MMA gloves or grappling gloves are small, open-fingered gloves used in mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

 bouts. They usually have around 4-6 oz of padding and are designed to provide some protection to the person wearing the glove, but leave the fingers available for grappling

Grappling

Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...

 maneuvers such as clinch fighting

Clinch fighting

Clinch fighting is the part of stand-up fighting where the combatants are grappling in a clinch, typically using clinch holds. Clinching the opponent can be used to eliminate the opponent's effective usage of some kicks, punches, and mêlée weapons...

 and submissions.

History

Small, open-fingered gloves were first mandatory in Japan's Shooto

Shooto

Shooto is a mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, as an organization and as a particular fighting system derived from shoot wrestling. Practitioners are referred to as shooters,...

 promotion and were later adopted by the UFC as it developed into a regulated sport. Gloves were introduced to protect fighters' fists from injuries, as well as reduce the number of facial lacerations (and stoppages dues to cuts) that fighters experienced without gloves. The introduction of gloves was also intended to encourage fighters to use their hands for striking to allow more captivating matches for fans.

They are somewhat similar to the wrist-supporting, closed-thumb, broken-knuckle kempo gloves popularized by Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...

's 1973 movie Enter the Dragon

Enter the Dragon

Enter the Dragon is a 1973 Hong Kong martial arts co-production with Golden Harvest and Warner Bros. studios, directed by Robert Clouse; starring Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly and John Saxon. This is Bruce Lee's final film appearance before his death on July 20, 1973...

.

Types and use

Most professional fights have the fighters wear 4 oz gloves, whereas amateurs may wear a slightly heavier 6 oz glove for increased protection.

Impact of gloves on safety and injuries

The impact of gloves on the injuries caused during a fight is a controversial issue, mostly looked at in relation to boxing. Studies have shown that use of large 'boxing style' gloves fights cause more severe and more long-term brain and eye injuries than bare-knuckle fights, although the incidence of superficial injuries (cuts, bruising) is reduced. In part, this can also be attributed to more, shorter rounds in modern fights made possible by the use of gloves, which results in longer fights than earlier and that boxers punch harder while wearing gloves. Before gloves were introduced, boxers rarely hit to the head, because of risk of breaking their own fists.