Fresh off a huge pay-per-view success over the weekend, Dana White, the president of the leading mixed martial arts league UFC, has declared war on EA Sports. White claims in the past EA refused to meet for talks about creating a MMA-based game and disparaged UFC as “not a real sport.” Then publisher THQ teamed up with UFC to release “UFC Undisputed 2009” to runaway success, selling more than a million copies in May alone. EA is now planning on hopping on the MMA gravy train with their own title and this has White fighting mad.
He has declared that any fighters who sign with EA to appear in their game will be blacklisted in UFC. Fighers partnering with EA flat-out “won’t be in UFC” according to White. With UFC being the premier brand in the MMA world, there probably aren’t many fighters who will be willing to give up their chance at the spotlight for a licensing fee from EA. It will be interesting to see which of these industry heavyweights comes out on top. White certainly has the advantage, with the MMA muscle (literally) on his side, as well as a proven hit game. But EA Sports has one of the best track records in the industry, producing not just great games, but numerous award–winning sports franchises for over 15 years, across every gaming platform. This is one fight that’s almost sure to go the distance.
