Summary
As one of the fastest-growing sports in the world today, mixed martial arts is receiving increased attention in the video game world. With the upcoming release of EA Sports’UFC 5,fans will be hoping for a stand-out fighting game that emulates sporting realism among a plethora ofmore fantasy-oriented combat titles. With releases dating back to the year 2000, the sport’s premier organization, theUFC, has long been partnered with various developers to create authentic games, but some titles have certainly resonated with fans better than others.
As the series moves progressively into the mainstream and the athletes continue to innovate with new styles and techniques, players will be hoping that this will transfer into future titles. AsUFC 5looks to introduce previously missing features such as cuts and doctor’s stoppages, it is worth taking a look back at some of the best titles in the series to figure out what made them so appealing in the first place.
Updated July 27, 2025, by Andrew McLarney:UFC Games have come in many forms. From the more physical Xbox Kinect titles to the modern-day EA Sports series, the development and growth of MMA sports games have directly coincided with the development and growth of the sport itself. As the leading MMA organization on the planet, the UFC represents the pinnacle of fighting skill and toughness, which is replicated on-screen in the following titles.
10UFC Personal Trainer
A Hands-On Approach To Combat Sports Gaming
Xbox Kinect was an early interactive motion sensor that players could use for more physical games, almostlike an early form of VR. Perhaps it is little surprise that sports games were among the most popular in this format, and the UFC contributed their ownPersonal Trainergame to get players in fighting shape. Containing intense and fast-paced workouts,UFC Personal Trainerwas a great introduction to martial arts for the gaming audience, as well as a good supplementary training tool for amateur and aspiring fighters.
9UFC Tapout
Dream Factory’sUFC Tapoutrepresented a significant leap forward in MMA gaming, with the follow-up sequelUFC Tapout 2also bringing the genre closer to boxing games like theFight Nightseries.
While both games contained a fairly limited roster and basic Career modes, they certainly were not as realistic or immersive as their rival boxing games. Nonetheless,UFC TapoutandTapout 2will hold fond memories for old-school fans, especially considering some of the fighters available like Tito Ortiz, Matt Hughes, and Jens Pulver.
8UFC Throwdown
This Playstation Classic Holds Fond Memories For Retro Players
Also released back in 2002,UFC Throwdownwas very much an innovator in the combat sports gaming genre and featured several game modes as well as a fairly complex grappling and striking system for its time. The game features more game modes thanTapoutand has a more intuitive feel overall.
Developed by Capcom, it is little surprise that this better-funded project was also received with more praise than its rival. As the PlayStation counterpart toTapout,it was inevitably slightly ahead in many respects due to being on the PlayStation 2, whileTapoutwas still on the original Xbox.
EA’s most recent addition to the UFC series was met with a very mixed reception among fans and critics alike. Despite featuring the largest roster in the series' history, the lack of immersion, clunky animations, and ridiculous “cosmetic” design choices of the developers made the game feel considerably more arcade-like and less realistic than any previous installment.
A sub-par career mode and a focus on celebratory emote dances was, unfortunately,not what any fans were hoping for, and the inclusion of the all-new “Coach Davis” did very little to plug the gaps. Being unable to save fight replays, view extended highlights, or even check to see who other contenders in the division had fought was also a bit of a disappointment.
The latest installment in the series,EA Sports UFC 5, offered little in terms of gameplay changes compared to its predecessor, and the career mode is also a watered-down carbon copy of the previous two editions. However, the game did feature a larger roster and some minor tweaks which made it slightly better overall. The presence of a larger online community also helpedUFC 5in terms of gameplay variety and difficulty.
As the latest in the series,UFC 5also receives the latest roster updates and some legendary fighters like Fedor Emelianenko and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Players will at least have some familiarity with the workings of the game if they have played previous editions, and for newer players everything is laid out to make things as simple as possible. Grappling is one area that has seen a noticeable improvement, with more emphasis on scrambles and submissions than before.
5EA Sports UFC 2
The Great Character Models And Animations Still Hold Up Today
Releasing in 2016 atthe height of the McGregor-Rousey era, this was seemingly the perfect time for a UFC video game to take the market by storm. The game did sell relatively well but drew criticism for moving even further away from the style of the earlierUndisputedgames, and very much receiving the “EA Treatment” with regard to microtransactions and in-game currency.
Gameplay was a slight improvement over its predecessor and still feels significantly better than inUFC 4. The attention to detail in terms of character models and environments, such as the varying global arenas, was also much more in-depth than it has become now.
4EA Sports UFC 3
A Revamp In The UFC Series Which Introduced Many New Features
Following the success ofUFC 2, EA Sports followed up with another entry in 2018. There were few changes in terms of gameplay, although the presentation ofUFC 3certainly focused more on multiplayer than the detailed Career Mode players were used to in theUndisputedseries.
Doing away with the ragdoll after knockouts may have been a mistake, and withonly a select few animationsplaying each time there is a knockout, it can be very repetitive to watch and play. Nonetheless,UFC 3had a large player base and particularly excelled in online match-ups.
3UFC 2009 Undisputed
This Trailblazing Game Set A New Standard For MMA In Video Games
Before EA acquired the franchise,THQ producedthe UFCUndisputedseries.UFC 2009 Undisputedwas the first game in the UFC series to feature a truly distinctive variety of martial arts with a focus on training progression and technical work on the ground.
While the ground controls and submissions may have been difficult to get used to at the time, they would later become the basis of all future games and have been innovated only slightly since. With a roster of legends including Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva,UFC 2009 Undisputedwas a true classic.
2UFC Undisputed 2010
Improved Upon Its Predecessor And Was Received Well By Audiences
Building on the successful model of the 2009 game,UFC Undisputed 2010hardly revolutionized the series in the same way that its predecessor managed to, but still brought several quality-of-life improvementsincluding enhanced graphicsand more fluid, accurate animations. The game’s roster features names such as Matt Serra, Rampage Jackson, and Mirko Cro Cop, with a focus on promoting the fighters, which led to an authentic experience more connected with the real sport.
Despite being produced on a significantly older engine than the EA titles, theUndisputedseries had much more realistic and representative character models, as well as recognizably unique fighting styles for the different characters.
The last of the THQ-produced UFC games,UFC Undisputed 3retained many of the positive qualities that made the previous games successful, as well as expanding on them with a more in-depth career mode that focused on training and development as much as the fights themselves. With a range of new techniques and submission possibilities, this title wasarguably the most realisticand the most fun out of any game in the UFC series.
The inclusion of the “Pride” organization also created further authenticity as a feeder program for the main UFC and featured its own special ruleset, which included the ability to kick grounded opponents. Future games could certainly learn from this title, which is widely recognized as a fan-favorite, particularly among those who are fans of the sport as well as video games.
