Fairtex FGV17 MMA Glove Review : Great for grappling

Fairtex FGV17 MMA Glove Review

Unlike other combat sport gloves, the evolution of the MMA glove has been rapid. Fairtex has been at the forefront of that rapid progression. Despite their Muay Thai glove expertise, Fairtex doesn’t disappoint with their FGV17 MMA Training Gloves. 

Anyone old enough to remember the earliest UFC tournaments, will know they were bare knuckle. The original promoters wanted the UFC to be as real as possible, to please the crowd. But as the promotion grew, they saw the fighters were routinely damaging their hands. These hand injuries led to sloppy striking and the crowd were paying for knockout blows. So the UFC and the wider MMA world reluctantly bought in gloves. Cue many badly designed gloves and much debate, on the best way to protect fists and allow for grappling.

So the question is, how good are Fairtex’s FGV17 MMA sparring gloves? 

Let’s break it down.

Knuckle protection:

It would seem that utilizing their three layered microfibre padding system, would be too bulky for an MMA glove. Although by scaling it down, the same layered padding they use in their boxing gloves, works its magic here. Encased in the finest quality leather, Fairtex’s padding system offers maximum knuckle protection and shock absorption in the minimum amount of space. Of course gloves built for a sport involving grappling, are never going to protect the hands like a boxing glove. Nevertheless the FGV17 strikes a great balance between both protection and hand mobility.

Grappling:

For good reason, many people call the FGV17 MMA sparring glove, an MMA grappling glove. Fairtex made the FGV17 glove with grappling in mind. By masterfully

 implementing split knuckles, longer finger compartments and an open palm leaving the hands as mobile as possible. All of these facets combine with the ergonomic pre-curve, to make this MMA sparring glove ideal for grappling. Many other MMA sparring gloves, increase padding to ensure the fighter does not sustain a hand injury during training. A sensible design idea, although many fighters find the extra padding makes grappling difficult. These fighters often opt for a less protective glove and end up with injuries in training. But with the FGV17, Fairtex seems to have struck the right balance between knuckle protection and hand mobility. 

Ergonomic design:

The ergonomically forgiving, pre-curve contour of the Fairtex FGV17 MMA sparring glove, wraps around the knuckle. This means forming a fist is comfortable and easy and there is very little need to break these gloves in. Many other MMA gloves do not have a pre-curve, which reduces grappling ability and increases the breaking in period. Ultimately Fairtex’s ergonomic design makes for a very comfortable, snug fitting and extremely practical glove.

Size:

Something as small as an MMA glove poses unique challenges for the manufacturer. Packing in enough padding to offer maximum protection, whilst keeping the glove small is not an easy task to achieve. Especially whilst leaving the fingers mobile and free for effective grappling. This is always going to be a difficult balance but here, Fairtex has arguably managed it better than anyone else. Coming in small, medium and large and weighing 0.75 kg, these gloves have everything you need, condensed into a durable and compact product.

Aesthetics:

Fairtex FGV17 MMA sparring gloves are a great looking product. These MMA gloves are made from the highest quality leather, adorned with Fairtex’s aesthetically pleasing logo, emblazoned right across the knuckles. The split knuckle design aren’t just practical for grappling. The split knuckles give the FGV17 the look of Bruce Lee’s legendary Bong Sau Kenpo gloves. A real eye catching glove.

Promotion endorsements:

Despite being a Muay Thai equipment specialists, Fairtex has earned the respect of leading MMA promotions such as ONE Championship and Cage Warriors.

Fairtex FGV17 MMA Glove Review Conclusion

The Fairtex FGV17 are some of the best MMA training gloves around. Excellent for grappling but with adequate knuckle protection. A fantastic MMA glove from the manufacturers of the fight gloves used by leading MMA promoter ONE Championship and UK fight promoter Cage Warriors. Fairtex has delivered the goods with their FGV17 MMA sparring glove. A great buy.