9 Key Differences Between MMA Glove Vs Boxing Gloves

Boxing gloves are a lot heavier and may be difficult to use at first. However  they provide better protection with extra padding  for your fist, wrist and fingers.

As for MMA gloves, they are lighter than the Boxing gloves and may not provide as much protection.  However, they offer you more flexibility to use your fingers in fights.

In this article, I will compare MMA Gloves and Boxing gloves. This may help you decide which glove to use during your practice. (Or even which sports to go for!)

	MMA Glove	Boxing Glove
Impact	Hurts less	Hurts more
Safety	Less safe	Safer
Comfort	More comfortable	Less comfortable
For punching bag	Less suitable	More suitable
Wrist support	Less wrist support	Better wirst support
Weight	Lighter	Heavier
Material	Leather	Leather
Cost	Less expensive	More expensive
Size	Smaller	Bigger

 

1. Which Hurts More: MMA Glove Vs Boxing Glove

Boxing gloves hurt the opponent more than MMA gloves. This is because the material used for boxing gloves are harder and denser than MMA gloves, so they cause more damage when punched.

Moreover, boxing gloves are heavily padded instead of lightweight MMA gloves. Boxing gloves can weigh up to 20 ounces, enabling the boxer to deliver powerful punches. Their heavyweight plus the sheer force the boxer applies with each punch makes fighting with boxing gloves more fatal than with the 6-ounce MMA gloves.

The padding in boxing gloves serves as a protection for the boxer’s hand. The mitten-like glove’s padding cushions their blows, so boxers feel less pain when punching. However, this delivers more damage to the opponent – causing it to hurt more.

MMA gloves are designed with less padding because MMA isn’t concentrated only on punches (kicks and elbow swipes are other techniques involved) – thus they have to be more flexible. 

 

2. Which is Safer: MMA Glove Vs Boxing Glove

Boxing gloves are safer to use than MMA gloves because their heavier padding provides more protection around the hand. MMA gloves have no finger protection, and the padding is only on the knuckles, causing MMA fighters to have more damage on their hands than boxers.

Due to the heavier padding boxing gloves also offer better protection against cuts and bruises to the head and body of your opponent. Whereas MMA gloves have significantly less padding  causing  punches to be very sharp and increasing the risk of the opponent getting concussions.

A study published in The Journal of Neurology found that while both boxing and MMA gloves reduce the effect of blows to the opponent’s head by 50%, MMA gloves offer less protection against concussions.

Researchers found that participants wearing MMA gloves were 2.5 times as likely to suffer a concussion than those wearing boxing gloves.

 

3. Which Is More Comfortable: MMA Glove Vs Boxing Glove

MMA gloves are more comfortable than boxing gloves. Since Mixed Martial Arts employs various techniques, the gloves are designed to be flexible enough to make fighting easier for the sportspeople.

MMA gloves are made of a stretchy material for easy movement. They are also lighter than boxing gloves, making them more comfortable to wear for long periods. Most MMA sportspeople are smaller and faster than boxers, and the lightweight MMA gloves won’t weigh them down, unlike the heavier boxing gloves.

Moreover, MMA gloves have finger loops and separate the fingers. This makes room for tighter grips and finger manipulations like grappling and clinching. On the other hand, boxing gloves are mitten-shaped, so the fingers aren’t free. Boxers can’t tie their gloves straps. More often than not, someone else has to do it for them.

However, MMA gloves do not offer the same level of protection as boxing gloves. They make MMA sportspeople deliver sharp punches with a greater likelihood of getting bruised knuckles or broken hands than boxers. The pain accompanied by punches might make MMA gloves less comfortable for some people.

 

4. Which is Better Punching Bag: MMA Glove Vs Boxing Glove

It is better to use boxing gloves when practicing with a punching bag because of the heavy padding. The padding in boxing gloves cushions your blows, protecting the hard-punching bag.

Having well-padded gloves is necessary when training with the punching bag. Your ideal punching bag should be about half your weight and stuffed with a dense material like sand or sawdust. This makes a punching bag significantly heavy and tough to move.

Therefore, you would need your hands and knuckles to be protected as you throw punches with enough force to move these heavy bags. If you use MMA gloves, you will not be able to put your full force into punches. You will have to be careful not to break bones and minimize bruises and cuts on your hand.

 

5. Wrist Support: MMA Glove Vs Boxing Glove

Boxing gloves offer a higher level of wrist support than MMA gloves. This is because they are bigger, and there is more space for a boxer to wrap their hand wraps. 

MMA gloves, on the other hand, are more tightly fitted. So, there is barely any space to support the wrists with hand wraps.

 

6. Weight: MMA Glove Vs Boxing Glove

MMA gloves have a lighter weight when compared with boxing gloves. This allows the user more flexibility in movement and speed. Professional MMA fighters wear 6-ounce gloves, while beginners wear 8-ounce gloves for more protection.

Boxing gloves are heavier than MMA gloves to protect the fighter’s hands better. The individual’s weight determines their glove weight. 

Boxing gloves come in different weights, but the standard sizes for sparring are 12 ounces, 14 ounces, and 16 ounces. If you’re only training with a punching bag, 10-ounce boxing gloves are also suitable.

 

7. Material: MMA Glove Vs Boxing Glove

The best quality material for both MMA and boxing gloves is leather. Although leather is a costly material, it is flexible, durable, and breathable.

Common materials used to make MMA gloves are cowhide leather (genuine leather) and natural leather. Lower-quality MMA gloves can be made of synthetic leather, which is less durable than the other materials.

Common materials used to make boxing gloves are genuine leather, like cowhide leather and goatskin leather. Cheaper but less durable alternatives are synthetic leather and vinyl.

However, vinyl might be a more preferred material to synthetic leather because it is easy to clean (synthetic leather can stink when not cleaned properly).

 

8. Cost: MMA Glove Vs Boxing Glove

Boxing gloves are more expensive than MMA gloves. This is due to several factors like their brand, material, padding, etc. Boxing gloves are also more durable than MMA gloves, contributing to their higher cost.

The price of boxing gloves ranges from $10 to $400. Premium quality boxing gloves from brands like Winning and Cleto Reyes cost between $200 to $400.

Their material is usually genuine leather, which is the most durable material. Average quality boxing gloves cost about $100. And you can find the cheapest options in the market for $20 to $100 for a fair enough quality.

MMA gloves are less expensive than boxing gloves. They have less padding than boxing gloves, significantly reducing their cost. Standard sizes are between $15 to $250, with premium quality gloves sold for about $200.

Budget-friendly MMA gloves are sold between $15 and $50 but are less durable. A safe middle ground is to buy MMA gloves for between $100 and $150. They provide you with good-quality gloves at a fair price.

 

9. Sizes: MMA Glove Vs Boxing Glove

MMA gloves are typically smaller than boxing gloves. They are not as thickly padded as boxing gloves, but they also have open fingers, reducing their size significantly. 

MMA gloves come in various sizes, and you will need to look at a size chart to determine which glove size is your perfect fit. Although, the weight of the MMA glove remains the same irrespective of your glove size.

On the other hand, boxing gloves are typically larger than MMA gloves. This is because they are better designed to protect the hands from punches. 

They have thicker padding, making them bigger and heavier than MMA gloves. The individual’s weight determines the size of the boxing gloves. They also tend to be more durable, which is why they are often used in professional boxing matches. 

You can use boxing gloves for MMA training. This is actually pretty common because MMA is made up of different martial arts styles, including boxing. Using a boxing glove can help you concentrate on the particle aspects of MMA. 

However, there are certain disadvantages to training with boxing gloves for MMA. Boxing gloves don’t make for efficient equipment. MMA employs a wide variety of hand techniques like grappling and clinching.

MMA gloves are designed for this purpose and are made of flexible material for easy movement. They are also fingerless to create room for finger manipulations.

Also, the lightweight MMA gloves are designed to improve the fighter’s speed and agility. Not much emphasis is placed on delivering powerful punches, unlike in boxing. So, the boxing glove’s heavyweight will be a serious drag on these nimble MMA fighters.

Boxing gloves are great for developing some aspects of MMA fighting, but if you want a glove that will help you develop all aspects, you should go for MMA gloves. 

If you are looking to improve your boxing skills, you should stick to boxing gloves. The boxing gloves are designed in such a way to feel different from the MMA gloves when in use. Like I said, they are heavily padded and have a different weight. 

Also, to quickly move up the ladder to become a professional boxer, you need to get used to using a boxing glove. Unlike MMA, which also includes punches and boxing skills, boxing does not make use of other martial art skills. 

In order to throw a good punch, you not only need a lot of force but good form, too. Training with boxing gloves will make you move your punching bag easier than MMA gloves because of the boxing glove’s additional weight. This deceives many people into thinking their punching technique is good even when it might not be.

If you are focused on boxing, it’s best to train with boxing gloves. MMA gloves might help you improve your form, but they’re still riskier and cause more injuries. You need to be careful when using MMA gloves for boxing training, and you will need to throw only light punches. 

There are some factors to consider when choosing boxing gloves. You’ll need breathable gloves of high-quality material, adequate padding, and comfortable interior lining.

We chose our gloves because they meet the majority of boxing glove requirements. Below is my recommended boxing gloves:

 

1. Everlast Style Pro Training Gloves

According to experts, these are the best gloves for sparring. Everlast Style Pro Training Gloves are made of synthetic faux leather. They also have two layers of foam as their padding, suitable for shock absorption. Everlast Style Pro Training Gloves come in sizes of 8 oz, 10 oz, 12 oz, 14 oz, and 16 oz on Amazon.

 

2. Cleto Reyes Hook & Loop Training Gloves

Cleto Reyes is a renowned high-quality brand. These gloves are made with premium leather for durability. Latex foam is used as the padding, adequately protecting your knuckles. It has water-repellent linings to prevent the padding from getting moist. Cleto Reyes Hook & Loop Training Gloves come in sizes of 12 oz, 14 oz, 16 oz, and 18 oz on Amazon. The lowest price is about $160.

 

3. Hayabusa T3 Boxing Gloves

Hayabusa is another renowned brand. These boxing gloves are made of premium leather for durability. They have dual velcro straps to support the wrists. Hayabusa T3 Boxing Gloves have multiple layers of foam to protect your knuckles adequately.

It is comfortable and equipped with an inner lining to cool your hand temperature. Sizes range from 10 oz to 18 oz on Amazon, and the price is about $160.

4. Sanabul Battle Forged Gloves

These gloves are made of faux leather. They are comfortable and designed with a premium lining that prevents the padding from getting moist. Sizes on Amazon range from Small to X-Large.

MMA gloves requirements are similar to boxing gloves: durable fabric, adequate padding, comfortable, and breathable.  Below is MMA gloves that I have used and owned before:

 

1. Hayabusa T3 MMA Gloves

These premium-quality gloves are made from Italian leather. It is well padded with multiple layers of foam to absorb heavy impacts.

You don’t need to wear hand wraps with these luxury gloves because they have two interlocking straps for a secure fit. Hayabusa T3 MMA Gloves come in sizes from small to X-large on Amazon. The price is approximately $130.

2. ZooBoo MMA Gloves

ZooBoo MMA Gloves are designed with the sportsperson’s comfort in mind. There are perforations in the palms to cool your hand temperature and make the gloves more breathable. It is also made of high-quality leather and has three layers of padding.

Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) might seem similar, but they employ different fighting techniques and require different gloves to suit their fighting style. Boxing gloves and MMA gloves serve different purposes.

Boxing gloves are heavier and well-padded to protect the fists, while MMA gloves are lightweight and fingerless to provide more flexibility. Therefore, choosing one glove over the other depends on which combat sport you’re doing.