Issue 102

June 2013

THE ESSENTIAL GEAR USED BY TODAY’S ATHLETES

If the former Strikeforce light heavyweight king ever bought equipment for his gymbag, it was by accident. The UFC 205lb Dutchman trains head to toe in freebies

ALI’S MMA GLOVES

“Lately I’ve been using Ali’s, that’s a brand of a friend. Usually it’s Twins, something like that – whatever they give me. Last time I was training with Enric (Gunning), he had his own brand that was named Ali’s so I was wearing those. Before that I was wearing Twins, but I’m not very particular about gloves.”

ADIDAS GYMBAG

“I have just a normal bag like a football bag. A normal one, not for MMA. There’s nothing special about it.”

ASICS WRESTLING SHOES

“Sometimes I wear Asics wrestling shoes. These were given to me by a good friend of mine. I wear wrestling shoes only when I go wrestling, Other than that I just train without shoes.”

WATER

“I don’t take any food with me to the gym, just water. I’d say, in a day, I drink maybe four or five litres of water. I train twice a day, sometimes in my own city, but I go between Rotterdam and Amsterdam so I’m constantly at different cities to train. But Holland is small. It takes about 30 minutes to get to Rotterdam and Amsterdam because I live in the middle of them.” 

BOOSTER RASH GUARD

“I got some rash guards from Booster. They gave it to me so I’m wearing them!” 

ALI’S SHIN GUARDS

“I prefer Ali’s shin guards. I like using Thai-style shinpads instead of the grappling shinpads.”

PROTEIN SHAKES

“Protein I drink after training sessions, in the mornings and before sleep. I have some different brands. The one I’m using now is MuscleTech and another one is Gaspari Nutrition.”

FIGHTDENTIST MOUTHPIECE

“There was one time where they made a mouthpiece for me in the US, so I’m wearing that one. It’s not for both jaws, only for the top.”