''EA Sports UFC'' is a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

fighting Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed in a collaboration between

EA Canada EA Vancouver (formerly known as EA Burnaby, then EA Canada) is a Canadian video game developer located in Burnaby, British Columbia. The development studio opened as Distinctive Software in January 1983, and is also Electronic Arts's largest and ...

and

SkyBox Labs SkyBox Labs Inc. is a Canadian video game developer located in Burnaby, British Columbia. Founded in 2011 by Derek MacNeil, Shyang Kong and Steven Silvester formerly from EA Vancouver, they are mostly known for their work with Xbox Game Studios ...

, and published by

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" ...

for

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

. It is based on the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC) brand and was released on June 17, 2014. A playable demo was released on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Marketplace on June 3, 2014, with cover athletes

Jon Jones Jonathan Dwight Jones (born July 19, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which he has competed in the light heavyweight division. He is a former two-time UFC L ...

and

Alexander Gustafsson Alexander Gustafsson (born 15 January 1987) is a Swedish professional mixed martial artist. Gustafsson currently competes in the light heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gustafsson spent a major part of his MMA ...

as playable fighters. It is the first UFC game since

THQ THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initi ...

sold the license to

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

. A

free-to-play Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...

mobile version of the game was released for

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

and Android devices on April 21, 2015. A sequel, ''

EA Sports UFC 2 ''EA Sports UFC 2'' is a mixed martial arts fighting video game developed by EA Canada, and published in March 2016 by Electronic Arts for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The sequel to 2014's ''EA Sports UFC'', it is based on the Ultimate Fighting C ...

'', was released in March 2016. The third installment, ''

EA Sports UFC 3 ''EA Sports UFC 3'' is a mixed martial arts fighting video game developed by EA Canada and published by EA Sports. Conor McGregor, one of the previous cover fighters of ''EA Sports UFC 2'', returned as the official cover fighter of the game. Ser ...

'', was released on February 2, 2018, and a fourth title, '' EA Sports UFC 4'', was released on August 14, 2020.

Gameplay

''EA Sports UFC'' is a

fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...

based on the

(UFC). Its

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

accommodates for changes in player strategies mid-game to make the gaming experience more realistic than in previous UFC games. The game also simulates "full body deformation" to connect players with their

player-character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

. ''

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

'' is featured at the start of Career Mode. Also included are perks unlocked throughout career to boost game-plans.

Development

Conflict originally arose between UFC president

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

and

, when the UFC approached EA Sports to develop a UFC video game and EA refused. The UFC then turned to developer

to develop UFC titles. THQ's ''

UFC 2009 Undisputed ''UFC 2009 Undisputed'', also known as ''UFC Undisputed 2009'', is a mixed martial arts video game featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship properties and fighters developed by Yuke's and published by THQ. The game was released for PlayStation 3 a ...

'' shipped approximately 2 million copies. With the success of the series, THQ quickly began working on a sequel, ''

UFC Undisputed 2010 ''UFC Undisputed 2010'' (also known as ''UFC Undisputed 2'') is a mixed martial arts fighting game featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) properties and fighters developed by Yuke's and published by THQ in 2010 for the PlayStation 3, Xbo ...

'', and followed this release with ''

UFC Undisputed 3 ''UFC Undisputed 3'' is a mixed martial arts video game featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship properties and fighters developed by Yuke's and published by THQ. It was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is a sequel to '' UFC Undisputed ...

'' in 2012. With the growing popularity of MMA (the UFC banner particularly) and THQ's success, Electronic Arts began working on ''

EA Sports MMA ''EA Sports MMA'' is a 2010 sports video game which was developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports. It was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on October 19, 2010, in North America and October 22, 2010, everywhere else. Online serv ...

'', featuring UFC's then promotional rival,

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *''Marvel Strike Force'', ...

. After the closing of THQ, Electronic Arts announced a "multi-year, multi-product" partnership with the

at the

Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012 (E3 2012) was the 18th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 5, 2012, and ended on June 7, 2012, with 45,700 total attendees. It was ...

. THQ reported that the publishing rights were purchased by EA Sports for an "undisclosed cash payment". The first gameplay for the game was shown at the

reveal event in a trailer by EA Sports. The game is one of the first to run Electronic Arts's

Ignite To ignite is the first step of firelighting. Ignite may also refer to: Music *Ignite (band), a melodic hardcore band from Orange County, California * ''Ignite'' (Econoline Crush album), 2007 * ''Ignite'' (Shihad album), 2010 * "Ignite" (Eir Aoi s ...

engine. As a result of the new project, Electronic Arts put its ''Fight Night'' boxing franchise on hold. The company said that the decision was based primarily on its perception that the UFC has greater international prominence, although EA Sports did offer that the boxing series could potentially return. The ''Fight Night'' team (

) became the UFC team.

Roster

The roster was gradually revealed by

in batches. The final roster consists of 97 UFC fighters (not including DLC additions). UFC legend

Royce Gracie Royce Gracie (; born 12 December 1966) is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer, and a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A member of the Gracie family, he is considered to be one of the most influential figures i ...

and late martial arts icon

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...

are both featured in the game as bonus unlockable fighters. Gracie is playable in the middleweight division, and Lee is playable in bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight and welterweight. A free content update was released for download on July 22, 2014, adding

T.J. Dillashaw Tyler Jeffrey Dillashaw (born February 7, 1986) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion. Dillashaw competed on ...

Tyron Woodley Tyron Woodley (born April 17, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion who defended his title four times. A professional since 2009, Woodley also competed at Strikeforce and was an NCAA Di ...

and

Takeya Mizugaki (born December 16, 1983) is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist who most notably competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor from 2005 to 2020, Mizugaki also competed for Absolute ...

to the roster. On August 26, 2014, EA released another patch that included heavyweight

Stipe Miocic Stipe Miocic (born August 19, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion. Miocic i ...

as well as welterweights Matt Brown and Mike Pyle. On October 2, EA released their third patch including Tim Kennedy and Gunnar Nelson, and also making

Nick Diaz Nickolas Robert Diaz (born August 2, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Diaz is a former Strikeforce, WEC and IFC welterweight champion ...

able to switch to the middleweight division. On October 29, EA released their fourth patch including

Hector Lombard In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

, Diego Sanchez and

Michael Chiesa Michael Keith Chiesa (; born December 7, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist, and sports analyst who currently competes in the welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor sin ...

, and also making

Gegard Mousasi Gegard Mousasi (born 1 August 1985), is a Dutch mixed martial artist and former kickboxer, currently competing in Bellator MMA, where he is the former two-time Bellator Middleweight Champion. As of December 13, 2022, he is #10 in the Bellator MMA ...

able to switch to the middleweight division. On November 19, EA released a fifth patch, this one including

Myles Jury Myles Madison Jury (born October 31, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist. He is currently signed with Bellator MMA, competing in the Lightweight (MMA), Lightweight division. He is a Black Belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. B ...

Andrei Arlovski Andrei Arlovski (born 4 February 1979) is a Belarusian-American professional mixed martial artist, actor and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and ho ...

, and

Yoel Romero Yoel Romero Palacio (born April 30, 1977) is a Cuban professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division for Bellator MMA. Romero formerly competed in the Middleweight division ...

. On December 10, EA released a legends pack, which included

Mark Coleman Mark Daniel Coleman (born December 20, 1964) is an American retired mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and amateur wrestler. Coleman was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first UFC Heavyweight Champion, and the Pride Fig ...

, Matt Hughes,

Quinton Jackson Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (born June 20, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist, actor and former professional wrestler, who most recently fought in the Bellator MMA. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and unified the Pride Middlew ...

and

Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, former mixed martial artist (MMA), amateur wrestler, and professional American football player who holds both American and Canadian citizenship. He is ...

. On January 21, EA released a seventh patch, this one including

Eddie Alvarez Edward "Eddie" Alvarez (born January 11, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Lightweight (170 lb) division of ONE Championship. He also formerly competed in the UFC and Bellator MMA, winning world titles ...

Holly Holm Holly Rene Holm (born October 17, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist, who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. She is the former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion, and a former professional boxer. She was a multiple-time wor ...

Rafael dos Anjos Rafael Souza dos Anjos (; born October 26, 1984) is a Brazilian American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight and Lightweight divisions in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former UFC Light ...

and Anthony Johnson. This was said to be the last major update as they began focusing on the sequel, which was released in spring 2016.

Reception

''EA Sports UFC'' received "mixed or average" reviews, according to video game

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

References