Issue 053
August 2009
After learning his trade in Rumble on the Rock shows in his native Hawaii, the young Hilo native is now making a mark on the UFC’s lightweight division.
Shin guards
As you know, here at Fighters Only we believe in ‘Train Hard, Fight Easy’ and Shane’s shin pads certainly allow that. “The Built 2 Fight shin guards are the best shin guards I’ve used so far as for sparring. They’re real padded and you can throw the kicks with all your might and stuff.”
Gloves and wraps
Like a lot of pro fighters Shane prefers using 16oz gloves in the gym, partially because of the protection they afford him. “I chose the Built 2 Fight boxing gloves as well – they feel comfortable, they don’t hurt my hands and I just like the way they feel. I’ve been using them for a while now.”
To ensure that his hands stay in shape, Nelson recently switched from traditional hand-wraps to gel wraps from Combat Sports. “It’s easy and faster than the traditional hand wraps and it protects well.”
Heart rate monitor
Conditioning is paramount in today’s fight game and Nelson uses a Polar heart rate monitor to help ensure he’s in peak condition come fight night. “The heart rate monitor I keep in my bag – if we do any hard conditioning or if we do any sprints or any rowing machine then I wanna monitor my heart. I make sure that I have that with me at all times. That’s one of the most important things in my gym bag.”
Shorts
“My choice of shorts is Tapout. They’ve been taking care of me ever since Ultimate Fighter. They treat me very well and I’m loyal to them and they take care of me. The shorts feel good, they have cool designs, tons to choose from – can’t go wrong with them.”
Mouth guard
Like most pros out there Nelson goes for a custom-made mouth guard. “The mouthpiece that I’m using is the one I got on the Ultimate Fighter. It’s custom fit. The UFC made them for us on the show and I’ve been using it ever since. It fits perfect. I had fitted mouthpieces before and this is the best fitted one that I had so I kind of sidelined the rest of my mouthpieces and just stuck with that one.”
Post training
When you live in Hawaii you need to be well prepared for chilling out at a moments notice so Nelson always packs eyewear from Vandal just in case. “I always have a pair of Vandals in the bag for when we’re done training and go down the beach or whatever.”
Aqualung
Always looking for that edge in training the newest addition to Nelson’s kitbag may seem a little unusual… “I’ve been keeping this aqualung thing in my bag, we’ve been trying it out lately. It’s to help control your breathing and expand your lungs. This is the newest edition to my gym bag.”
