Monster Rings and Cages: Boxing Rings, Wrestling Rings and MMA Cages Made in Kentucky

Think about the last big fight you watched. Maybe it was a title bout in Vegas, a Saturday night indie wrestling show at the county fairgrounds, or your nephew's first amateur MMA match. Everybody remembers the knockout. Nobody remembers the ring.

That's kind of the point. A good ring or cage does its job so well that you never think about it. No wobbling, no squeaking, no ropes going slack in the third round. And a whole lot of those rings and cages come from one place: a steel shop in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, called Monster Rings and Cages.

Bourbon country builds a heavyweight

Lawrenceburg is better known for bourbon than for body slams, but Monster Rings and Cages has been putting the town on the combat sports map for close to 30 years. Their gear has shown up at USA Boxing events, college championships, military bases, wrestling schools and big time pro fights. They are even the go to vendor for movie and TV productions that need a ring that looks the part and holds up to a stunt crew.

Their mission is short and to the point: "We manufacture the world's strongest equipment for boxing, wrestling and MMA."

Bold claim? Sure. But they back it up with steel.

Made in the USA, start to finish

Here's what we love about this company. They don't just slap a logo on someone else's product. In their own words, everything is "Fabricated, welded, and assembled in our Kentucky facility. We build it ourselves!"

That means structural grade steel, cut and welded by people who know what they're doing, right here in the States. And because they are the actual manufacturer, they sell factory direct. No middleman markup, and you get to talk to the folks who actually built your ring.

One longtime customer, who runs a police activities league boxing program, has bought five rings from them since around 2010. He put it like this: "I have personally been to their facilities where the rings are manufactured. They are built there and sold there."

That's about as American Made as it gets.

Boxing rings for every gym

The flagship is the Competition Boxing Ring. According to Monster, these rings have hosted championship bouts "From Las Vegas to Madison Square Garden." The secret sauce is their Drop and Lock assembly system. No nuts, no bolts, no tools. The pieces drop into place and lock down tight, which makes ring crews very happy at 1 a.m. after a long fight card.

Not every gym needs a full arena setup, though, so the boxing ring lineup covers a lot of ground:

• The Gym Boxing Ring brings competition style construction to your daily training space.
• The Lowboy Boxing Ring sits lower for buildings with shorter ceilings.
• The Floor Boxing Ring mounts right to your gym floor.
• The Self-Standing Floor Boxing Ring doesn't bolt down at all, so you can move it or pack it away.

Fun fact on that last one: Monster says Mike Tyson bought a self-standing ring to use for photo and autograph sessions. When the Champ picks your ring, you're doing something right.

Wrestling rings built for the bumps

If boxing rings take a beating, wrestling rings take a pounding. Every body slam, suplex and dive off the top rope lands square on that frame. Monster builds their wrestling rings with a heavy duty steel frame and premium padding to soak it all up.

The Pro Wrestling Ring Style 1 uses truss side rails, and there's also a Style 2 and a Breakdown Style for promotions that travel from town to town. Busy wrestling schools often go with the Low Boy Pro Wrestling Ring.

And yes, they make a Backyard Wrestling Ring. With a 16 inch floor height, it fits in a backyard or a garage with a low ceiling. Monster is quick to point out, "This is a real wrestling ring, not a toy." So if you've spent your whole life practicing elbow drops on the couch, this might be your sign. Want the full spectacle? Add a Wrestling Ring Steel Cage and some Entrance Curtains and you've got yourself a main event.

MMA cages that stay put

On the mixed martial arts side, the top dog is the Ultimate MMA Cage, available as an octagon or hexagon. The fence panels drop below the cage floor for a clean, pro look, and the gates are separate panels so there's no bar overhead or at the fighters' feet. Monster says it's "built by Monster Rings and Cages, in Lawrenceburg, KY," and adds, "We use more steel and better-quality steel than anyone else."

The Competition MMA Cages come in eight sizes, from 16 feet up to 30 feet, with or without a catwalk. Gyms short on space can grab the Floor Gym Cage or the Lowboy MMA Gym Cage, or just line a wall with individual Cage Panels.

Heavy bag mounts that won't quit

Here's where it gets interesting for the home gym crowd. You don't need to run a fight promotion to own something from Monster Rings and Cages.

The Wall Mount Heavy Punching Bag Hanger is built in Lawrenceburg from structural grade steel and holds up to a 300 pound bag. It comes in black, red, blue or white, with a standard 28 inch arm or an optional 48 inch arm. Monster calls it "100% American Made."

Punching bag racks and stands

Got more floor than wall? That's where Monster's punching bag racks and stands come in, and honestly, this might be the most underrated corner of their whole catalog. Walk into just about any serious boxing or MMA gym and you'll see a row of heavy bags swinging from a steel frame. Somebody had to weld that frame, and plenty of them come out of Lawrenceburg.

Start simple with the Hangman Bag Stand. It's a fully welded, single bag stand that bolts to your concrete floor, and it's a favorite for those long Muay Thai bags. The marine grade eyebolt is rated for 20,000 pounds, so your bag will give out long before the stand does. Plenty of gym owners buy these by the handful and line them up down a wall.

Need two bags in the same footprint? The T-Bar Bag Stand is basically a Hangman with an arm on each side. It stands about 100 inches tall with a 72 inch top arm, and if your ceiling is on the low side, Monster will build it shorter for you. They can even link several together with MMA fence panels or chin up bars.

For a real training station, the Multi-Bag Stand holds anywhere from 4 to 10 bags depending on the size you pick. It's built from 4 by 2 inch structural steel with 3/8 inch thick floor plates and marine grade eyebolts. Mix and match a Boxing Punching Bag, a Tear Drop Punching Bag and a Horizontal Uppercut Punching Bag and you've got a full workout in one spot. Monster says "they are 100% Made in the USA," and if you need it shorter to fit your building, they'll do that "at no additional charge."

Outfitting a whole gym? This is where being the actual manufacturer really pays off. Monster designs Custom Built Punching Bag Racks around your space. Tell them how many bags you want, the size of the room, your ceiling height and how many people will be swinging at once, and they'll build a rack to match in Lawrenceburg. In their words, "all components are many times stronger than needed." That's the kind of overkill we like to see.

The Hangman and Multi-Bag stands both come in black, red, blue or white, so you can match your gym colors.

Need something to hang on all that steel? Check out the heavy bags, including the Wrecking Ball, the Real Leather Punching Bag and the Wall Mount Uppercut Bag.

All the little extras

Monster also stocks just about every piece you need to keep a ring running. There are Ring Stairs with flattened steel grating you can walk on barefoot, Corner Stools, Boxing Ring Corner Pads and Wrestling Turnbuckle Pads. And of course, you can't start a fight without a Ring Bell or a Boxing Ring Gong. Want your gym's name front and center? Their custom printing puts your logo on pads, skirts and canvas.

Another Kentucky contender

We've been to Kentucky before, with the custom motorcycle parts at Hogtailz and the handmade goods at Roots and Jones. Monster Rings and Cages fits right in: a hardworking crew in bourbon country welding up steel strong enough for world champions.

So whether you're opening a fight gym, launching a wrestling promotion or just want a heavy bag that won't rip out of your garage wall, ring the bell and give Monster Rings and Cages a call.

Just another great reason to buy American!