Yes, MMA gloves are padded with foam to allow the fighter to punch freely without worrying about injuring themselves. MMA fighting necessitates heavy use of both hands in order to inflict injury upon one's opponent. As such, all MMA fights in modern times utilize gloves, made for durability and padding so that fighters do not injure their knuckles on impact with their opponents. For this reason, many proponents argue that even the most advanced boxing gloves leave much to be desired when compared to MMA gloves in terms of effectiveness in battle because they cannot withstand as much punishment before breaking or wearing out.