Four out of the many classes were Samnite, Thracian, Murmillo, and the Retiarius. They all had special weapons and different fighting techniques they used during the fight. Gladiators of the same class normally fought each other to keep it fair. They would also fight gladiators from the same school unless specifically requested. The Samnite would be heavily armed with a sword or lance and a large square shield. They would also have armor on their right arm and left leg. The Thracian would have a curved sword and a small square shield. The Murmillo had a fish shaped helmet, a short sword, and a large shield. Like the Samnite they would have padding on the arm and leg. Last and certainly the least is the Retiarius. All this gladiator had was a net made of rope and a trident. This class could only try to capture enemies in their net and then try to stab them, which was flawed in many ways.
Just like the types of gladiators there were also different types of fights and events. Gladiator fights could consist of other gladiators, animals, and emperors. If they did fight animals it would be extremely rare. They would be fought by certain types of gladiators during opening events. These events were often called animal hunts. They would usually fight exotic animals such as ostriches, deer, lions, crocodiles, bears, elephants, and giraffes. The more exotic the animals to the roman people the more interested the spectators would