EA Sports MMA News Post

Fedor Emelianenko Headlines EA Sports MMA Roster (Press Release)

07:43 PM - July 29, 2009 by Steve_OS

FEDOR EMELIANENKO HEADLINES EA SPORTS MMA ROSTER

World’s Top Ranked MMA Fighter Joined by Gegard Mousasi and Renato Sobral as First Fighters Announced for All-New Product

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., - July 29, 2009 – Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today that Fedor Emelianenko, the world’s top ranked* MMA heavyweight, will headline the EA SPORTS™ MMA fighter roster. Emelianenko will be joined by Gegard Mousasi and Renato Sobral, both of whom will be featured in a title bout at the STRIKEFORCE fight on August 15, as the first of a long list of fighters who will appear in EA SPORTS MMA, the all-new mixed martial arts title coming in 2010.

“I have fought all over the world and I am excited to be in EA SPORTS MMA because this game is going to show the global appeal of mixed martial arts,” said Emelianenko. “I know MMA fans have been wanting to play as me and pitting me against any opponent. Now they will have their opportunity.”

Fedor Emelianenko, a 6’0”, 231 pound Russian heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter, who excels in Sambo and Judo, holds a 30-1 record and is the current WAMMA Heavyweight champion. Prior to signing on with STRIKEFORCE, Emelianenko defended his WAMMA championship by knocking out former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski.

Gegard Mousasi, a former Dream Middleweight champion, has a current record of 25-2-1 and won his last match in Dream 9 against Mark Hunt this past May. The 6’1”, 185 pound Dutch-Armenian fighter will be taking on Renato Sobral to determine STRIKEFORCE’s Light Heavyweight champion and has a fight style that is a unique blend of Dutch kickboxing and judo.

Sobral, hailing from Brazil, is known for his aggressive style, grappling prowess, and high-caliber submissions. He is the current STRIKEFORCE Light Heavyweight champion and has a record of 35-8 with his last victory coming against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at Affliction: Day of Reckoning fight earlier this year.

“I am very excited to have Fedor, the number one heavyweight in the world, as one of the top fighters in EA SPORTS MMA,” said Executive Producer Dale Jackson. “He is one of the elite fighters in the sport today and will provide the ultimate competition for our gamers. The EA SPORTS MMA team at Tiburon has been working on the game for over a year already and we will have a lot more great fighters and other exciting news to talk about soon.”

In addition to appearing in the EA SPORTS MMA video game, Mousasi and Sobral will be sponsored by EA SPORTS for the STRIKEFORCE fight.

EA SPORTS MMA will feature the most authentic, intense and broad mixed martial arts experience to date – complete with a vast array of top fighters and fighting styles from around the world. EA SPORTS MMA will be available on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.

For more information about EA SPORTS MMA, log onto www.easportsmma.com or follow the game on Twitter at www.twitter.com/easportsmma.

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Member Comments

# 1 Stumbleweed @ 07/29/09 07:54 PM

Heh, I hate that tribal tattoo logo... so cheesy.

I think this game will be good, but their roster is gonna be garbage even with Fedor, Randy, and Gegard. Unless they're going for a historical game and they sign a bunch of old UFC guys, it's gonna be pretty sparse with stars.

# 2 zombie5146 @ 07/29/09 09:47 PM

great news.. at least for hardcore fans, not just UFC junkies

# 3 DubTrey1 @ 07/29/09 10:55 PM

Well, at least there is now some comp. Let's hope it makes for a great game for both UFC and EA's entry in to the ring... As far as the roster goes, yeah - it will be a bunch of guys many folks have not heard of, but if the gameplay is tight, fun and a real challenge....then we could be in for a treat for those who did not like the UFC title.

# 4 judgejudy @ 07/29/09 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GatorBait06NC


	UFCs only flaw are the quitters online and the ease in which you can submit someone..

right, because UFC was perfect with all the robotic striking & movement, lack of fighter styles, boring career mode, and inability to even allow a fighter to fight southpaw.

# 5 tabulaRasa @ 07/30/09 08:03 AM

This was the signing EA needed to keep their game legit. Looks like it will be competetion for THQ. ANd I guess thise means we wont see Fedor in UFC(I mean in the real UFC) anytime soon.

# 6 Pappy Knuckles @ 07/30/09 10:52 AM

I'm hoping that both games improve upon the striking in Undisputed. I have a hard time playing it because Fight Night feels so much more fluid. I'd prefer it if everything was controlled with the analog stick, bumper, and triggers. The buttons could be used for clinching and taunts.

# 7 allBthere @ 07/30/09 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by judgejudy


	right, because UFC was perfect with all the robotic striking & movement, lack of fighter styles, boring career mode, and inability to even allow a fighter to fight southpaw.

The striking in the UFC is better than any other game I've played including FN. ...he said it's a good game and you're ripping into him like he said it was perfect.

I think the gameplay is great in undisputed and the best thing is, they can build on it and add things and tweak things and make the feature set more robust.

the only EA games I enjoy are actually outside the sports genre.
FN4's gameplay is such a let down - so I can't say I'm optimistic about them getting mma down. If they do, great, but I doubt it - I remember played undisputed's 2 man demo more than any other EVER. It has to 'wow' right out of the gate to peak my interest.

# 8 Pappy Knuckles @ 07/30/09 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allBthere


	The striking in the UFC is better than any other game I've played including FN.

I love Undisputed but I greatly disagree with this statement.

# 9 Scoop_Brady @ 07/30/09 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pappy Knuckles


	I love Undisputed but I greatly disagree with this statement.

I've got to agree with allbthere. Fight Night can definitely be fun but there's far too many times where I'm trying to throw one punch and I throw something else. I also don't like that someone can throw 100 haymakers in 6 rounds and not be exhausted.

# 10 Pappy Knuckles @ 07/30/09 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scoop_Brady


	I've got to agree with allbthere. Fight Night can definitely be fun but there's far too many times where I'm trying to throw one punch and I throw something else. I also don't like that someone can throw 100 haymakers in 6 rounds and not be exhausted.

I'll agree that some of the stamina issues in Fight Night can be kind of lame at times, but I'm strictly talking about the striking mechanics. I really don't see how you guys could say it's better in UFC than Fight Night. You can't use any head movement to create angles, you either block or back up out of range. For a first effort they did a good job, and I realize kicks add another element, but the striking seems very primitive in Undisputed. There's also the issue of getting frozen in place when being punched. That happens far too often.

As far as throwing the wrong punch goes, that's more on the user than the game. A patch will be coming soon for those who can't seem to pull off what they want on the sticks.

# 11 judgejudy @ 07/30/09 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allBthere


	The striking in the UFC is better than any other game I've played including FN. ...he said it's a good game and you're ripping into him like he said it was perfect. I think the gameplay is great in undisputed and the best thing is, they can build on it and add things and tweak things and make the feature set more robust. the only EA games I enjoy are actually outside the sports genre. FN4's gameplay is such a let down - so I can't say I'm optimistic about them getting mma down. If they do, great, but I doubt it - I remember played undisputed's 2 man demo more than any other EVER. It has to 'wow' right out of the gate to peak my interest.

if you think the striking in this game is better than FN then you're honestly crazy. FN is leaps and bounds better visually and mechanically. As far as "ripping into him" goes, how is saying "the game's only flaw is online quitters" not saying it's perfect?
Don't get me wrong, I like this game, but it has tons more flaws than just online quitters. I'm looking forward to seeing what EA brings to the table, and what THQ brings to compete.
I just don't understand why people talk all this **** on EA for trying to make an MMA game when it's proven that competition helps create a better product. People should be glad that a challenger has appeared.

# 12 Scoop_Brady @ 07/30/09 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pappy Knuckles


	I'll agree that some of the stamina issues in Fight Night can be kind of lame at times, but I'm strictly talking about the striking mechanics. I really don't see how you guys could say it's better in UFC than Fight Night. You can't use any head movement to create angles, you either block or back up out of range. For a first effort they did a good job, and I realize kicks add another element, but the striking seems very primitive in Undisputed. There's also the issue of getting frozen in place when being punched. That happens far too often. As far as throwing the wrong punch goes, that's more on the user than the game. A patch will be coming soon for those who can't seem to pull off what they want on the sticks.

Well, I would hope when you make a game that only consists of striking with your fists that you have deeper striking than a game that has to take into account striking with feet and the ground game. There's no doubt you have more control of your body in FNR4 but to me it's completely flawed if the fighter stamina is completely screwed up. Throw in counter punches that do too much damage and things get a little more flawed. If EA would balance those issues out then I would see FNR4 as the better of the two concerning striking.

Also, I'm proficient enough with the right analog stick where I know what I'm doing in FNR4. I'd be the first to admit if I sucked. The bottom line is I've done the motion for a hook and thrown an uppercut or the motion for an uppercut and thrown a hook. I initially thought I was crappy at the game but I started a 2-player game by myself and tested things out. That's when I realized the game is wonky with detecting right analog stick movements. If your copy lets you throw every single punch you made the motion for 100% of the times then I'd like your copy of the game.

I admit I'm very curious what EA does with this game. Will they take the striking of FNR4 and try to incorporate the ground game? Will they make something from scratch? Is there even a target release date yet?

# 13 allBthere @ 07/30/09 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by judgejudy


	if you think the striking in this game is better than FN then you're honestly crazy. FN is leaps and bounds better visually and mechanically. .

We can break it down if you want - I can't believe actually how good the reviews are for fn4 when the gameplay imo is not very good.

The actual hitting in UFC IS better (I honestly don't see how anyone can honestly disagree w/ this) I'm talking the guy throwing the strike looks like he's doing it with authority and the guy being hit, looks like he's taking a big shot that could put him away.
In FN4 - this doesn't happen - outside of the counter window mini-game which imo is a terrible game mechanic. Most of the punches are pitter patter and sluggish
To me this makes beating on someone more SATISFYING in UFC.

Animation is party the same thing, but I just want to point out that the jab animation in UFC is superior to FN, as is the cross and hooks to an extent. Punches are crisp and hips are rotated properly. IN FN4 many of the punch animations are very awkward

Knockdowns and KO's are implemented much more realistically in UFC. The counters are actual counters. You hit someone as they are trying to hit you BOOM! in FN4 you dodge/block see your 'window' and hit after the fact - that is crap. It actually makes the game resemble nothing of boxing - it would have been better if they just removed it and shipped it completely without it. In UFC counters occur naturally, not in some minigame.

Ring Movement - FN4 has dodging, blocking and bobbing/weaving. Of these, the dodging and blocking are done well. the bobbing/weaving is slightly iffy. What I've suggested for the UFC game is that fighters with high enough strike defense should dodge when pressing the block button for brief stretches automatically. This utilizes a fighters stats more and is in line w/ the rest of the game where strikes are context-dependent and so a kick becomes a knee etc..UFC should extend that to dodging. So FN4 has more in this area, but to be honest it doesn't make up for the other areas.

Camera - even though UFC has no options it's still better than FN4's - the game feels so much more 3 dimentional, and in most of my fights the entire octagon is used.

Undisputed captures the sport much better imo. I'm playing it way more, enjoying it way more. FN4 by all the major media outlets that deal w/ gaming have severely overrated the game. I remember playing the demo and not being enticed to play more than a few bouts vs UFC that was like a crack addiciton.
The gameplay and fun factor in UFC is hands down superior.

# 14 KOL @ 07/30/09 08:13 PM

Be interesting if Fedor signs with UFC. Would that mean EA would have to scratch him from the game, or can he opt out of the whole games thing like Randy Coutore.

# 15 SHO @ 07/30/09 10:26 PM

I really like the roster they're assembling for this game. I'm buying it for that alone.

# 16 LocoDoePapo @ 07/31/09 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zombie5146


	great news.. at least for hardcore fans, not just UFC junkies

Exactly thank you!

yes ea can make a better game. undisputed is fun in all but its rather simple. not enuff versatility as far as moves go.. ufc sudden impact was way more diverse in the moves and disiplines you could choose. in all honesty i feel sudden impact = undisputed. only reason its equal is because of undisputeds graphics. no tournament mode? how stupid do you have to be to not include that. i hate backing out and reloading just to get some other fighters in there.

EA could gather many good fighters.most undisputed people are just the common fan that are just learning about mma. alot of these fans are from the show The ultimate fighter. thats fine everyone starts somewhere, but learn about mma before making ignorant comments that the roster will suck.

# 17 judgejudy @ 07/31/09 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GatorBait06NC


	You actually think EA can make a better MMA game that Undisputed?? EA has a reputation of making games with loads of glitches, due to little or no testing. Too much slips thru them. The striking on Undisputed is not all that bad. And as bad as you think it is, EA will not be able to do any better.

have you even played any EA games recently? probably not because you're obviously biased against EA. i'm no fanboy, but i'm willing to give a company a shot before i decide whether they can or can't do something. if that were the case then i would have totally avoided ufc, seeing as the only fighting games thq has put out are average at best wrestling games.

# 18 Wet Bandit @ 07/31/09 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LocoDoePapo


	in all honesty i feel sudden impact = undisputed.

That's an...interesting...opinion.

By the way, I hope EA makes a great MMA game. I would not mind having two great MMA games.

# 19 LocoDoePapo @ 07/31/09 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wet Bandit


	That's an...interesting...opinion. By the way, I hope EA makes a great MMA game. I would not mind having two great MMA games.

ok ill bite..

have you ever played sudden impact?

as far as depth sudden impact wins. better career mode. not sure if memory serves me correct but they had bjj, sambo, kickboxing, muay thai, catch wresting, boxing.. some less effective styles such as pro wresting, kung fu, luta livra.. your create a player can choose from 15 different fighting disiplines with a wide variety of moves.

game play is pretty much the same, in sudden impact you could even use the cage. ie shoot for the takedown when opponent is close to the cage and he would be on his back with his head against the cage... dont see anything like that in undisputed..

graphics are the only department undisputed has locked down. maybe the fact that there are more fighters. but i dont see bas.

dont get me wrong i would rather play undisputed im just stating the fact that thq really hasnt done anything special.

# 20 DavonBrown @ 08/02/09 12:06 AM

If this game has the graphics and physics of Fight Night, good controls, and a good caf feature so we can create the UFC guys, then it will be amazing.

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Fedor Emelianenko Headlines EA Sports MMA Roster (Press Release)