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How Superare became the go-to shop for fighters around the world

There’s more to fighting. The culture of combat sports spans far beyond the action that happens in the cage, ring, or mat. It speaks to a diverse community of fighters, enthusiasts, and fans that have found solace in the many disciplines that coin the term.

For too many years, the voices of fight fans were misrepresented in everything from media to apparel as the art of fighting was being placed in a box that certainly couldn’t handle its fire.

Thankfully enough, over the last decade, there are more spaces rechanneling this energy, strengthening the bonds that bring the fight community together and welcoming new lovers of the sport. Enter Superare, the fight shop home to some the flyest gear and genuine connections on the damn planet.

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Founded in 2011 by lifelong fight fan, Zach Lipari, Superare has evolved into a staple hub for all things BJJ, Boxing, MMA, and Muay Thai. Like most fight fans, Lipari grew a love for fighting from watching UFC and wanted to bring more people together to embrace it.

The debut shop opened in Long Island under the name East Coast MMA which later transitioned to Superare Fight Goods which now has additional locations in New York’s Lower East Side and L.A. Not to mention their online store.

Still, there are levels to this shit. “Superare,” in Latin, means to overcome, to rise above and to exceed. The translation couldn’t be more on-brand.

Superare sells high-quality gear to fit your swag for any discipline practiced in combat sports as well as straight-up dope lifestyle fits. Now, before Superare, it’s hard to think of where people could physically walk in, try-on gloves or gi’s and get expert advice.

The reality is, that many athletes have had to suffer from being overcharged and flat-out disappointed with what came in the mail over the years. That’s’ why one of Lipari’s priorities in creating the shop was to give more access to fight goods and make it personal.

Skaters have their shops, so do basketball players, surfers and almost any other sport, so what about the fighters? Can you imagine getting ready to clang n’ bang and not without the right fitting gloves, or the proper guards for class?

Not only would it be uncomfortable, but it also puts one’s safety at risk, something that Lipari and his team want to prevent at all costs.

You can tell from the very first step you take inside that Superare is a welcoming spot. Everyone is greeted by Lipari himself, his brother Dylan or other staff members who always try to get to know everyone who walks thru the door.

Even while filming our interview, just hearing the different gyms people came from, the different countries, and the different levels of familiarity with fighting was heartwarming and truly felt welcoming to all.

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Whether you’re a Gracie black-belt, boxing fitness class newbie or have a love for some Bangarang t-shirts (because honestly, who doesn’t?) there’s something for everyone. Plus, no one makes you feel weird for being curious or not being an expert.

There are no borders in fighting, and Superare couldn’t be a better depiction of that. Holding down the authenticity of the many disciplines while still welcoming and embracing new people in the fight community is something that stumps a lot of brands but the Superare squad just hits the nail on head every dang on time.

The shop gives customers options but doesn’t cut corners on quality. Despite the price range, everything that touches the shop is solid and trusted, so if someone can’t afford a high-end glove, they can still find a great pair that fits in their budget and keeps them safe when sparring.

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With such respect built from years of great service and even greater vibes, Superare is the go-to for the majority of fighters and plenty of celebs too. Hell, even Wiz goes straight to the shop for those gloves.

One of the dopest things about the shop is that while it is home to some of the most established brands in the game like Fairtex, the shop also embraces many and does collabs with many brands established by fellow local creatives like Half-Sumo and Bangarang.

The squad especially shows love to the fighters and even dropped a piece with Brooklyn’s favorite, Heather “The Heat” Hardy a couple of months back before her last Bellator bout at Madison Square Garden.

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With their latest Superare x Ali collection, the shop is pushing out major heat for the Summer and won’t be slowing down anytime soon. Peep our exclusive interview with Founder, Zach Lipari at the Lower East Side location above and pull up to the shops IRL to feel the love.

Locations:

NYC – 131 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002

LA – 7306 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles CA 90046

Long Island – 220 Sunrise Hwy Rockville Centre, NY 11570

How the PFL is changing the way we watch MMA in 2019

For many, the end of the year means lots of turn-ups, food and regretful texts. But if you’re a fight fan like me, you know that every late December the MMA gods bless us with some of the year’s sickest fight cards.

So when the Professional Fighters League (PFL) announced their 2018 Championships would be held on New Year’s Eve at Madison Square Garden, it was a no-brainer, I had to pull up!

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The PFL (formerly World Series of Fighting) is a mixed martial arts league currently holding seven weight classes and 72+ fighters from all around the world. After rebranding, the league launched their inaugural season this past summer that put a twist how viewers are used to watching MMA.

Instead of having a matchmaker pair fighters for each throwdown, fighters in the PFL compete in a tournament-style regular season, playoffs and championships to win gold.

While this format is typical for any pretty much sport that ends in “ball,” it’s unique for MMA as it lets fighters own their way in the game-nixing the issues that matchmakers, fighters and fans run into when politics influence matchups.

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From 7-11 pm on the last night of the year, peeps packed the Hulu Theater at MSG with a card set with six championship bouts where each newly crowned champion would receive $1 million dollars along with their strap. Yup, they gave out the RACKSSS.

The “don’t blink” moment of the night happened in the first 33 seconds when middleweight Louis Taylor knocked out Abus Magomedov to win the very first PFL title, setting a crazy pace for the night without even breaking a sweat. The win was a full-circle moment for the seasoned vet as Taylor, 39 reflected in his post-fight interview:

“Regardless of the million dollars, I’ve been in this game for 11 years, I felt I owed it to myself to be a world champion.”

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The fight card also included a special women’s lightweight bout between undefeated 2x Olympian Kayla Harrison and Moriel Charneski who was far from a sleeper.

Harrison, who is equipped with some serious mastery in Judo, dominated the first and only round winning via TKO. The fight set up PFL’s inaugural women’s lightweight season for 2019 and showed that Harrison meant it when she said the “baddest woman on the planet is right here.”

“I’m honored PFL is started a 155-pound division and putting their trust in me, but I’ve got strong shoulders. I’m going to be a millionaire next year.”

@kidzarevil

A lightweight women’s tournament on the platform that PFL has on NBCSN is a pretty big deal and giving equal pay to both male and female fighters is even a bigger deal.

The PFL has made a point to distinguish themselves as innovators in the space by not only their format but also for the opportunities they give to fighters and fans which is why this night was so impactful for MMA. Just ask PFL’s new heavyweight champ, Philipe Lins who said,

“With the family I have and this accomplishment, I am the happiest man on earth. I still can’t believe this has happened to me. I was close to retiring before this opportunity. I’m so happy.”

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Or Sean O’Connell who did retire….as a millionaire.

“I want to thank PFL for giving me a second chance. For everyone that believes in something, keep pushing, you can do it. It’s all in your head. If I want to do it, you can.”

O’Connell squared up against Vinny Magalhães, the No. 1 seed in the light heavyweight division and laid some pretty nasty hands on him until his corner threw in towel in the third round.

In his post-fight interview with Carolyn Pierce O’Connell, he announced his retirement, walking away with a title, a milli, and one last W for his career.

 

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Thank you all. Especially @carlossilvajr38 @sugarraysefo and @pflmma for letting me go out with a bang.

A post shared by Sean O’Connell (@realocsports) on

Beyond having a dope ass event on NYE, the PFL is truly changing the way fans absorb MMA and adding to the culture of fighting. This isn’t that surprising, considering team behind the movement.

The league’s President of Fighter Operations is combat sports legend and mogul, Ray Sefo, who said, “it’s been an amazing year for PFL and the best has yet to come,” at the pre-fight press conference for the championships.

The league is gearing up to produce a reality TV show following hopefuls as they compete for a spot in the playoffs in 2019. This year will also see the debut of the first-ever “SmartCage” that uses biometric and positional data for real-time fighter stats, elevating the experience for fans to a braze level.

@kidzarevil

Fighting is a lifestyle, a mindset, and a true form of community for everyone it impacts. I have yet to meet a fighter who started training just to secure a bag but I have met dozens who have balanced multiple hustles just so they can hit a bag, roll on the mat and secure another fight while paying the bills.

Fighters comp has been a touchy topic in the industry and the PFL is making a statement by paying their championship winners $1 million and losers upwards of $200K.

More so than the money, every fighter on NYE thanked the PFL for the unmatched opportunity they are providing today’s MMA athletes. You don’t have to be a fan of the sport to catch the vibe of the PFL. It’s exciting, easy to follow and innovating fighting in more ways than one.

Peep more pics from the event by our homie Adisa Sobers aka @kidzarevil below: