MMA gear: all our buying guides, tests and rankings

In short

  • All our buying guides, tested picks and brand rankings, grouped by type of gear.
  • To get started, four purchases are enough: gloves, a mouthguard, shin guards and a groin cup.
  • Every selection explains how the products were tested, following our methodology.
  • The comparison tool puts two products side by side.

A beginner does not need the same gear as a fighter who spars three times a week. Each section below starts with the guide on how to choose, then points to the tested picks and the brand rankings. If you are not sure where to start, read the gloves guide first: gloves matter more than anything else for comfort in training and for your partners’ safety.

Gloves

Mouthguards, groin cups and protective gear

Heavy bags and grappling dummies

Mats, tatamis and cages

Apparel: shorts, rashguards, spats

Beginner kits

The brands

Venum, RDX, Hayabusa, Fairtex, Shock Doctor: our MMA brands page covers each manufacturer and links to its best tested models.

Before you buy

If you are new to the sport, our complete MMA guide explains how it works and what you do in your first months at a club, and the guide to starting MMA after 30 answers the most common questions about age and sparring.