Issue 035

March 2008

As a fighter who has been training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and mixed martial arts for 12 years, UFC middleweight Dean Lister has had a unique perspective on the evolution of both sports, and in addition has also seen vast changes in the fight gear used by combat athletes. 

Boxing gloves

Though not confining himself to one particular brand, Dean revealed his main choice of glove, “I’ve got Bodyfit gloves - Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ gave them to me, so that’s what I use. They’re OK, pretty tight on my hands, they feel pretty good.”

MMA sparring gloves

There’s no perfectly safe way to spar under MMA rules, so for Dean, it’s a trade off between protection and dexterity, “I try to use the Throwdown or Tap Out ones that are about 6-8 ounces, a little heavier and it gives you that little bit more padding, they don’t seem to cut as easily, but you can still grab.”

Shorts

With MMA shorts, on the whole, being of a similarly high standard, for Dean it is a matter of personal preference. “The ones I use right now are Tap Out, which are my main preference and main sponsor – and my gym is with Throwdown, so I have Throwdown board shorts. I like the Tap Out ones a lot.”

Shin-guards

“I used to have the Fairtex ones which were real wide, real thick. But those got worn out after a few years of use, so those are good ones. Tap Out have these ones which are real tight on your shin so if you get taken down you can still move a lot easier than if you have the big, wide shin protectors on. They are a little harder to put on and take off, but I think those are better because they don’t slip off.”

Gumshield

In both competition and training, Dean insists on using a personalised gumshield for maximum protection, “I that that’s really important if you’re actually fighting competitively. If you’re getting hit real hard, I think you can take a lot better of a punch if you have it fitted to your teeth.”

Supplements

Dean chooses Couture Nutrition as his brand of choice to help him recover between heavy training sessions “Randy Couture has some good supplements that are not too heavy on the carbs, they’re just a big branch chain of amino acids type of thing. That’s what I like to carry in my bag, things from people who I trust as to what they make - things from Randy Couture.”

Bits and bobs

Keen to avoid contracting any kind of infection from well-used but less-than scrupulously disinfected training mats, Dean takes no chances. “In case I’m visiting a school, where I don’t know for sure if the mat is clean, I always carry a long sleeve rashguard, because you never know. I wear that anyway sometimes, but I like to carry that in my bag. I carry handsoap, to wash my hands and my face after I get off the mat and Vaseline to avoid cuts.”