After a looooong weekend of hacking away at code, we now have a message board which we are placing under beta. We are hoping it will bring a sense of community to Gymtops where you can post your own topics and respond to others. Also a place where MMA gear manufacturers can get feedback on products they release to the public. So, go ahead! Start a new discussion on Gymtops forums.

There is no doubt that Silver Star is at the top of their game. Producing extreme quality products and sponsoring champion grade fighters is no wonder Silver Star is one of the top perfoming MMA apparel brands in the market. Two weeks ago Luke Burrett, owner of Silver Star, delivered the news that he would sponsor Machida for his next UFC title defending bout against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Edging closer to the October 24th event, Silver Star has released the “Machida Dragon” walkout tee. The dragon artwork on the tee is phenomenal as well as the red/yellow/orange mixture of colors.  The shirt is available for pre-order on the Silver Star web site and will be ready for shipment on October 12th.

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For the second season of MTV’s Bully Beatdown, Jason “Mayhem” Miller has traded his Triumph*United t-shirts in for a chance to represent the TapouT brand. With a new cross promotion announced recently between Strikeforce and DREAM, Miller is set to take on former EliteXC Welterweight Champion Jake Shields sometime in October. Miller is known for his flamboyant image and personality – his signature tee is no different. Featuring his nickname emblazoned on the front in a funky robot text over top of the TapouT logo, the back of the shirt is a bit more subtle with just the TapouT logo represented on the right shoulder blade.

The future of performance fight shorts, the ADX “RX” models offer unparalleled performance. Patented, Ultra-Light neoprene flex panels replace slits and engineered 4-way directional dry-flex body material enhance over-all movement. The ADX patented closure system is tapered and faced with soft neoprene as well and offers a neoprene lined fly for added comfort while grappling. With or without pockets these shorts have raised the bar. Check out the ADX website for more details.

Honoring one of the most fierce warriors who have ever stood on our planet, Ranger Up has released the “Viking Valhalla” t-shirt. The 100% cotton tee has a print of a classic Viking warrior on the front and a fleet of Viking ships on the back. Currently available for pre-order only at the Ranger Up website.

RVCA is a clothing company recognized as a cultural and lifestyle brand, with a visual presence in many different subcultures. Within MMA circles they are identified by their relationship with UFC lightweight champion, BJ Penn – however they will now be receiving added exposure by partnering with Vitor Belfort. Returning to the octagon at UFC 103 to face Rich Franklin, Belfort scored a quick knockout in the first round to setup a potential showdown with middleweight champ Anderson Silva. Available now on RVCA’s website are the official tees worn by Belfort’s cornermen out to the octagon. As evidence by many of his interviews, Belfort is a man of strong faith, and as such his shirt features not only his name but also a cross and biblical passage. The shirt is 100% cotton and available in kelly green.

Owned by Troy “Red” Barron and Kelly Brown, both MMA fighters and fans , Performance MMA have a solid understanding of which products perform well and if it doesn’t match their standards, they won’t sell it. Follow us as we continue our “MMA Shop Showcase” series.

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Getting ready for the cooler seasons, Clinch Gear slowly rolls out a couple of billed beanies to keep your noggins warm after training. The beanies are made of Acrylic and feature the infamous Clinch Gear logo embroidered on the front. The beanie is also designed to cover your ears. Check out the Clinch Gear site for more details.

In our first ever interview, we persuade Noel Brooks, President of The Fight Mafia fame, to give us a few minutes out of his hectic schedule to answer a few questions about one of Canada’s premiere MMA apparel companies. The fight Mafia has sponsored top fighters like Sam Stout, Nate Quarry, The Diaz Brothers, Akiyama  and Dan Hardy.

Gymtops: How did The Fight Mafia get started?

Noel Brooks: People are generally surprised when I tell them. I have always been a huge fan of MMA and the UFC in general and have been interested in the sport since the early days. After watching on TV for well over a decade, I decided to travel to my first live event. That event was UFC 77 Hostile Territory in Cincinnati, Ohio and still to this day it is the most memorable event my eyes have ever seen. I was in awe of the whole weekend and I couldn’t believe how many MMA superstars I was able to meet just walking the streets of Cincinnati. One of those fighters being UFC Light-Heavyweight Houston Alexander.

After the event and one of the best weekends of my life, I returned home to Canada and researched on the internet some of the fighters I had met. At that time I stumbled across Houston Alexander’s official website and decided to email him. I stated that we had met in Cincinnati and I was interested in producing an entrance shirt for him which of course was a lie, but it was all I could come up with in order to possibly get a reply. I always had a fascination with MMA apparel especially the entrance shirts. My closet is full of fighter entrance shirts that have caught my eye.

One of my favorite parts of MMA events has always been what entrance music the fighters are going to choose and what kind of cool shirt are they going to come out wearing. A couple weeks went by since I sent the falsified email and I basically forgot all about it. Then one day I was resting in bed when my girlfriend woke me up stating that Houston Alexander was on the phone! I was shocked! He gave me his phone number and asked me to call him back later on that night. I rehearsed what I was going to say for a few minutes and called him back that night and basically faked being a MMA apparel company and said I was going to send him some gear and hopefully be able to provide him with his entrance shirt for his next fight. I was star struck and totally out of my element. After I hung up the phone, I basically saw this as an opportunity to start my own MMA apparel company which would be a dream come true for me. I quickly started to design a logo and came up with a name. Once I had a logo that matched well with the name I chose, I quickly put together a shirt design and had about 20 shirts made at a local screen-printing shop. The shirts were terrible! They were of such bad quality that I was truly embarrassed of them and figured I had really messed up. I virtually had no money to make any more shirts to improve on the ones I had already produced so I decided to send them to Houston anyways. Lets just say I have never heard form Houston since but I still keep his phone number just in case. Things have really changed since then but that’s how The Fight Mafia got started!

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Today Silver Star announced that they will be adding Lyoto Machida to their quick expanding roster of  sponsored fighters.

Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida will defend his light heavyweight championship under a Silver Star sponsorship in UFC 104 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, October 24, 2009.

Machida (15-0-0) who won the light heavyweight champion title in UFC 98, will represent Silver Star in the octagon with a signature walkout tee as he defends his crown against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (18-3-0) in the co-feature event.

“Silver Star is built for champions and Machida is a true champion in and out of the ring,” said Silver Star owner, Luke Burrett. “Machida sets the bar high, and is someone MMA fans can look up to.”