olivier notes. “But generally, I think the feel is the same, but closer to the fight, it’s important to take the top off and spar in the gear that you’re going to be wearing in the fight.”  

Gloves

According to the Tsunami gym fighter, there is no substitute for a pair of Twins boxing gloves. “They have been pressure tested for years in training and are made in a country that uses Muay Thai every day. They may be expensive, but if you buy cheap, you buy twice. So I always go for quality.”  

For added protection, Olivier and his teammates often wear boxing gloves for full MMA sparring, but also use the exact pair of gloves which they will eventually use in competition. “When I was fighting on Cage Rage we would have the Blitz MMA gloves to train in because that was what we were using in a fight. Again, it’s important to try and replicate what you’re going to do in the fight.”  

Headgear

“I never wear headgear when sparring; it doesn’t feel realistic and we still spar hard enough to replicate what could happen in the cage. It’s more important that you trust in your sparring partners. If you’ve got good sparring partners who know what level you need to be sparring at, my personal opinion is that headgear just gets in the way.”   

Mouthpiece

The Flame only sees one way of taking care of your teeth in training: a custom mouthpiece from the dentist. “It’s the only way forward for me because all the other ones seem to make me gag! The plan is to never get hit anyway, so I wear a smaller gumshield than most. I don’t even know it’s in there,” Olivier laughed. “It often happens that, in interviews after the fights, I’ve got a lisp because I forget I’ve got it in!”  

Totally awesome ‘Magic Trousers’

As he works in a fire station Robbie is well used to people making fun of him at every opportunity, so that won’t stop him from making an individual choice in clothing to protect against the cold during the winter months. “I use the Under Armour full-length trousers. The guys make fun of me, but I turn into [Shinya] Aoki when I have them on! They are magic trousers I’m sure, because they turn me into a submission wizard when I’m training – you should see the leg locks I pull off when I’m wearing those!”  

Power harness

To develop a powerful shot, particularly when driving an opponent to the cage wall, Olivier is a big fan of using a power harness. “We use it for resistance training, we put it on for doing shoot drills and explosive work. You’ve got the resistance of the weight of someone behind you, pulling back when you’re driving forward. It’s an important piece of kit for us.’