EA Sports UFC 5 – It’s (Almost) Time for the Premier Mixed Martial Arts Game in all of Combat Sports

There’s that moment in every major UFC event, where you’ve cheered for your fighters during the preliminaries, main card, and co-main event, but then the time comes for the main event. You’re on the edge of your seat as the arena lights go dark. The walk out song starts playing, the fighter begins the trek out to the octagon, the arena erupts in flashing lights, and a thunderous crash of cheers resonates throughout the arena – and you know two warriors are about to engage in violent battle until one emerges as the victor.

Watching EA Sports UFC 5This reveal trailer captures perfectly this adrenaline-filled rush. It’s so lifelike from start to finish – from the walk out, to Israel Adesanya “shooting arrows” into his fallen opponent, right down to Jon Jones staring out across the ring at his next victim. Chills!

Electronic Arts recently revealed all the details about the new cover athlete. EA Sports UFC 5Release date, details on pre-orders, features and new additions, plus more! I attended a press event supporting today’s announcement and witnessed many of these new features firsthand and explained in greater detail. You fight fans will be in for a real treat.

We already know Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski and Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko share the cover of EA Sports UFC 5’s standard edition, while Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya graces the cover of the Deluxe Edition in spectacular fashion befitting the iconic fighter and current Middleweight champion. If that wasn’t reason enough to cheer, check out what else is coming to the game when it launches in October.

What I found most interesting was the commitment of the development team to create the most realistic Mixed Martial Arts Simulation (MMA). They also showed how they will incorporate many innovative features into this series. The team concentrated on three key pillars during the event. EA Sports UFC 5 – making it as real as it gets; creating an authentic MMA experience; and celebrating the culmination of all the hard work and training with an exciting Fight Week.

The Real Deal

I mentioned EA Sports UFC 5 is implementing several “for the first time” features in the latest installment, and one of the most exciting instances of this is, for the first time in series history the game will be utilizing the Frostbite engine and will support 60 Frames Per Second (FPS) during gameplay and when rendering replays.

Using Frostbite technology allows for “highly detailed characters, next-gen lighting and shading, improved rendering quality, all new presentation of environment, and visual effects.” Simply put, the game looks and plays – as real as it gets! You will be able to experience an unprecedented level of realism with features such as strand-based, facial animation (FaceRig), and advanced body (Shapeshifter).

While Frostbite guarantee fighters look their best at the start of the fight, it will also ensure they look like they’ve gone through three (or five) rounds of all-out war. The damage is accurately and authentically rendered. Your character will be equipped with 8 different regions to represent cuts, bruises, and swelling. Each region has multiple injury levels, which results in 64,000 possible combinations. All inflicted damage carries true game play altering consequences – affecting stamina, mobility, and defensive ability.

The same technology that was used to create realism in the gameplay, will be employed to recreate spectacular Knock-Out moments, with even more intensity. This includes dramatic lighting, dynamic camera angles, super slow-motion, and immersive audio effects. The video I saw of this demonstration showed a devastating head kick that landed with ear ringing, jaw jarring effect that sent blood and sweat flying across the octagon – I thought I was watching an actual highlight reel from an Adesanya fight. Spectacular!

Authentic MMA

The lifelike sports figures look, sound and act like their actual counterparts. EA Sports UFC 5You must be immersed in a real MMA experience to feel as if you’re the UFC champ. And you will feel that with new animations for strike and submission, physics-driven hit reactions and the Real Impact System.

This game has new strike animations such as spinning attacks and ground-and-pound elbows. It also includes body punches and calf kicks. Plus, with the Real Impact System, the damage you and your opponent sustain isn’t just a visual representation but is translated into authentic damage impacting gameplay – a broken nose will result in slower stamina recovery; a cut or swollen eye will result in more vulnerability on the affected side; leg damage (those calf kicks can be a game changer) will result in slower movement and impaired takedowns. Any injury can lead to the doctor stopping play if it is severe.

The ringside medical professional plays an important role in another first series. EA Sports UFC 5. The referee can stop the fight if you injure your opponent or cause enough damage to do so. This will allow the doctor enough time to evaluate how serious the injury is. If you’re lucky enough, you’ll be able to continue (or is that unlucky), but if it’s too severe, the doctor can call a stop to the fight.

It’s important to note combat sports can be a bloody and brutal endeavor, and the level of realism on display EA Sports UFC 5This has led to the game being rated as Mature, for the very first time, for violence, blood and language. The developers were careful to honor the fighters with the same amount of respect they often show one another after the battle is over and the dust settles, so some of the more gruesome and often career ending injuries will not appear in the game – they very rarely happen in real life, nobody wants to see them happen, so the decision was made to leave them out. I’m fine with that!

The new feature of seamless submission is one of the biggest changes from the previous versions in the series. The previous games used a multi-stage mini game submission system, which was a tedious process and took away from the thrill of fighting. This new system features more than 600 grappling animations that allow you to concentrate on your fight, while seamlessly changing between counters, reversals, and transitions. You’ll feel like a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in no time, and to help you perfect your skills, you’ll have access to another series first – the Performance Institute (PI), hosted by none other than former Women’s Flyweight Champion – Valentina Shevchenko.

Your training and your quest to win the championship will include UFC 5, you’ll have access to the PI where you can focus on improving and mastering your striking, grappling, health, damage, and stamina attributes. With the return of coach Davis, improved sparring challenges and a brand new grading system for challenge packs, you can improve your training experience.

Fight Week

The fight week includes several exciting events that lead up to the big night. This is manifested in real life by press conferences, official weigh-ins and often-tensive face-offs between competitors. For the first time ever in the series’ history, EA Sports UFC 5The game incorporates real UFC event into in-game events and challenges. I don’t want to spoil some of the specific details since they will result in a unique player experience, but one feature I’m looking forward to is Fight Predictions.

You will be able to choose your prediction for the winner and loser, as well as the round and method in which the fight will conclude. Also, who you think will win the bonus fight of the evening. You’ll automatically be pooled to compete with others, and whoever scores the best based on the real-world UFC fight results will be rewarded with in-game coins. That’s pretty cool!

Daily matches are available for you to participate in and win coins in the game. They are also based off the UFC calendar, each match becoming harder towards the end of the day. This innovative integration of the UFC video games and real-life UFC is something I appreciate as a fan.

There’s a lot for fight fans to look forward to in EA Sports UFC 5The launch of the game is just two months away. Many will have watched UFC 294 by then and want to recreate those epic fights in the videogame! 

EA Sports UFC 5 Pre-orders are available now for Xbox Series X|S and is available for pre-order today. The Deluxe Edition includes 3 days of early access, plus Fedor Emelianenko, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson – three of the greatest warriors to ever compete in combat sports. Follow the Official Website and check out @EASPORTSUFC for more details.

UFC® 5 Deluxe Edition

Electronic Arts

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$99.99

$89.99

EA SPORTS™ UFC® 5 is as real as it gets. Powered by Frostbite™ engine’s advanced rendering capabilities, your favorite fighters now have unparalleled character likenesses to complement next-level environment fidelity that’ll make their walk to the Octagon feel like a PPV main event. A new authentic damage system will bring the strategy and intensity of a battle to life. Cuts and hits absorbed by a fighter can impact mobility, defense and stamina. Take too much damage, and the doctor will check to see if you’re able to continue. The new Transition-Based Submits will make the grappling more realistic and fluid for fans of the groundgame. You can also admire the results of your labors with Cinematic K.O. The replays will capture all the brutality of your final finishes. A completely redesigned live service schedule creates exciting challenges to go along with all the PPV battle weeks. UFC 5 brings the latest evolution in the fighting game to your home.

Pre-order* EA SPORTS™ UFC® 5 Deluxe Edition and receive:**
Early access for 3 days
Mike Tyson
-Fedor Emelianenko
-Muhammad Ali
Bruce Lee Bundle
-4 Alter Egos (Jon Jones, Israel Adesanya, Alexander Volkanovski, Valentina Shevchenko)
-Origins Bundle (Conor McGregor [2013]Leon Edwards [2015]Vanity items (and 22 Vanity Item)
-30th Anniversary Vanity Bundle 4 Vanity Item
-Online Career Mode XP Boosts (x5)

**EA account, internet connection, and all game updates required to claim and use pre-order content.

The game allows you to purchase virtual currencies in-game that can be used for virtual items.

*Conditions & restrictions apply. See http://www.ea.com/games/ufc/ufc-5/game-and-offer-disclaimers for details.

UFC® 5

Electronic Arts

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$69.99

$62.99

EA SPORTS™ UFC® 5 is as real as it gets. Powered by Frostbite™ engine’s advanced rendering capabilities, your favorite fighters now have unparalleled character likenesses to complement next-level environment fidelity that’ll make their walk to the Octagon feel like a PPV main event. A new authentic damage system will bring the strategy and intensity of a battle to life. Cuts and hits absorbed by a fighter can impact mobility, defense and stamina. Take too much damage, and the doctor will check to see if you’re able to continue. The new Transition-Based Submits will make the grappling more realistic and fluid for fans of the groundgame. You can also admire the results of your labors with Cinematic K.O. The replays will capture all the brutality of your final finishes. The new live service program creates challenges that revolve around each PPV week. UFC 5 brings the latest evolution in the fighting game to your home.

Pre-order* EA SPORTS™ UFC® 5 Standard Edition and receive:**
-2 Alter Egos (Alexander Volkanovski, Valentina Shevchenko)
-Muhammad Ali
The -30th anniversary Bundle includes 4 Vanity Items
-Online Career Mode XP boosts (x5)

**EA account, internet connection, and all game updates required to claim and use pre-order content.

The game allows you to purchase virtual currencies in-game that can be redeemed for virtual items.

*Conditions & restrictions apply. See http://www.ea.com/games/ufc/ufc-5/game-and-offer-disclaimers for details.