Do You Wear Hand Wraps Under MMA Gloves? | Explained
Do you have to wear hand wraps under MMA Gloves? In this page we'll go over whether or not it is necessary, hand injuries that fighters have sustained, and an analogy to describe hand wraps.
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Do You Wear Wraps With MMA Gloves
Yes. Contrary to popular belief, gloves are meant to protect the hands of the fighters. In order to maximize the protection of the hands and wrists, hand wraps are a necessity underneath the gloves.
The intention of the hand wraps is to create a flexible covering around your hands to keep the bones from being pushed around too much when impact occurs.
Hand wraps maintain a solid and firm structure around the hand and and wrist, in order to prevent squirming on hard impact.
In a fight, impact occurs consistently throughout the duration of the fight, making hand wraps one of the most important things a fighter can use.
Fighter Hand Injuries
Throughout the history of MMA fighters have encountered many injuries, but one of the most overlooked injuries are hand injuries.
Many fighters including Robert Whittaker, Fedor Emelianenko, Anthony Pettis & Gian Villante have all broken their hands during a fight.
Not only is it difficult to heal from a broken hand, but all of these fighters broke their hands during the fight, and had to continue.
In fact, Robert Whittaker broke his hand and then had to fight 4 more rounds with the broken hand, versus one of the scariest fighters in UFC 225.
Analogy to Describe Hand Wraps
A great analogy to describe hand wraps is the following:
If you've ever heard of the phrase 'Brace for Impact', what do you think that you have to do in that moment?
Whether you're on a place, a car, or even on the receiving end of a punch, you're tightening your muscles and getting in a position where your body is compact in order to handle the impact as best as possible.
This is how hand wraps work. They keep everything more compact, in order to prevent 'fluke' injuries, and allow the fighter to properly punch.
