The 9 Best MMA Gym Bags to Keep All Your Gear Organised

The more you get into MMA training, the more gear you have to lug around, and the bigger your gym bag has to be. There are far too many options out there, so we’re going to save you some time with our list of the 9 best MMA gym bags you can buy.

How to Choose the Right Gym Bag for MMA

With MMA being the fastest growing sport in the world (1), we’re lucky to have a heap of options for your specific MMA training gear.

If you mainly practice Brazillian Jiu Jitsu, you might not need a huge bag. But if you’re practicing Muay Thai or boxing, you’re likely to need a lot of space to carry boxing gloves and Thai pads.

Or maybe you need a gym bag that can cater for all MMA disciplines, or even a gym bag that can double as a travel bag.

Let’s have a look at the things you’ll want to consider before you decide on an MMA gym bag that suits your needs the best.

Size

The standard capacity for MMA gym bags tends to be around the 61 litre mark. That should usually be enough space to carry most of your MMA training gear, but probably not all of it like your inversion table.

If you commute to training, or don’t have too much gear to carry, you might want to consider one of the smaller bags on this list.

Or on the other hand, if you’d like to take the whole gym with you, there are a few super-sized MMA gym bags on this list that will suit you well.

Bacteria Protection

When you train, you sweat. And when you put that sweaty gear in your gym bag, all sorts of nasty bacteria will start to funk up your gear and your bag. Bacterial infections have unfortunately always played negative role in MMA for a long time (2), so it’s worth avoiding it as much as you can.

If you want to keep that sweaty gear completely away from your other stuff, look for an MMA gym bag on this list with a separate compartment especially for gym gear. 

To go the extra mile, there is one bag on this list that actually has antimicrobial properties to really make sure your bag doesn’t get too stinky.

All of the bags on this list though do have breathable mesh pockets, so if in doubt, put your sweaty gear in those pockets so the air can get to them.

Durability

These aren’t Gucci handbags — your MMA gear bag is going to be thrown around, zipped opened in a hurry, and generally manhandled as much as you are on the mat.

All of the MMA gym bags on our list are quite durable, but if you’re not the kind of person who takes too much care of your stuff, maybe look for a bag that is extra tough. 

Versatility

Yes, the main focus of the gym bags are for MMA training equipment such as MMA gloves and shin guards but it’s also important to have small compartments for gear like your mouthguard or hand wraps. But if you also need a gym bag that can double as an overnight bag, or maybe fit inside an overhead locker, consider those things when you go through this list. 

You also might want to consider whether you want a duffle bag style, backpack style, or a gym bag that can be both.

The Reviews of The 9 Best MMA Gym Bags 

Ok, lets take a look at the best options on the market:

The Cobra Grips Large Gym Bag has overwhelmingly positive reviews, and for good reason. It’s strong, durable, has plenty of compartments, and is comfortable to carry all of your combat sports gear. 

It’s a great piece of kit, and that’s why we’ve chosen it to be our best overall MMA gym bag.

Coming in at just over 1 lb, the Meister Chain Mesh Duffel Gym Bag is a super lightweight option that is still about the same size as the other bags on this list.

If you need even more space, upsize yourself to the massive 103 litre option to cram every last bit of gear you have.

While it doesn’t have too many storage options, it has terrific breathability, and offers excellent value, so that’s why we’ve picked it as our best budget MMA gym bag.

The Venum Trainer Lite Sport Bag is the good looker of our MMA gym bag list — it’s design will even match your Venum shin guards and Muay Thai gloves if that’s important to you.

It does all the things you’d expect from any MMA gym bag, with breathable panels to keep your gear fresh, and enough space for most needs.

If this Ogio Endurance Duffle Bag was just a bit less expensive, it would easily be our best overall MMA gym bag on our list. It offers a ridiculous amount of specialist compartments, doubles as a backpack, is of an excellent build quality, and has a wet compartment to boot. 

If you have the cash, and want as many features as possible, this is your best choice.

If your main disciplines are Muay Thai and Boxing, you’re going to have a lot of big, bulky gear. The Fairtex Gym Bag is the one to carry all of your MMA and Muay Thai training gear in style. 

For it’s price, you won’t find a bigger MMA gym bag, and you’ll never have to worry about running out of space.

If you have lots of pads and MMA gloves to carry around, pick this one.

For as long as BJJ has been around, you’d think there would have been a specialist BJJ MMA gym gear bag for sale along time ago. Finally though, there is such a thing in the form of the Gold BJJ Jiu Jitsu Backpack.

This thing was built from the ground up for practitioners of BJJ, so a lot of thought was put into the specific needs of BJJ MMA gear.

So specific, in fact, not only does it have a waterproof compartment for your Gi, it even has a compartment especially for your belt! 

The only major downside is that you might find it a little bit small. But then again, if you’re not carrying around MMA gloves and pads, that doesn’t matter — so that’s why we’ve chosen this as our best MMA gym bag for Brazillian Jiu Jitsu.

For a Hayabusa product, this MMA gym bag isn’t actually too expensive, so it represents pretty good value. It has an emphasis on durability, so if you’re rough with your gear, or you just want to make your investment last a long time, the Hayabusa Ryoko Mesh Gear Bag is the MMA gym bag to go for.

Venum has a long reputation for quality, and so for the price, this is a good deal. If you want a gym bag that’s just a little bit smaller than your average MMA gym bag, this could be a good choice for you.

The Datsusara Duffle Bag range is a favourite in the industry for a few reasons. It’s made of hemp, so it’s naturally antimicrobial (3), and super durable. It also has a huge amount of compartments of all shapes and sizes, so you know where each and every one of your bits and pieces are located. 

Whether you want a compact, regular or gigantic sized martial arts bag, Datsusara has you covered.

The Bottom Line

We’ve done a ton of research to find the best martial arts bags out there to cater for a range of specialist needs.

While you could pick any MMA gym bag on this list and not be disappointed, we’d encourage to check out the reviews in the links we’ve provided to make sure you find the perfect bag for you. If in doubt, check out what other people at your gym are carrying and see what they think of our choices!

References

1. Pioneers of MMA: Pat Miletich – UFC.tv. Retrieved from https://www.ufc.tv/category/pioneers-of-mma-pat-miletich
2. Cruz, G. (2019, March 22). Jose Aldo hospitalized with bacterial infection, still expected to fight at UFC 237 – MMAFighting.com. Retrieved from https://www.mmafighting.com/2019/3/22/18277947/jose-aldo-hospitalized-bacterial-infection-brazil-ufc-237
3. Why Hemp? – DSGear.com. Retrieved from https://www.dsgear.com/pages/why-hemp