Now that the first patch for EA Sports UFC has been digested by the community for a good week, I thought it would be a proper time talk about how things are going in the MMA online space as imagined by EA. There is certainly a large pool of online fighters, with north of 200,000 users for both of the new consoles combined. The added “red belt” and Grand Prix tournament options have also added some extra depth for those wanting to go even further to show that they belong at the top of the heap.

My feeling is that the recent patch addressed many of the outstanding issues, and it also added a few new tricks as well. There have been some unintended consequences to the patch, such as sloppy third-round fights due to a lack of stamina, but I still think this change ends up benefiting the game as a whole, allowing for more of a simulation style while still providing some exciting finishes. My hope is that EA continues to tweak the stamina to punish folks who are still spamming strikes more than they would in real life, but it's a good start so far. Also, the new fighters have given some of the match-ups a good shot in the arm.

For full disclosure, I'm currently at red belt (the newly added division), and my record is 210 wins and 180 losses. Having slogged my way through a lot of the early days of the game with lots of spammers and people only picking champions, I ate a lot of losses. I've never been below the .500 mark, but it's been a challenge to stay at black belt. I usually bounce between black belt and brown belt, but now I'm looking to see if I can hang in the red belt ranks. I've won a few brown belt titles, and I won a black belt title once.

Let's take a look at the current online community for EA Sports UFC.


At heavyweight (HW), the main fighters people use are Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez. There is definitely some Junior Dos Santos and Daniel Cormier thrown in there, but honestly, most players hang their hat on Werdum. The main issue for this is that it limits the types of fights you'll see, and it only really happens because Werdum, in my opinion, is way too powerful. He has exceptional submissions, which makes sense, but his grappling and striking are each a couple of points too high. He should be a threat to Daniel Cormier in terms of submissions, but he shouldn't be easily scoring takedowns against someone with the wrestling pedigree of Cormier.


For the lightheavyweight (LHW) and middlewight (MW) tier, there is definitely a lot of Jon Jones, Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman. I've seen my share of Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson, too, but those guys, even when selected at LHW, are just no match for the reach, ratings and stamina of Jones or Silva. If both players pick MW fighters, things can get interesting, but LHW definitely seems to be a steady dose of the top two or three guys.

For the welterweight (WW) and lightweight (LW) tier, it's a little more varied, as I've seen a lot of GSP, Anthony Pettis, Benson Henderson and Johny Hendricks. A few brave folks, like myself, even pick Chan Sung Jung to go up against some of the big guys. He's surprisingly good. Honestly, the higher-ranked fighters don't bother me as much at this tier, as there is a lot of variety in how these combatants fight. A reasonable number of folks like the iron chin of someone like Nick Diaz, but the kicks and takedown ability of Benson Henderson can be really useful too. The only overpowered fighter, in my mind, is GSP, as his striking power is way too good compared to his real-life output.

For the featherweight (FW) tier — which includes featherweight, bantamweight (BW) and lightweight — things generally orbit around Renan Barao, Jose Aldo or the newly added TJ Dillishaw. There are definitely some Chan Sung Jung guys in this level as well, and a few dedicated Conor McGregor fighters will show up. It's disappointing to see so much Barao and Aldo, as I think a lot of people pick them out of fear of facing them (mirror matches need to go). You certainly have a better shot when you pick a high-level guy like Pettis, Cruz or Barao, so it's sort of a necessary fallback in terms of ranked play. The one fighter who is probably way too powerful is Uriah Faber, as his submission defense and ground game are borderline broken. He's a guy who can push the pace way more than he should, and all of his under-the-hood “perks” are geared towards sapping stamina and crushing you on the ground. He needs a tweak in the next patch.


At women's bantamweight (WBW), the obvious choice is Ronda Rousey. Lots of Rousey fighters, unfortunately. I've always found Liz Carmouche to be deceptively good, as she has some pretty good perks to help her striking and ground game. That said, Cat Zingano is fairly popular, too. She isn't as fast as Carmouche, but her power and clinch game are quite formidable. The problem with Rousey is that a patient fighter can just sort of rely on her built-in advantages and squeak out decisions. She isn't unbeatable by any means, but she can be a frustrating fight (which, I guess, mirrors real life!).


The way people fight online has certainly changed pre-patch up until now, and sometimes it even changes on a daily basis. Of course, a lot of the fighting styles will depend on what weight class you end up going for, but there are some commonalities to be found.

To get it out of the way, there is still a reasonable percentage of users (even post-patch) who are basically in the category of “spammer.” Basically, these users primarily pick champion fighters and rely on repeatedly throwing hooks or body kicks to try and wear you down and drain your stamina. Ultimately, they're hoping to get a quick TKO or KO by catching you with enough shots. Most of the time, they can be countered by some basic sidestepping and takedowns, but once in a while a “smart spammer” will be able to clip you and put you out if they employ a bit of rhythm to their madness. The stamina of fighters does still need to be tuned in the next patch to punish for repeated strikes (especially strikes of the same type), but for now these types of players can generally be dealt with if you identify them quickly.

The “game-planner” is another type of fighter who is generally looking to leverage his fighter's considerable skills to beat you in all areas of the fight. This might mean someone who tries to mix in the right amount of takedowns when you're low on stamina or someone who uses the clinch to get you out of your striking rhythm and keep you guessing. They'll generally try and land enough strikes to keep pace with you, but their main goal is to accrue points through use of other skills. This is generally the way I try and play, but sometimes a certain match-up will require a different strategy.


The “fancy striker” is someone relies on flashy kicks and counter strikes in order to put your head in the red. Usually these players will wait in the weeds and let you strike first, creating an opportunity for some parries and heavy counters. They usually only push the pace once you're low on stamina or if they think they've got your body or head in a vulnerable state. They may mix in the odd leg kick or jab, but really they prefer big hooks, kicks to the head and spinning techniques. If these players get you in trouble early, it can be hard to fully recover enough to have a path to victory. If you're permanently protecting a damaged head or body, your chances of winning against these folks, especially if they're using a high-level fighter, can be quite low.

The “ground guy” is basically a fighter who is only interested in taking you to the ground so that they can either hold you down and beat you up or submit you with their high submission rating. I don't think this is bad strategy by any means, but it can certainly be hard to deal with if you're facing someone like Uriah Faber or Renan Barao. Some of the submission guys will basically paw some strikes at you until they've lowered your stamina, and then they'll shoot for a single-leg takedown for a side-control spot. At that point, you can guarantee some kind of submission attempt is on the way.

While these few styles aren't an exhaustive list of types of players found online these days, they definitely summarize a good majority. There are a few other flavors to be found in the online realm, including some folks who just push the pace while using fighters with absurd stamina, but most of the matches you come across will involve one of the styles listed above. I think the patch has helped slow things down a bit and make the takedown more important, and it's allowed strikes to have more value since the later rounds tend to be a bit of a gas fest. I'd actually like to see more folks using the clinch, but recent fights have shown me that it might be an emerging area of the game that's finally getting some love.


It's funny, as I've generally found the folks who use the new “glove touch” feature to be quite reasonable players. Most of those people will actually try to execute a game plan and wear you down. They are usually well-versed in most of the areas of the game, and they can generally beat you a few different ways.


That said, there are a few quitters still out there (even though you get a win for the drop), and some players have even resorted to downloading during a match to actually mess up the connection so that they can potentially gain an advantage. The “spammer” and “cheeser” players can be pretty annoying from time to time as well, since they usually rely on fighters with absurd stamina and crazy power bonuses to their fists and feet. I've grown pretty wary of Conor McGregor, Uriah Faber, Frankie Edgar and Nick Diaz online, even though they are all certainly beatable. Still, those guys have a mix of ratings and skills that enable some users to push the pace in a way that just isn't fun. Once the stamina is tuned a bit more to punish repeated strikes, most of that stuff should be gone.


Overall, I've found a lot of the matches I've had online to be quite competitive. A great deal of the online population (on Xbox One, where I'm playing) seem to want to play the game in some sort of reasonable way, and that usually involves dynamic striking, takedowns, ground control, a bit of clinch and the occasional submission. It's really satisfying to have a competitive match against a player who is so close to you in skill level, where you both get to round three in a grueling fight and know that each striking sequence or takedown could be vital.

EA has done some good work with the recent patch, and I hope to see them continue the momentum in the coming weeks.