The Difference In MMA Gloves

                                                             

 

In the earlier days of MMA, and in some gyms these days, the typical way of sparring or going rounds on the heavy-bag employed the use of boxing gloves instead of MMA gloves. That is because it was believed that boxing gloves protect the hand more, and your sparring partner too.

Lately, the game has changed. To simulate an MMA bout, one would need to train like it’s an MMA bout. That means using ‘everything that is MMA’. Hence the creation of the different types of MMA gloves such as, sparring, heavy-bag and fighting gloves. While MMA gloves might be lightly padded, according to scientifically tested experiments, MMA gloves are only slightly lighter when it comes to strike pressure as opposed to a boxing glove. Meaning the effects are not that different.

According to science though, the heavier something is coupled with the speed or pace it is travelling results in stronger weight. Meaning, surprisingly, a boxing glove ought to hit you harder than an MMA glove.

The difference, though, between the two is ‘physical’ and ‘apparent’ damage. Boxing gloves are said to damage you more without showing signs. MMA gloves have more of the cutting effect. This means boxing gloves provide volume based damage; this can result to nastier brain damage while MMA gloves will bruise and cut the surface more.

Don’t get it wrong though, getting punched by either is a painful ordeal you’d rather avoid…. but this is the Hurt Sport, you’re bound to get punched.

Here we will elaborate what MMA glove should be used for different purposes.

• MMA Sparring Gloves:

Like boxing gloves, MMA Sparring Gloves were created to minimize any potential damage one could cause or incur during training. The padding on the knuckles all the way to the wrists are soft but heavily padded. This cushions against shock-impact and ensures the knuckles from collapsing on each other. The wrist-support with sparring gloves is not as fortified as its heavy-bag and fighting counterparts but the soft cushioning will prevent otherwise unfortunate injuries from taking place. Remember when you’re sparring, you have to worry about two people - yourself and your partner. And the point is not to hurt, but to train. Hence if you use these gloves how they are meant to be used, you will never have an issue.

• Heavy Bag MMA Gloves:

These gloves are much more padded than MMA Sparring Gloves, BUT, probably hurt much more too. That is because of multiple layered cushioning that is compressed and condensed into a hard layer over the knuckles, fortifying them against force that bounces back from the bag. The wrist support is wider, thicker and with some brands, are padded. The palm can also consist of inner-grip pipe for helping with punch formation while filling in the empty spaces inside the glove. This helps with keeping the fists integrity intact.

• Fighting MMA Gloves:

These gloves are the least padded out of the lot. They should not, in any given situation, be used for sparring or for rounds on the heavy bag; if you do, you will only be injuring yourself and your sparring partner. These gloves are normally worn with hand wraps which end up filling it on the inside. The wrapping also provides extra force for lesser padded MMA gloves. This is also necessary as relying on an MMA glove’s wrist support is not enough, you will NEED tape or hand wraps to keep the base of the of the hand (along with the wrist) secure. The padding only blocks the knuckles and manufacturers do not normally pay TOO much attention to the padding around the wrist area. Fighting gloves do not typically have padded thumbs, but rather free thumbs for better grip.