The relationship the sport of mixed martial arts has with video games is something that runs deep through the passage of time. Fighting is hard — most people want to experience the perks of fighting and being a fighter with as few of the consequences as possible, and for many, video games are the perfect escape.
Before MMA found its way onto the map in North America, games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat ruled the roost as the top fighting games on the market. As the sport began to grow, however, much like other sports games, MMA arcade and simulation games began to take form.
Given the global popularity of eSports betting, the rise of the UFC and popularity of MMA on offshore sports betting sites, you surely know of the EA Sports UFC series, which is currently on its fifth volume. Many states have, after all, legalized sports betting as recently as 2023, and among other states, Kentucky offers numerous online sports betting options.
Outside of EA’s lineup of UFC games, here are three MMA games from different eras of gaming that are worth a try in 2024.
Pride FC — PlayStation 2
Yes — the Pride Mode in UFC Undisputed 3 is very popular (more on that later), but perhaps you didn’t know that Pride, the Japanese UFC competitor from the turn of the century, commissioned its own video game to compete with UFC offerings such as UFC Throwdown.
The UFC game provided little by way of competition, so when Pride’s PlayStation 2 offering came out, it immediately became the top MMA game on the market almost by default. The game drew positive reviews for its gameplay, graphics and animation, and in the climate of MMA games back in 2003, that was more than enough to carry it to the top.
Pride FC on PS2 is not a perfect game, however. By today’s standards, the game is pretty light on content. With 25 fighters to choose from, you have the option to create your own fighters as well, though beyond a 16-man Grand Prix mode, there isn’t much to draw your attention outside of the combat itself. Still, there’s enough here in the gameplay and presentation to make the game stand on its own. If you’re a Pride fan, this game is a very willing time machine for you, and worth checking out just to get a look at what the bar for MMA games used to be.
World of Mixed Martial Arts 5 — PC
Another product in a long line of great games from Adam Ryland’s Grey Dog Software, the fifth iteration of the World of Mixed Martial Arts (WMMA) is equal parts an industry simulator as it is a fight simulator. Unlike most fighting games that center around the fighter, WMMA centers around you as an MMA boss, a tycoon of sorts tasked with building whatever company you choose. The game comes loaded with fictional data, but thanks to the vast online community, multiple real world and fantasy scenarios exist that will allow you to potentially change the hands of time in MMA.
Perhaps you want to take over the UFC the week of the upcoming UFC 305 pay-per-view and see if you can expand the company’s global reach from there while creating new stars? Perhaps you want to take control of a UFC competitor, such as the PFL, One FC, or Bellator and try to run them into the ground? Or, perhaps you want to go back in time and take the reigns of a past UFC competitor such as Strikeforce or Pride and see if you can turn them into a competing global juggernaut? The choice is yours and depth of WMMA makes it all possible.
Almost everything about the game is totally customizable — from the fighters’ attributes to the fight engine itself. Manage the personalities of your roster and turn your company profitable. If you’re a more casual player, you can also take the fighters of your database and create dream fights outside of the career mode just for fun. Ever wonder how a fight between welterweight GOAT Georges St-Pierre and recent champions Kamaru Usman, Leon Edwards or Belal Muhammad would go? Wonder no more!
UFC Undisputed 3 — Xbox 360/PlayStation 3
It’s incredible that so many people still view UFC Undisputed 3 as the Godfather of MMA video games all these years later. The game released on Valentine’s Day 2012, and I can still remember walking to the Gamestop closest to my door room in Philadelphia my freshman year of college to go pick it up. I can still remember thinking it being the most refined version of the UFC Undisputed series of games from THQ, and as much as I wished the UFC could one day land a deal with EA Sports, one thing was for certain — this game was freakin’ awesome.
While there’s a distinction to be made between “arcade” and “sim” games, UFC Undisputed 3 managed to fill both voids in MMA gaming. With the “arcade” setting, players could fight more freely with less attention paid to stamina conservation, resulting in more finishes. The “simulation” setting prioritized the stamina meter, however, providing fight fans with a more authentic UFC experience. Speaking of the UFC experience, UFC Undisputed 3 thrives where the EA Sports UFC series fails. The game goes out of its way to make you feel like you’re cageside at not only a high-profile MMA event, but a UFC event.
The EA Sports UFC series is constantly tinkering with its gameplay and features, but ultimately, there’s just not enough content to go around, and the game, for being the fifth incarnation in the series, can border on being a buggy mess. There are more than enough things to do in Undisputed 3. Take a fighter up the ladder en route to the UFC Championship, with increasing difficulty each fight, then defend your belt in Title Defense Mode. The game also offers the authentic UFC career mode experience, allowing you to create a fighter and cement his legend in both the UFC and in Pride. Perhaps you prefer to use a real fighter — you can recreate their career in your image and fighting style, win belts in multiple weight classes, then use your custom fighter in all other game modes — and that’s just scratching the surface.
These days, there is a mod going around for PS3 and RPCS3 called “UFC Undisputed Forever” that introduces modern fighters and UFC branding into the game. It’s pretty comprehensive, and Bruce Buffer will even call the name of new fighters introduced to the game. The irony of the UFC-THQ relationship is that it was born out of spite after EA spurned the UFC’s initial advance to produce a video game. We’re now five generations into EA holding the UFC license, and the company still can’t make a game that even holds a candle to the gameplay, presentation and fun factor of UFC Undisputed 3.
