The 9 Best MMA Gloves of 2022

Whats worse than being punched in the face?

Swinging at your opponent, but missing because your cheap MMA gloves are sliding around on your hands and distracting you… and getting punched in the face.

The right MMA gloves are important not only so you can train harder and smarter, but to avoid hand fatigue while sparring (its a thing). You’re looking for the best MMA gloves, because you’re wise. And below we have 9 of the best picks of 2022 and beyond.

If you’re in a rush, here’s our top pick:

Ok, we’ll reveal the remaining gloves, and educate you on some tips to choose the best from the worst.

Reviews: 9 of theBest MMA Gloves  

To save you the time and effort of trawling through online forums and Amazon, we’ve picked out our favourite MMA gloves that are the best of the bunch for their disciplines.

You didn’t think we’d leave out the real deal did you? These are the official UFC fight gloves, as in the actual gloves the pros use in the Octagon.

These bad boys should come with a parental advisory warning, because they aren’t messing around. You won’t want to be using these in training, only when your competing for real. They offer minimum padding so your opponent will feel everything. But then again, so will your knuckles — we found that it feels about as close as you can get to fighting bare knuckle.

In saying that though, because they are built for fighting, they do have a natural curve on the knuckles to reduce hand fatigue. 

The upside of that tiny amount of padding is that the gloves are open palmed and open thumbed, so you’ll have the maximum amount of freedom for grappling.

And the winner, by unanimous decision, is the Hayabusa T3 Pro Style gloves!

The great thing about these fight gloves are that not only are they great all-around MMA training gloves, but they’re suitable for both beginners and professionals. So potentially, these could be the only ones you need, for a long time. They are both great for grappling and striking. They have all of the bells and whistles, with curved padding on the knuckles to reduce fatigue, and industry leading wrist protection. 

One unique thing about these gloves is what they call the “Y palm design” which helps with a more comfortable and effective fit. 

One complaint we do have though, is that they can take a little bit of time and effort to break in.

When you’re blasting pads and bags with your fists, you want to make sure you have some decent protection, and these bag gloves fit the bill.

With a massive 2” of padding, you can strike with total confidence, knowing you can give it your all. The Combat Sports Max Strike MMA gloves are designed in a way that you can make a tight fist easily, but when you strike, they feel extremely solid and supportive, similar to boxing gloves. This is awesome for boxing and Muay Thai training.

The finger holes are made of durable leather, so you won’t have to worry about that part of the glove coming apart, which can sometimes be the case with striking gloves. 

One thing we did notice though was that there is an edge on the bottom of the top surface that sticks out, so sometimes your glove might get stuck pulling out of a Jiu Jitsu submission attempt.

If grappling and some light ground and pound are what you spend most of your time training, these are a great option.

They also have a double closure system that helps position the glove to fit snug and secure. 

The only downsides we found were that they weren’t genuine leather construction, and there wasn’t much protection for your palms. 

All in all though, these are really good value, high quality gloves suitable for all aspects of MMA from Muay Thai to Jiu Jitsu.

When you step into the cage, you can’t ask for better fist pillows than the Tokushu Rengenisis MMA gloves.

These aren’t real leather gloves, but in this case, that’s actually a good thing. They’re made of something Hayabusa call “Vylar-2” leather, which while synthetic leather, is claimed to be much stronger and more durable than regular leather gloves. 

Weighing in at a regulation 4 oz, the upper knuckles are curved in their padding, but the thumb is open for flexibility. And if you have a problem with your gloves smelling bad after training, they even have an odor reducing material in the lining so you don’t gross yourself out when you take them off after a few rounds. 

There aren’t really any bad points we can make about these gloves, other than they are relatively expensive. But if you’re looking for the best (and in the cage you should be), these are the ones to go for.

The value you get with the RDX MMA Gloves is quite remarkable. They have a triple layer of padding made of foam and gel, so you know you can punch with absolute confidence. 

The good news continues, because even at this low price point, they are made of genuine cowhide leather, so you know they’ll take whatever your throw at them. Even the wrists are padded, so you can throw up blocks all day long knowing you’ll be okay even if they’re not wearing shin guards. 

Grappling, striking, or fighting, you’ll feel like a beast training in these gloves.

If you’re just starting out, you probably don’t want to gut your bank account for a pair of MMA gloves. So with that in mind, we’ve chosen the Combat Sports Pro Style MMA gloves for the newbies out there. 

When you’re looking at the best beginner MMA gloves, you want something that will do the job, but still be affordable. And despite their low price, these 5 oz. gloves meet all state regulations, right up to the professional level.

We wouldn’t call them spectacular, as they had to cut costs in some places, for example using synthetic leather instead of genuine leather. They still have decent foam padding though, so you’ll stay safe. 

In saying that, they are a solid choice if you’re just starting out your MMA journey.

The RDX F12 Training gloves are basically modelled after the RDM MMA Gloves, which is our pick for best value MMA glove.

To cut costs though, they’ve cut a few corners — they’ve used foam instead of gel and synthetic leather instead of genuine leather.

They still feature a triple layer of padding, double reinforced stitching and handle the heat of your hands well.

The only reason these are the runner up in our beginner/newbie category, is that they are a bit more expensive than the Combat Sports Pro Style MMA Gloves.

This 2.0 version has been redesigned for more comfort and quality, and we can definitely feel the difference in the hand and on the bags. The Napa leather means it’s a bit softer than other leather too, so the break in period shouldn’t be as long as other leather gloves. 

We also noticed that while they feel tight and secure on the hand, they are still comfortable and flexible for grappling. There is also a new closure system that lets your do up the gloves with just one hand, which is… handy. 

It’s a close race on both specs and price between the Venums and the Hayabusas for our top pick for best overall MMA gloves, so we’ll let you be the judge of what suits you best. You really can’t go wrong with either glove though.

How to Choose the Right MMA Gloves for You

Before you start practicing Conor McGregor’s Vince McMahon strut (1) into the cage, you’ll want to make sure you have the best MMA gloves for your needs. For example, if you’re looking to do heavy bag work with a pair of grappling MMA gloves, you’ll be in a world of pain pretty quickly.  If you are only going to be doing heavy bag workouts boxing gloves are designed to provide more protection for your firsts. If you want to become a UFC fighter check this post out.

Let’s break down the things you need to know to pick the right gloves for you. 

Glove type

There are three main types of gloves for MMA, and they’re all used for different types of training. Picking the right kind will help you train harder, smarter, and stay injury free.

MMA Sparring Gloves

Okay Bruce Lee, you want to hit some stuff with your fists. If you want to focus on your punching technique while protecting yourself, you’ll need MMA sparring gloves. If you’re planing on sparing you’ll need a MMA mouth guard as well.

These types of gloves have more padding, and weigh a bit more, usually around 7 oz. to 10 oz.

They should also have some sort of grip bar that helps you make a tight fist around it which makes punching way easier. You probably won’t be able to grapple with them very well, but they are your best MMA glove for hitting pads and the heavy bag.

The MMA Training/Hybrid Gloves

Weighing between 7 oz. to 10 oz., these gloves are more of a jack of all trades rather than a specialist glove.

The fingers are separated so you can grapple, but they also have light padding for punching. You’ll most likely use these as your MMA gear for the majority of your training, as they cover all the bases well. To keep all your MMA gear organised you’ll need the best MMA gym bag.

MMA Competition Gloves

It’s time!

If you’re heading into the cage for a bout, MMA competition gloves are what you’re after. These are the lightweights of the MMA glove world, and these competition gloves generally weight 4oz, depending on the rules of your organisation, which may vary (2). If in doubt, check with your gym for your local state laws.

Size/Weight

We went over the weights of each type of MMA glove; generally the heavier gloves are for striking, and the lighter gloves are for grappling, light striking, and competition. 

As for the size, it’s important to make sure your MMA gloves fit you well. This will help with not just your technique, but the lifespan of the gloves. 

To find the right size for you, get a measuring tape, and measure the circumference of your palm as shown here.

MMA Glove Size Chart
Size	Hand Circumference
	in	cm
Small	6.0” – 7.0”	15 – 18 cm
Medium	7.0” – 8.0”	18 – 20 cm
Large	8.0” – 9.0”	20 – 23 cm
X-Large	9.0” – 10.0”	23 – 26 cm

Be aware here, if you’re wearing hand wraps under your gloves (which you should be), increase the size of your gloves by one. For example, if you are a size medium, buy a size large glove. If you have huge hands like Stefan Struve you’ll need the largest size possible.

Glove sizes may vary too, depending on the manufacturer. 

Material

Padding

No matter the kind of MMA glove, it will most likely have foam padding in it. Cheaper gloves have regular foam, better designs will have layered foam or gel for better padding and durability. If you’re in doubt, check the reviews to see what other people think of the padding. Bag gloves/striking gloves will have the most padding, grappling MMA gloves will have less.

Where It’s Made

Thailand has a long reputation for MMA equipment, as they’ve been doing combat sports gear there for martial arts for a long time (3). Most MMA gear from Thailand, whether they are shin guards or MMA gloves can be a bit more expensive, but a lot more craftsmanship goes into them. Making them high quality products.

Cheaper gloves will come from the likes of Vietnam, Pakistan, and China. You get what you pay for here. If a glove doesn’t outright say where it was made, it may well come from one of these countries.

Velcro Wrist Strap

This is the part of the glove that has the most stress put on it, so make sure it’s large and sturdy. If this area of the glove is weak, you could risk the glove coming apart, or worse, cause a sidelining injury to your hands or wrists.

Leather/Vinyl

Just like a good jacket, leather construction will always be the way to go for comfort, quality, and durability(4).

Do be aware though, because genuine leather is a bit stiffer than synthetic leather, genuine leather gloves will take a bit longer to break in. Over time though, the genuine leather gloves will be the more comfortable and durable option. 

The Verdict: What Are the Best MMA Gloves?

It’s a tough one, because it really does depend on what you’re after. The clear best choice is the UFC Official Fight Glove.

The UFC Official Fight Glove are affordable fight gloves and still manage to tick all of the boxes for effective and safe MMA training:

• 100% authentic full grain leather.
• Reinforced stitching.
• Amazing padding everywhere.
• Great wrist support.
• Open palm design.
• Strike as well as grapple with ease.

You really can’t go wrong with any of the MMA gloves we’ve reviewed here, but if you have any doubts, check out the reviews in the links we’ve provided.

Happy training!

References

1. Bumpus, D. (2017). Conor McGregor expresses his love for Vince McMahon at open workouts- FanSided.com. Retrieved from https://fansided.com/2017/08/11/conor-mcgregor-loves-vince-mcmahon-wwe-strut/
2. Raimondi, M. (2019, April 16). ABC survey: At least 10 different MMA rulesets being used in North America – MMAFighting.com. Retrieved from https://www.mmafighting.com/2019/4/16/18358920/abc-survey-at-least-10-different-mma-rulesets-being-used-in-north-america
3. (2016, May 24). History of Muay Thai – KombatGroup.com. Retrieved from https://www.kombatgroup.com/history-of-muay-thai/
4. Varkaris, L. (2018, January 13). Synthetic Or Leather Boxing Gloves – How To Choose – DynamicBoxingFitness.com.au. Retrieved from https://dynamicboxingfitness.com.au/fitness/synthetic-or-leather-boxing-gloves-how-to-choose