#53: Must Wear Gloves
MMA, UFC, and boxing are all pretty intense sports. Throughout the years, athletes have found the need to protect their hands by wearing gloves. The bones of our hands are very fragile, so gloves naturally add an extra layer of protection. But that wasn’t always the case. Believe it or not, athletes used to participate in UFC and boxing matches with completely bare hands.
Some athletes wore leather strips and other protective gear on their hands from time to time, but it was never a requirement until UFC became an official sport in the 90s. Many consider the UFC to be the first time gloves were required in MMA competitions. Boxing gloves became required for athletes in the mid-1800s, but that’s a whole different ball game (sorry to mix our sporting metaphors).