MMA kit for your first classes

Start with your gym's kit list

Ask your gym before you buy anything: kit lists vary from gym to gym, and so does the point at which you start sparring. At New Wave Academy in Croydon, for example, classes begin with drilling and end with some controlled sparring, and the coaches decide when you are ready to begin sparring.

That gym's equipment list names a mouthguard, domed 8oz MMA sparring gloves, 12-16oz boxing gloves and shin pads in a soft sock style or a Thai style. It says head and groin guards are optional for sparring. Lists from UK retailers overlap with it but differ in the details, as the sections below show. So treat any list, including ours, as a starting point for a conversation with your coach.

What to buy first

A mouthguard

Buy a mouthguard first. Budo Online, a UK martial arts retailer, calls one non-negotiable for sparring, and an MMA training article on mouthguard maker OPRO's site says to wear one every session, even for light drilling. In MMA, staying in place matters as well as fit: the same article says a guard needs to stay in through heavy breathing and wrestling scrambles.

Many guards are fitted at home. Boil-and-bite guards are softened in hot water and moulded to your teeth, following the maker's instructions. Self-fit guards such as OPRO's are also heated, then shaped with the maker's own method: in OPRO's case, its impression tray. A double guard covers both the upper and lower teeth.

If you wear braces, don't assume a guard is compatible: look for an explicit statement from the maker. Shock Doctor, for example, states that its Nano Double, a double guard, is not compatible with braces, and points buyers to braces-specific guards instead.

If you might compete, the rules add conditions:

• IMMAF's January 2021 amateur rules require every athlete to wear a well-fitting mouthpiece, subject to examination and approval, and make athletes responsible for sourcing their own non-branded mouthguard (section 15).
• IMMAF's 2026 summary of its adult rules, which is non-controlling, says a red mouthguard is not permitted. It also says a double mouthguard is mandatory when braces are fitted to both the upper and lower teeth.
• UWW's amateur MMA rules also say mouthguards cannot be red, and require athletes to bring a spare (Article 1.3).
• The ABC's professional Unified Rules say a round cannot begin without a mouthpiece (Rule 4).

If you want one guard for training and competing, choose one that is neither red nor branded, and check your event's rules.

Hand wraps

Wraps go under your gloves for pad work, bag work and sparring. Budo Online lists them as worn under MMA gloves for wrist support, and the author of OPRO's article wraps every session for wrist support.

MMA gloves are small, so bulk matters. Sweet Science of Fighting, a combat-sports website, suggests a 180in (4.5m) wrap and says slip-on inner gloves, also called quick wraps, generally can't fit inside an MMA glove. The wraps you buy are training wraps: for competition, the IMMAF and UWW rules call for gauze-and-tape wraps applied under officials' supervision (see the competition section below).

MMA gloves

MMA gloves are open-palmed, with finger loops, so you can strike and grip in the same exchange. They are much lighter than boxing gloves: Budo Online puts them typically at 4-7oz, against 10-16oz for boxing gloves. Its glove guide sorts them into three groups. Competition or fight gloves of 4-4.5oz have minimal padding and, Budo says, are not suitable for sparring. Hybrid gloves of 6-7oz carry more padding than competition gloves but still allow grappling. Sparring gloves of 7-8oz have the most padding of the three.

For a first pair, Budo suggests a 7oz hybrid if you only want one pair, and 7-8oz sparring gloves for contact training, keeping competition gloves for fight day. New Wave Academy's list asks for domed 8oz MMA sparring gloves. Check what your gym uses for sparring before you buy.

A rash guard and shorts

For grappling and no-gi rounds, Budo Online lists a rash guard, a tight, stretchy top, among the kit you need. MMA shorts are cut to let you kick and grapple. Train in whatever your gym allows. If you are buying new, though, shorts without pockets, zips or fasteners (IMMAF allows none at all) are the kind IMMAF's, UWW's and the ABC's professional rules ask for in competition (see below).

If you also train no-gi jiu-jitsu and might compete in it, IBJJF's no-gi uniform rules require:

• a skin-tight top in black, white, or black and white, with at least 10% of your belt colour (or entirely in your belt colour);
• shorts in black, white or your belt colour, reaching at least halfway down the thigh and no lower than the knee, with no buttons, zips or open pockets (pockets stitched shut are allowed).

When you start sparring

Your coach decides when you start sparring, and that is the point to add the rest of the protective kit.

Shin guards

MMA shin guards usually cover the shin and the top of the foot. They come in three designs: sleeve guards that pull on like a sock, strap-on guards held on with straps, and hybrids that combine elements of both.

Hayabusa's guide to the two main styles says slip-on guards give a locked-in fit and recommends them for mobility while grappling, but notes they are not as easy to adjust. Strapped guards, it says, can be adjusted and suit kick-heavy sparring. It adds that they typically have thicker padding density, which is good for heavy kick conditioning, but that their straps can shift if they are not tightened correctly. Hayabusa also describes MMA shin guards as typically lighter and more flexible than Muay Thai guards, which some athletes find too bulky for grappling.

Some people wear shin guards for more than sparring: the author of OPRO's article wears them for any session with kicks, so ask your gym what it expects for partner drills.

Amateur competition rules are stricter. IMMAF's 2021 rules say the preferred type is a tight-fitting pull-on sock or neoprene guard and forbid Velcro-type strap fasteners (section 15). UWW's rules require elastic or neoprene shinpads with attached foot padding and no loose straps or Velcro, and prohibit kickboxing and Muay Thai shinpads (Article 1.3). At IMMAF tournaments the shin guards are issued to competitors, so the guard you buy is for training and sparring; a guard with hook-and-loop straps is training kit under both rule sets.

Groin protection

Advice on when to start wearing one varies. New Wave Academy lists groin guards as optional for sparring, Budo Online calls a groin guard essential for men during sparring, and the author of OPRO's article wears a cup every session. In competition, men must wear one under IMMAF's, UWW's and the ABC's professional rules (see below).

For MMA, look at cup-style protectors. Sweet Science of Fighting says boxing-style protectors, with a full harness up to the belly, limit mobility for kicks and get in the way when grappling.

A second pair of gloves

Some gyms spar striking-only rounds in boxing gloves. New Wave Academy's list includes 12-16oz boxing gloves, and Budo Online suggests 12-16oz boxing gloves for heavy bag work and boxing-focused sparring. The author of OPRO's article sometimes uses 14-16oz boxing gloves for striking-only sparring. Buy a pair only if your gym spars that way.

Headgear

Headgear is a gym decision. New Wave Academy lists head guards as optional for sparring, while UK retailer Made4Fighters' beginner guide calls a head guard essential for newcomers. The author of OPRO's article wears headgear on hard striking sparring days, following the coach's guidance. Ask your coach before you buy one; we don't cover headgear for MMA.

What can wait

Some kit is easy to buy too early. A pair of 4-4.5oz fight gloves is the clearest example. Budo Online says competition gloves should be kept for fight day rather than used for sparring. Under IMMAF's 2021 amateur rules, only gloves supplied by the event's commission or host regulatory body may be used in competition, and athletes may not supply their own (section 15).

Slip-on gel or quick wraps can wait too, because Sweet Science of Fighting says inner gloves generally can't fit inside an MMA glove. So can a large boxing-style groin protector, for the mobility reasons above, and a second pair of gloves or headgear until your gym asks for them.

If amateur competition is your aim, you don't need to buy fight kit in advance for IMMAF tournaments: competitors are issued gloves, shin guards, a rash guard and shorts in red and blue (section 15). For other events, ask the organiser what it supplies and what you bring.

Fit and sizing

MMA gloves are usually sized S to XL rather than by ounces, Fairtex says. The fit, it adds, depends on your hand size and whether you wear wraps, so check the size guide with your wraps in mind.

For shin guards, Hayabusa suggests measuring shin length from the top of the foot to just below the kneecap, and calf circumference at its widest point. The top of the guard, it says, should sit just below the knee. Sleeves are less adjustable than strapped guards, Hayabusa notes, so the measurements matter more.

Rash guards are tight by design, and sizing varies between makers: Venum, for example, recommends choosing one to two sizes up for its Contender rash guard. Use each maker's own size chart, for shorts as well as tops.

If you plan to compete

Which rules apply

The kit rules come from the organiser, so check your event's rules before you buy anything for a bout. IMMAF, the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation, says its amateur rules are under review and that meanwhile it reverts to its 2021 editions, so we cite its January 2021 amateur rules. IMMAF has also published a 2026 summary of its adult rules, which describes itself as non-controlling: if it conflicts with the full rules, the full rules prevail. We quote the summary only where it adds to the 2021 rules.

In England, the England Mixed Martial Arts Association (EMMAA), which IMMAF lists as its national federation for England, says it follows IMMAF's unified rules for amateur MMA. IMMAF also lists federations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; we found no kit rules published by them, so ask the organiser.

Where other rule sets differ, we quote two more:

• United World Wrestling's International Amateur MMA Rules (UWW, May 2026 edition);
• the Unified Rules of MMA for professional bouts of the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC), as amended on 5 August 2026.

Where we mention the ABC's amateur MMA rules, note that the ABC now lists them among its archived documents as recommendations only.

What the organiser supplies

Under IMMAF's 2021 rules (section 15):

• Shin guards and rash guards are mandatory in amateur competition.
• At IMMAF tournaments, each competitor is issued two sets of kit, one red and one blue. Each set has gloves, shin guards, a rash guard and shorts.
• Only gloves supplied by the event's commission or host regulatory body may be used, and athletes may not supply their own. They are open-handed gloves with finger and thumb loops, a Velcro wrist strap and 6-8oz of padding, in red or blue.

Other rule sets differ in the details:

• The ABC's amateur MMA rules, which the ABC now lists as archived recommendations, have the promoter supply gloves of at least 6oz and approved shin guards with instep pads.
• UWW requires identical approved gloves of at least 7oz, with at least 2cm of padding over the knuckles, and identical shinpads of elastic fabric or neoprene with attached foot padding (Article 1.3).

What you bring

Your mouthguard is your own: see the mouthguard rules above. Men also bring their own groin protector: IMMAF's 2021 rules say all male athletes must provide and wear one (section 15). UWW requires men to wear a plastic groin protector (Article 1.3), and the ABC's professional rules require men to wear appropriate groin protection (Rule 11).

Hand wraps in competition

For competition, the IMMAF and UWW rules call for gauze-and-tape wraps applied under officials' supervision. The rules in detail:

• Under IMMAF's 2021 rules, each hand may have soft open-weave gauze held by surgeon's or zinc-oxide tape. The gauze and tape are put on in the dressing room in the presence of the commission or host body, and the gloves go on only once that body approves (section 17).
• IMMAF's 2026 summary says hand wrapping is mandatory and must be inspected and approved before the gloves are fitted.
• The ABC's professional rules limit each hand to one roll of gauze and one of tape (Rule 9). Its archived amateur recommendations also have gauze and tape put on in the presence of the inspector, and rule out pre-wraps.
• UWW makes wraps optional but limits them to gauze and medical tape, has its inspectors supervise hand wrapping, and prohibits elastic wraps (Articles 1.3 and 4.2).

The wraps you buy are for training.

Shorts, rash guards and shoes

The rules for shorts:

• IMMAF's 2021 rules call for MMA or compression shorts in red or blue, with no pockets, zips or fasteners, and with any lace-up waistband on the inside (section 15).
• UWW requires competition shorts that cover at least two-thirds of the thigh and stop no lower than the top of the knee, with no external Velcro, pockets, zips or metal. Athletes may never compete in compression shorts alone (Article 1.2).
• The ABC's professional rules bar hems below the knee and exposed Velcro, pockets or zips (Rule 11).

The rules for rash guards:

• IMMAF's 2021 rules require a tight-fitting stretch rash guard with short sleeves, in red or blue. They do not permit long sleeves, apart from a cultural and religious dispensation for female athletes who give prior written notice (section 15).
• UWW requires a tight-fitting rash guard with short sleeves above the elbow, at least 70% in your corner colour (Article 1.2).

No shoes are worn in competition under the IMMAF, UWW or ABC rules.

Notes for women

Groin protection is optional for women under IMMAF's 2021 rules (section 15) and UWW's rules (Article 1.3). The ABC's professional rules do not require it (Rule 11).

For the upper body:

• The ABC's professional rules require a short-sleeved or sleeveless form-fitting rash guard and/or sports bra and allow no breast protectors (Rule 11).
• UWW requires a sports bra under the rash guard and allows no external breast protectors (Article 1.2).
• The ABC's archived amateur recommendations allow a chest protector or a properly fitted sports bra, with chest protectors subject to the commission's approval.

We found no women-specific MMA kit list from a UK gym or retailer to cite, so ask your gym what it expects in training.

What we don't claim

We don't describe any kit as approved by a governing body or as meeting a competition's rules. At IMMAF tournaments the organiser issues the gloves, shin guards, rash guards and shorts. Other events set their own rules, so check your event's rules before you buy for a bout.

We don't claim that any kit prevents injury; we describe coverage, padding, materials and fit. Our assessments are research-based: we have not tested these products, and we quote makers', retailers' and gyms' claims as theirs. The rules quoted here were checked on 22 October 2026.