Last year most of the reviews were good. This year, every review has been excellent. However, do try to remember that online play is NOT involved in these reviews and that there might be some growing pains. (He said crossing his fingers.)

1. MS XBOX World – 9/10

The general expectations is never really high for the next version of a yearly sports title, but UFC Undisputed 2010 is an exception for that consensus. Revamping some key gameplay features fixes many of the issues gamers had with UFC 2009 and they streamlined the controls so that players can put their own strategies into action with their fighter. Career mode is like a simulation RPG that will engulf more time than thought if you micro-manage everything or you can breeze through with the automatic training features. The online camps are a great idea and will help grow the community so matches will always be available. With the graphics so visually stunning you’ll be hard pressed to find another sports game on the market that can compete. Every sound effect and soundtrack in the game do nothing but enhance it, and when those famous voices of commentators start speaking there is little doubt that player immersion into the world of the UFC was the goal of the developers. UFC Undisputed 2010 is pound for pound the real deal in virtual MMA.

2. Planet XBOX 360 – 9/10

It has been the goal of Yuke’s to continue creating a realistic UFC fighting experience and we can say with 100% certainty that Undisputed 2010 improves over the 2009 version many times over. If a game such as this is able to recreate the UFC PPV experience while the whole time keeping the controls and realism at the top of the game there is no reason the mass-fans will not come away pleased. Before we were excited for the future of this franchise but now we are nothing short of ecstatic as to what is coming next from the development team. The UFC Undisputed series continues to prove to be the best mixed-martial arts gaming experience out there and in just a week or so you’ll be able to virtually step into the Octagon and introduce your opponents to the mat when the game releases on May 25, 2010.

3. Game Focus – 9.4/10

The first thing I did after I retired my 47-7-0 Light Heavyweight Champion was call my buddy to brag. Not necessarily because I wanted to rub it in his face though. I just wanted to share my glory with someone other than my 6-year old daughter. It was at that moment that I truly realized what set UFC Undisputed 2010 apart from last year’s version: it’s for the fans. A simple statement, I know. But I never really felt that connection in UFC 2009. Sure, it was a great game; by far the best virtual adaption of the sport. But this year, THQ really pulled out all the stops to cater to MMA fans, both new and old.

4. Atomic Gamer – 93%

Simply put, UFC 2010 is by far the best mixed martial arts game ever made, as it easily surpasses its predecessor in almost every way – but it can also stand up with just about any other versus-based action game you can compare it to. UFC 2010 is an absolute knockout of a game and despite a few minor disappointments, I can wholeheartedly recommend it to pretty much anyone that’s even remotely interested.

5. Computer & Video Games UK – 8.9/10

The sheer amount of attention that’s gone into making UFC Undisputed 2010 as authentic as possible – down to the announcers, ring girls and shorts sponsors – make it a near-definitive purchase for fans of the first game, and one meaty milestone for EA’s contender to tackle when it enters the octagon later this year.

Tell me you aren’t excited for Midnight on Tuesday, and I’ll tell you that you are a dirty liar.

As Seen on The 3rd String Safety.

Ladies and gentlemen, the wait is almost over. One of the oldest, most reliable game magazines, Gamepro, has released the very first review of UFC 2010: Undisputed, and the news is good. Like, Perfect good.

The game received a 5 out of 5.

And that’s what makes Undisputed 2010 such a success: it addresses the problems of the past while making subtle improvements that make the product better. The graphics are crisper, the animations are better, and several new tweaks make the actual fighting more enjoyable. Even the menu system and user interface is cleaner and easier to navigate. This attention to detail makes UFC Undisputed 2010 an intensely satisfying experience, and if THQ can keep up the momentum, the future of MMA games looks bright indeed.

The full review is even more complimentary, maintaining that the only negative is the complex controls that most of us have already mastered from the demo. All the new additions are praised.

The only thing that they didn’t get to try was the online, as the servers were not yet ready. The game is out in just five more days. I am drooling in anticipation. I will be in line at midnight, no question.

For a list of Midnight openings, check out Gamestop.

Ladies and gentlemen, the wait is almost over. One of the oldest, most reliable game magazines, Gamepro, has released the very first review of UFC 2010: Undisputed, and the news is good. Like, Perfect good.

The game received a 5 out of 5.

And that’s what makes Undisputed 2010 such a success: it addresses the problems of the past while making subtle improvements that make the product better. The graphics are crisper, the animations are better, and several new tweaks make the actual fighting more enjoyable. Even the menu system and user interface is cleaner and easier to navigate. This attention to detail makes UFC Undisputed 2010 an intensely satisfying experience, and if THQ can keep up the momentum, the future of MMA games looks bright indeed.

The full review is even more complimentary, maintaining that the only negative is the complex controls that most of us have already mastered from the demo. All the new additions are praised.

The only thing that they didn’t get to try was the online, as the servers were not yet ready. The game is out in just five more days. I am drooling in anticipation. I will be in line at midnight, no question.

For a list of Midnight openings, check out Gamestop.

I admittedly didn’t see UFC 113 live. I had a prior engagement (channeling Chuck Liddell on TUF) I had to attend. So, like most of the people in the world who didn’t get to see the fight, I got my updates through Twitter.

Those updates all seemed to indicate the same thing: Shogun had dominated Lyoto Machida. The knockout was devastating, and there was no doubt that Machida was simply a gimmick that Shogun had figured out. So, when I got home and ordered the replay, I was expecting to see Shogun cementing his spot as the UFC light heavyweight king.

What I saw was Lyoto Machida getting punched in the temple.

Pictures Courtesy of LowKick

As every MMA fan knows, getting punched in the side of the head hard enough throws off your equilibrium. That normally means that the fighter who got hit will fall to the ground. That is exactly what happened with Machida, and when Shogun fell into mount, he did an amazing job of finishing the fight and making sure that The Dragon never had chance of getting back to his feet.

Nevertheless, I was somewhat underwhelmed with the result. It would have been different had Shogun truly dominated the first round of the fight. However, during that first round, it was still very close. Shogun was much more aggressive than he was in the first fight, and controlled most of the standup. However, Machida did grab two takedowns, but couldn’t really control Shogun on the ground. If I had to score the round up until the ending, I would say that it was a 10-9 round for Shogun. Not exactly the domination that Twitter had suggested.

I’m not trying to take anything away from Shogun. He fought a great fight. However, I found myself somewhat amazed at the way that everyone seems to have forgotten about 15 fights of dominance so quickly after a punch to the temple. If Shogun had won the first fight, and people were talking this way, I would have gotten it.

However, After this one, I’m just not so sure that I am ready to throw “The Machida Puzzle” out the window. While Shogun has proved to be a terrible match-up for The Dragon, he still has yet to lose to anyone, or even be a fight in anyone else. I would still be curious to see him fight Forrest Griffin, Rampage Jackson, and down the line, Jon Jones. Can any of these fighters repeat what Shogun’ has done to Machida? Probably not. The light heavyweight division is riddled with examples of guys who don’t have the kicking prowess to repeat Shogun’s plan from the first fight. Without that threat, Machida will be allowed to do what he does best: Evade and counter.

I have this theory on championship fights. Fighters are almost always overhyped coming into the title fights, regardless of standing as champion or challenger. Look at Dan Hardy. Everyone went as far as to convince themselves that Hardy had a chance against Georges St. Pierre. Then, when he lost, people forgot he existed altogether. Just like that, people are writing off Machida too easily as well.

The Machida puzzle isn’t quite as dead as everyone would lead you to believe.

Gamezone is responsible for this list, and it’s a bit…odd.

You’ll notice that no one is rated higher than a 79. This leads me to believe that the game does not use a typical 100 point scale. Let it be said that I have no problem with that whatsoever, as long as CAFs are rated by the same scale. If CAFs can get to the nineties, it is going to make online play a real annoyance.

Remember also that THQ has said that they went away from focus on overall ratings, instead choosing to make sure each individual skill for each fighter is correctly represented.

Here is the full list.

Heavyweights:
Brock Lesnar – 77
Frank Mir – 77
Cain Velasquez – 77
Shane Carwin – 76
Minotauro Nogueria – 76
Junior Dos Santos – 75
Gabriel Gonzaga – 74
Andrei Arlovski – 74
Fabricio Werdum – 74
Antoni Hardonk – 74
Cheick Kongo – 74
Brandon Vera – 73
Todd Duffee – 73
Mark Coleman – 72
Pat Barry – 72
Stefan Struve – 72
Mirko Cro Cop – 72
Heath Herring – 72
Justin McCully – 71
Eddie Sanchez – 69
Mostapha Al Turk – 69
Kimbo Slice – 67

Light-Heavyweights:
Lyoto Machida – 78
Anderson Silva – 78
Shogun Rua – 77
Rampage Jackson – 76
Vitor Belfort – 76
Dan Henderson – 76
Thiago Silva – 76
Rashad Evans – 76
Rich Franklin – 75
Wanderlei Silva – 74
Michael Bisping – 74
Tito Ortiz – 74
Forrest Griffin – 73
Brandon Vera – 73
Ryan Bader – 73
Luiz Cane – 73
Steve Cantwell – 73
Matt Hamill – 73
Jon Jones – 72
Mark Coleman – 72
Wilson Gouveia – 72
Chuck Liddell – 72
Krzysztof Soszynski – 71
Jason Brilz – 71
Keith Jardine – 70
Stephan Bonnar – 69

Middleweights:
Anderson Silva – 78
Nate Marquardt – 77
Chael Sonnen – 76
Yushin Okami – 76
Demian Maia – 76
Dan Henderson -76
Vitor Belfort – 76
Rich Franklin – 75
Mike Swick – 74
Wanderlei Silva – 74
Michael Bisping – 74
Yoshiro Akiyama – 73
Kendall Grove – 72
Chris Leben – 72
Dan Miller – 72
Martin Kampmann – 72
Wilson Gouveia – 72
Alan Belcher – 72
Patrick Cote – 71
Ricardo Almeida – 70
Nate Quarry – 70
Denis Kang – 70
Drew McFedries – 67

Welterweights:
Georges St-Pierre – 79
BJ Penn – 78
Jon Fitch – 77
Josh Koscheck – 76
Matt Hughes – 76
Thiago Alves – 76
Sean Sherk – 76
Matt Serra – 75
Mike Swick – 74
Dan Hardy – 74
Paulo Thiago – 74
Diego Sanchez – 74
Karo Parisyan – 73
Carlos Condit – 73
Martin Kampmann – 72
Amir Sadollah – 72
Dustin Hazelett – 72
Dong Hyun Kim – 72
Marcus Davis – 71
James Wilks – 71
Frank Trigg – 71
Chris Lytle – 69
Anthony Johnson – 69

Lightweights:
BJ Penn – 79
Kenny Florian – 77
Frank Edgar – 77
Tyson Griffin – 77
Gray Maynard – 77
Sean Sherk – 77
Matt Serra – 75
Diego Sanchez – 74
Nate Diaz – 73
Joe Stevenson – 73
Clay Guida – 73
Spencer Fisher – 72
Hermes Franca – 71
Ross Pearson – 70
Terry Etim – 70
Cole Miller – 70
Kurt Pellegrino – 70
Joe Lauzon – 70
Efrain Escudero – 69
Caol Uno – 69
Dennis Siver – 69

It's not often that we spend a whole lot of time talking about a 2-0 fighter as being on the UFC's radar. However, it's not often that 265 pound NCAA national champion wrestlers come along either.

Cole Konrad has a chance that few before him have had. On Thursday night, he is going to step into a cage with an opponent that he should beat. That he should be able to use his raw, but impressive skill set to beat up, to finish. The unusual part of this whole thing is that he will have the chance to do in front of a national cable audience. It will be seen by hundreds of thousands of MMA fans who will have the chance to label him as the next big thing.

If they do, Dana White and his massive checkbook won't be far behind. Konrad represents the kind of athlete that Dana has been looking for in his "new and improved" heavyweight division. Big, athletic freaks who make people go "whoa." He currently has one in his heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, who just happens to be the training partner of Konrad.

Here is the crazy part: One can make the case that Konrad is a better wrestler than Lesnar. While he frequently talk about how Lesnar's size and not his wrestling ability is his biggest strength, you really can't say that about Konrad. Despite being just a huge man, he also has two national championships that say that he just amazing as a wrestler. By the way, that just happens to be one more than Lesnar amassed at The University of Minnesota.

If there is a negative that could come of this it's that he could be rushed into the octagon regardless of if he is ready. With Strikeforce still existing, surely they will be anxious to open up the checkbook for Konrad as well, or at they very least, they should be. If you think about it, Konrad v. Fedor might be the closest we get to Brock v. Fedor, and while I do NOT under any circumstances condone that fight happening anytime soon, it is a unique draw that the UFC does not have. Also, while Konrad won't fight Lesnar, he could hold the Strikeforce belt, which current belongs to Alastair Overeem.

So, when Cole Konrad dispatches of Pat Bennett on Thursday night, we, the MMA Nation (to steal Luke Thomas moniker) will all rush to our keyboards and decide if showed enough to warrant Jon Jones type consideration, or if he still needs more seasoning. However, don't expect our words to make much of a difference. Dana and the boys in Vegas will be anxious to sign Konrad up ASAP and let him get his education against Mustapha Al-Turk and Tim Hague rather than on the regional circuits.

When we look back at this generation of video games, I really think that we will think of three things that made the virtual world a better place: Wireless controllers, High Definition, and Achievements and Trophies. You know you love them too. There are like crack, only not deadly.

Without any further ado, here are the achievements for UFC 2010: Undisputed, courtesy of xbox360achievements.org.

Sort:
	Puppeteer	10
	Create a fighter in Create A Fighter
	Puppetmaster	15
	Win a fight against the CPU with a fighter you’ve created in Create A Fighter
	As Real As It Gets	20
	Experience an entire 8 fight event card in Event Mode.
	White Belt	15
	Win 10 Xbox LIVE Exhibition matches in total
	Baby Steps	10
	Win an Xbox LIVE Exhibition Ranked match
	Hot Hands	30
	Win 10 Xbox LIVE Exhibition Ranked matches consecutively
	Olympic Mixed Martial Artist	20
	Xbox LIVE Exhibition – Obtain all types of gold medals
	Warriors, Come Out And Play	10
	Join an Xbox LIVE Camp
	Under Your Wing	15
	Act as a trainer in Xbox LIVE Camp Training
	Hall of Famer	50
	Compete in a Champion vs. Champion fight and also make the UFC Hall of Fame in Career Mode
	So Now You’re A Fighter	150
	Complete the Career Mode
	Gotta Catch ‘Em All	30
	Collect all Topps® UFC trading cards
	Submission Technician	20
	Win a fight with a Submission Transition
	It’s The Jits!	15
	Win a fight by Submission against a non-CAF, Expert CPU in the first 60 seconds of Round 1.
	Steamroller	15
	Win a fight by KO/TKO against a non-CAF, Expert CPU in the first 60 seconds of Round 1.
	Kay. Tee. Eff. Oh!	15
	Win a fight by Flash KO against a CPU opponent.
	Veteran Champion	50
	Complete the Title Defense Mode
	Budding Champion	50
	Complete the Title Mode
	Learned Student	20
	Go through all tutorials
	Tournament Title Holder	15
	Win at least one championship in the Tournament Mode
	Testing the Waters	20
	Play all modes at least once, check the shop and all options
	Honorable Fighter	20
	Touch gloves at the beginning of 10 matches.
	Ultimate Unlocks	50
	Complete all A, B, and C class challenges (Red and Blue Corner)in a fight in Ultimate Fights Mode.
	Pound For Pound Champ	50
	Win a Champion vs. Champion fight in Career Mode
	Yellow Belt	20
	Win 25 Xbox LIVE Ranked Matches
	Purple Belt	30
	Win 50 Xbox LIVE Ranked Matches
	Brown Belt	40
	Win 75 Xbox LIVE Ranked Matches
	Black Belt	50
	Win 100 Xbox LIVE Ranked Matches
	Coming Up Next…	10
	Download an Event for Event Mode
	The Cessation Sensation!	25
	Win by all methods of stoppage against the CPU. (KO, TKO, Submission, Doctor Stoppage)
	Bobbin’ And Weavin’	30
	Dodge 3 consecutive strikes via sway (Outside of Tutorial Mode)
	Blog Fodder	15
	Complete a post-fight interview in Career Mode
	Move Mastery	25
	Reach "World Class" (Level 3) status with a technique or move.
Secret Achievements
	Secret Achievement	15
	Continue playing to unlock this secret achievement.
	Secret Achievement	10
	Continue playing to unlock this secret achievement.
	Secret Achievement	15
	Continue playing to unlock this secret achievement.

A few interesting things here. First, there will be UFC trading cards. What are their purpose? God only knows. Second, you will have the chance to download events from the server. This could mean good things for DLC for the game, as if you can download events, you SHOULD be able to share fighters with the community and maybe even add some new ones. Last, there will be interviews in the career mode. I know we knew it, but it’s still freaking cool.

Check out all our coverage of UFC 2010: Undisputed. There is a LOT of it.

Dana White could be the subject of a study in human psychology. In an age where we all expect a constant flow of bullshit from anyone in any position of power, White has dedicated himself  to trying to limit it as much as possible. Does he lie to do his job, “be a promoter” sometimes? Absolutely, but when it comes to interacting with the fans and his feelings on his own product, he wears his heart on his sleeve. Compare that to someone in his position in some of the other sports, like Roger Goodell or David Stern. Would they ever say that the Super Bowl or the NBA Finals sucked? I think not.

That is why it’s difficult for non-UFC writers to grasp Dana White as the leader of a legitimate sport. Instead, they want to paint him as a farce, someone who thinks that he is above the sport he promotes. They think that his self-worth is predicated on getting in front of a camera and flipping out to have people like us watch it a thousand times on Youtube.

So, it doesn’t surprise me when ESPN analyst Drew Sharp kills Dana White on yesterday’s Rome Is Burning. MMA Fighting’s Michael David Smith complied some quotes from the show.

“It’s a sham,” Sharp said of the UFC. “It’s like WWF. It’s becoming like that. White is becoming a Vince McMahon type or clone.”

Jim Rome responded, correctly, that the comparison between the WWE and the UFC falls flat because the WWF is scripted and the UFC is a legitimate sport. If Vince McMahon says he’s mad at a WWE wrestler, that’s all part of an attempt to create drama. When White spoke said he was mad at Silva on Saturday, he was expressing real anger.

Sharp, however, said he thinks White is trying to make himself bigger than the UFC.

“In Dana White, though, you have a guy who’s like Vince and figures that he’s a bigger part of the show than the guys in the ring itself,” Sharp said. “I don’t think you can respect that as a sport.”

First thing is first, I was never a fan of Jim Rome. In fact, the best part of Jim Rome was Frank Caliendo making fun of him. However, I do appreciate him as the one ESPN personality not named Jon Anik or Franklin McNeil who makes sure to put MMA in it’s proper light as a sport and not a circus sideshow.

As for Sharp, he displays a clear misunderstanding of White that everyone who doesn’t watch enough of him does. He doesn’t understand that as much as White is a rich, powerful executive, he prides himself on still being a huge fan of sport he promotes. He was deeply hurt by Anderson Silva doing what he did, mainly because he had gone to bat to defend Silva a thousand times, calling him the best fighter in the world and such. He was annoyed that fans like us had gone out of our way to watch the fight live, and this was the the thanks we got for our continued support.

The only part of the whole Situation that I do agree was an error in judgment by White was cursing at people chiding him on Twitter. Listen, we all know that people on the Internet who think they are tough are assholes. Certain people get a kick out of getting under other people’s skin. While it’s unfortunate that we can’t jump through Twitter and choke these people, Dana needs to show some restraint. Every time he wants to do something like that, he needs to think about what he tells his fighters that step out of line: We, as a sport, are still fighting for legitimacy. Is what I’m about to do going to hurt the cause?

White’s larger than life personality is a strength of the UFC, not a negative. However, there are some who suggest that the UFC will never approach the big four sports until they bring in a mouthpiece for White. Someone who can control him and keep him from blowing up like he did after UFC 112. While this sounds great in theory, the negative to it would be curtailing the constant flow of information that the UFC presents to fans. The organization speaks more directly to the people who watch it than any other sport right now, and that stance has certainly gained them fans. Do we really want to cut that river of information off?

The mainstream media is never going to get Dana White. They don’t need to. We get Dana White. Most of us, I’d go as far as to say that 95% of us are behind Dana White. I’m behind Dana White. I guarantee you to him, We are more important than Drew Sharp, and that’s what makes Dana great

There is a lot of excitement right now for Brock Lesnar's defense of his title against Shane Carwin. Many people, including yours truly, believe that Carwin has a better shot than anyone of ending the reign of Lesnar. However, like a great chess player, I am thinking one move ahead.

Dana White has said repeatedly that Cain Velasquez is waiting in the wings for the winner of Carwin v. Brock. Cain will walk into the cage at least 25 pounds lighter than whoever the champion is in that fight. Since we know that, Who does Cain have the better chance of beating?

The answer is Brock Lesnar, and it's not even close.

Cain is a wrestler at heart. His gameplan is most fights is to take his opponent down and use ground and pound in an attempt to finish the fight. That plan likely will not work against either Lesnar or Carwin. Since both of them are so big, it is going to be difficult for Velasquez to achieve a takedown. Second, both are former NCAA champion wrestlers. Neither is going to be easy to drag down.

That would mean that Cain would have to win this fight on his feet. That certainly is not impossible, as we just saw Cain knockout Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Nog is not only an excellent boxer, but is notoriously hard to finish. That knockout should not be overlooked.

Since he has to stand, he wouldn't naturally want to face the better striker. While both Lesnar and Carwin are powerful, Carwin is so far technically superior that it would be silly to say that Cain has a better chance of outstriking Shane.

Carwin has made a living off quick knockouts, and they have come without him swinging for the fences. The one against Gonzaga came because he threw a beautiful straight right. The one against Mir came at close range with sound dirty boxing uppercuts. What has Brock done to prove that he can stand and bang without being put out? Nothing. He's never fought someone capable of doing that kind of damage on the feet. While people will go to bat for Frank Mir, he has only recently developed the kind of standup game that could even be considered Dangerous to Brock.

I have complete faith that Cain Velasquez could outstrike Brock Lesnar. What he will need to do is be sure to avoid not only the shot of Lesnar, but also those big hands. Lesnar is not a striker, but is still nearly 300 pounds, and there is power that comes with that.

I am staunch in my belief that Shane Carwin will defeat Brock Lesnar. However, Cain Velasquez should be Lesnar's biggest cheerleader that night if he wants to win the UFC heavyweight title.

THQ and UFC President Dana White held a hands-on media event yesterday (March 25) for the upcoming release of the UFC Undisputed 2010 video game due in stores on May 25.

On the heels of their wildly successful entry in the the mixed martial arts and video game community with UFC Undisputed 2009, THQ went back into the lab to tinker around with some of the mechanics that caused a portion of gamers to say "If only I could..." when talking about a sequel.

In fact, after selling 3.5 million copies of Undisputed since it's release in 2009, THQ has been hard at work to reward gamers with an ever more realistic and fluid experience for their 2010 entry, set to hit retail shelves on May 25.

Bigger, better, badder -- which could explain the inclusion of UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar on this year's cover.

Continue reading this post »

Wow, this event really was a big deal. As much as I wish that I was there before all the news came out, I wish I was there more now.

Since I was not there last night, Let me tell you where all the news is. I’m going from the absurdly detailed write up given to us by fy8 ny8, who is a very distinguished member of the forums at Undisputed Online. Any pictures I use are coming from MiddleEasy.com, and our Twitter friend Bauzen.

Submissions

According to everything I’ve read, this may be the most improved area of the game. The submission switching, which is performed simply by switching the direction that you are rotating the stick, is a great way to fool your opponent. When you switch subs (say from a triangle to an armbar) your opponent will have to switch directions as well if he hopes to get free. If he keeps going in the same direction, he’ll tap.

Also, this means that slamming on the buttons as fast as you can is no longer a way out of submissions. Last year, this was supposed to be "brute force" escape tied to a fighters’ strength rating, but in reality it was just easier. For those who are annoyed by rotating the right stick, don’t worry. The developers also said that speed and frequency have less to do with achieving subs than making perfect circles. This year, Geometry is in. Who knew?

Oh, and if you are one of those douches who holds the right stick after getting in mount, your screwed. While escaping the mount isn’t easier, it is much easier to go from mount up to mount down position and then work out of trouble.

Striking

The big deal this year is the new sway system. No longer will fighters upper bodies be tied to animations that leave you stuck in place. Apparently, this is the key to the standup game now. Since MMA is so much about countering, the sway system does allow you to counter effectively by ducking punches and letting loose with your own. This caused quite a few KO’s, according to all the reports. Apparently, if you sway into a punch, that can end the fight quick as well.

Another sore area for people last year was leg kicks. They were purely cosmetic and didn’t really do any damage. Not this year. Now, legs get red, and fighters slow down and their legs get beat up. Leg kicks can even buckle fighters and increase chances of landing takedowns.

Another standup factor is the "Moment" system. That’s not the official name, but that seems to be what people are calling it. When your opponent is rocked, the game slows down and allowed you to input a few button presses to try and finish them. Once you choose your strikes, the game restarts and the action plays out. This should severely downplay being rocked compared to last year when it was almost impossible to get back up when the gray screen came about.

Also fixed in the standup game is the stepping strikes that covered the whole cage.

Clinch and Cage Work

The clinch has been completely reanimated. In order to transition in the clinch, the same method must now be used that is used on the ground. In other words, to go from over-under to double underhooks now requires a quarter circle on the right stick. Whipping the opponent in the Muay Thai clinch will now take even more energy, and require a very precise set of analog movement and button presses.

Against the cage, the game looks and plays beautifully according to all reports. Dirty boxing is well animated and control while damaging your opponent is completely possible. The example of Couture v. Vera keeps being brought up. There are many positions against the cage, both on the feet and on the ground. Look for things like Wall walks and slams against the cage too.

Fighter Individuality

This is a huge one for me. Last year, Lyoto Machida fought the same Forrest Griffin. Not okay. Apparently, that is completely gone as the archetype move sets are a thing of the past. Instead, all the fighters have their own sets of moves. In the demo that was played, Thiago Alves strikes were completely different from that of GSP or other fighters. The same goes for the ground positions and submissions. Things like the butterfly guard and the crucifix are in, but the rubber guard may have gone out. Personally, I’m okay with that. 2009’s game made it seem too common, and while Eddie Bravo and Joe Rogan might be pissed, it may be for the best.

Also included this year will be "Special Submissions." The example given was Joe Stevenson. We all know that Joe Daddy is known for his guillotine. Well, Joe’s guillotine is that much harder to get out of in the game.

Presentation

No, there are no walk-in entrances, which I still think is a good thing. Entrances are very unnecessary, and even the developers said that people would watch it once and then skip it completely.

However, there are a ton of new and fixed presentation elements. When the fight goes to decision, the scoring graphic will no longer steal Buffer’s thunder and expose the score early. Cuts are now reanimated, and fights can even end if cuts get too extreme. In career mode, you can now watch all the other fights on the card if you would like to.

Create A Fighter

This was the only part of last year’s game that I would truly call weak. It was so limited that everyone’s fighters ended up looking the same. This year, it is much more fleshed out according to everyone who had a chance to play with it last night. There is also now options for things like what gear to wear, more nicknames, how you are announced, your face to face pose (think Diego looking like a serial killer) and even the way you celebrate. Like everyone isn’t going to choose jumping on top of the cage. Or maybe Anderson’s guitar playing. Or GSP’s backflip. Or B.J. licking the blood off his gloves. Wow, there are actually a lot of options.

There are obviously new appearance options, but there are also new options for things like stances. Apparently, there are orthodox and southpaw versions of 12 different stances including things like Karate, two muay thai stances and even a brawler stance.

When it comes time to select your moves, you will select every single move. Kicks, punches, takedowns, and subs are all individually chosen to make your character your own.

Demo

This year’s demo will feature SIXTEEN fighters and is coming "soon." The devs promised it would not be pushed back, as it appears that THQ has pretty much put the ribbon on this game, as they said they are already working on the 2011 version.

Sixteen fighters with their own movesets means that I will likely not be leaving my house for awhile.

All in all, it sounds like we are going to be in for a treat. All of these new features in addition to an engine that has been sped up to more accurate represent the sport sounds like a winning formula. We still have to find out about the online fight camps and the career mode, but I’m already sold.

Sponsorship is a huge part of Mixed Martial arts. Let’s be honest, your favorite fighter could not sustain himself without help from the brands we know and love in the MMA community. Hell, certain websites even devote whole stores to MMA Brands.

UFC 2009: Undisputed did a decent job of representing this, but a lot of the cooler brands (Silver Star, Dethrone Royalty) were missing, and the menu was buried deep in the Create-a-Fighter. So deep, in fact, that I know people who just completely ignored this facet of the game. THQ has promised to rectify this in the sequel, and has taken the first step by re-launching their website and adding a "partner" list.

Here’s the full list, transcribed by yours truly. I’m sure someone will steal this, so if you do and don’t give us credit…Fuck you, sir.

• UFC
• Affliction
• American Fighter
• And 1
• Bad Boy
• BSN
• Cage Fighter
• Clinch Gear
• Death Clutch
• Dethrone Royalty
• Ecko MMA
• Fairtex
• The Fight! Network
• Fighters Only Magazine
• FYT
• Hayabusa
• Headblade
• Hitman Fight Gear
• Hostility
• Lugz
• Metabolic Adaptation
• MMA Connected
• MMA Elite
• MMA Warehouse
• MMA Fighting
• MusclePharm
• MicroTech
• Nogi
• NuVasive
• One More Round
• OTM Fight Shop
• Pain Inc.
• Punishment Athletics
• Premier Fighter
• RVCA
• Silver Star
• Sinister
• SPIKE TV
• SPRAWL
• Suckerpunch
• Take A Nap
• TapouT
• Throwdown
• Toe 2 Toe
• Tokyo Five
• Venum
• Warrior International
• Xyience
• Yard Barker
• Yuke’s

Wow…that is a list, people. Anything in Bold is new for 2010.

Here’s some interesting things. First off, we share two sponsors with the game, MMA Warehouse and Yard Barker. Speaking of Yard Barker, isn’t it interesting that there are Media sources in there as well. How about MMA Fighting? Any chance we get to see a virtual Ariel Helwani? I sent him a tweet. Waiting to hear back.

Also, Clinch Gear is still in the game, huh? That is interesting because it is owned by Dan Henderson. As everyone knows, Henderson has left the UFC for the "greener" pastures of Strikeforce.

Most importantly, all the awesome MMA brands are there. That means lots of cool logos, T-Shirts, Fight Shorts, and other cool stuff in UFC 2010: Undisputed, and that means a more authentic experience.

Each week, THQ has decided to answer some questions that the public has about UFC 2010: Undisputed. Since most game sites aren’t exactly versed in Mixed Martial Arts, We’re here to breakdown what the answers mean to us fans.

A quick note before we get started this week. If you are amongst the people leaving questions (which you should do), then please think about what you are writing. Far, Far too many people are focusing on the wrong things. I’ve seen some pretty rediculous questions on the thread, including beating on already unconscious opponents, and having UFC 1 style matches with no rules. Let’s think people.

Now, on to the questions!

XPlicit asks, "When you notice your opponent is rocked can you rush them as hard as you can and throw with all your might wasting every last bit of energy just to finish that person."

You will get a bonus after you rock an opponent. We implemented the new "Adrenaline Rush" system into fights which should make things pretty interesting. You will not be conferred a movement speed bonus, but your fighter will have his energy replenished. This means you can execute the full array of moves without worrying about getting gassed yourself. We wanted to give the player that feeling of mastery and dominance that comes with rocking an opponent and following through on it in the real Octagon — from playing with it and testing it, it brings a ton of excitement to Undisputed 2010.

Interesting development. One of the complaints that was common last year is that every rocked situation ended the same the way. The winner would just stand over the helpless loser throwing bombs until the fight was stopped. The "Adrenaline Rush" would seem to indicate that the stamina boost will be necessary to try and finish fights, which means there will be someway to recover from being rocked.

Fornez1 Asks "How will escaping submissions work with the new system? will you always wind up in an advantages position or will sometimes you escape to standing and sometimes escape to side mount(for example)"

Last year, when you failed a submission, you’d almost always end up in a tough situation — usually on your back or with a player in control. We wanted to move away from this system and towards more of an organic, and realistic submission escape system. There are a number of positions that you can escape into that are beneficial, neutral, and even disadvantageous depending upon what has been happening during the fight. In keeping it real as it gets, escapes will never result in only side control or a full guard.

Another complaint from last year addressed. Fighters never really escape submissions and wind up in dominant positions. Last year, so many subs would be reversed into side mount that it often was worth it try for the submissions. This should also take away some of the predictably from a game that was stiff last year.

SleepyWeasel asks "In the new Career mode, does your fighter age at all? Or does he stay the same age throughout the entire career?"

Your fighter, and all other fighters will age. Aging occurs in two ways. As your fighter becomes more experienced at certain skills and moves after training, it’ll become easier and easier to better maintain your proficiency in that field. For example, once you get so good at wrestling, you don’t have to train as extensively to keep up your skill as a wrestler. On the other hand, we’ve implemented a decay system that’s a function of your age. Once your fighter gets up there in the years, you’ll find that you need to focus on maintaining your core stats through your weekly training routine a bit more to stay fresh in the Octagon. Along your career mode playthrough, you’ll even see the greats of the UFC retiring.

Yes. Thank goodness. Last year’s career mode was underutilized in many different ways. One of the main ones was that once you became champion, you fought the same people over and over again. As fun as it is beating down B.J. Penn, I wanted some new blood for my fighter to face. This year, it seems that the divisions will be thinned out by retiring fighters and re-stocked with new talent. One big step for a better career mode.

Kurowski God asks "Are there different "rocked" stages, like you hit with a head kick, maybe he gets more rocked then a good right hook."

In this year’s game, we shared that you can be rocked from any position and by almost every move. While these moves, and by extension the rocked states that they’ll be causing, will look different depending upon what you do (head kick, uppercut), being rocked will not have varying degrees of ‘rockiness’ or grogginess. What’s important is how the player who rocked the other executes his next few moves. If you have your combos down and have excellent timing, you’ll be able to quickly level some devastating moves on your groggy opponent — you might even knock him out. These ‘follow up’ combos are going to be tough to execute, as any other button inputs after the rocked animation will derail the combo. But the skilled player who uses caution and foresight when he knows his opponent is struggling will get an awesome payoff.

This seems to relate to the first question of the day. It seems that some skill will be needed this year to finish a rocked opponent. It’s no longer enough to just land the big punch and pound out every opponent. This should lead to longer fights and more decisions.

Check back Tomorrow afternoon for the full B.J. Penn Trailer!

From The 3rd String Safety:

We’ve been talking a lot about MMA prospects lately and I think its time we make a certain distinction. Guys like Gian Villante, and Ricardo Romero we consider prospects because they are young, relatively new to MMA and aren’t signed by a major organization.

There seems to be a trend right now where people want to rush prospects along. I’m guilty of this. I pine for Romero and Villante to be in the UFC when in truth there’s no harm to them continuing to gain experience fighting in Ring Of Combat.

The rushing of prospects also happens in the UFC. Right now people are clamoring for Ryan Bader to start fighting top ten caliber opponents.  Even though Bader is no longer a UFC rookie, it doesn’t mean he isn’t a prospect and it doesn’t mean that he needs to automatically face elite competition.

Let’s compare Bader to other elite prospects. A guy like Cain Velasquez has answered every single question and he’s improved markedly from fight to fight. We saw his chin tested against Kongo, we saw him out box and KO a great boxer with an iron jaw in ‘Nog. We saw him grow, improve his weak spots.  The same hasn’t happened with Bader.  Against Eric Schafer we learned that Bader really needed to improve his boxing and cardio. Against Jardine we learned Bader really needed to improve his boxing and cardio.

The scouting report on Bader is the same fight to fight. He comes out like a house of fire, with explosive shots in round 1 and after that he tails off.  He looks to land a power overhand right and not much else. The Jardine fight played out the same way. He gassed after round 1 (his shots clearly lacked explosiveness in rounds 2 and 3), lost round 2 and KO’d Jardine in the 3rd.  Now it was a good victory, don’t get me wrong, but he didn’t really out-strike Jardine.  He KO’d Jardine with a left hook and he now he joins a long list of fighters to figure out Jardine’s weakness.

Bader is still a wrestler learning how to box and he has obvious power, with time his boxing should improve.  What’s worrisome is his cardio.  BJ Penn has talked about "not being that IV guy" during weigh-ins and Bader is the poster boy for being "that IV guy."  Is it weight cutting that zaps Baders gas tank? Is it a poor pre-fight training camp that hinders his cardio?

The obvious fight that people want is Bader Vs. the winner of Brandon Vera and Jon Jones. If Vera wins he’s the perfect opponent for Bader, a solid technical striker with great take-down defense. However, if Jones wins that matchup should be avoided at all costs. After the destruction of Matt Hammil it’s easy to speculate Jones would cut through Bader like a hot knife through butter. Why kill one prospect to push ahead another? Couldn’t this easily be avoided?

The other question is if Jones wins in impressive fashion is Bader even a step up in competition for Jones?

I’d rather see Bader fight someone like Vladimir Matyushenko, should he get through Elliot Marshall. It would be another small step up for Bader and it would give him more ring time to get his boxing and cardio in line.

Velasquez was a wrestler who became a very well rounded mixed martial artist.  Ryan Bader is a wrestler who is fighting in mixed martial arts.  That’s why Cain Velasquez is ready for a title shot and Ryan Bader is very far off.

Last year, Pre-ordering UFC 2009: Undisputed netted you access to the winners of TUF 8, Ryan Bader and Efrain Escudero. This year, you’ll get some more Ultimate Fighter vets for ordering early, according to sports gaming website PastaPadre:

The pre-order bonus for UFC Undisputed 2010 will offer a code to download four exclusive fighters. The first has been announced as James McSweeney. The other three, though not officially revealed, are expected to be fellow TUF 10 participants Roy Nelson (winner), Brendan Schaub (runner-up), and Marcus Jones. Gamestop is currently the only outlet that has this offer listed.

Personally, I’m excited that McSweeney was announced. This means that I’ll be able to create Ring of Combat Light Heavyweight Champion Ricardo Romero, and smash McSweeney just like Ricardo did in real life.

Just like every sports game, I’m excited for the reveal of the ratings for the fighters. Here are some guesses:

• Roy Nelson: 83
• Brendan Schaub: 80
• Marcus Jones: 75
• James McSweeney: 78

Have guesses of your own? Leave them in the comments!

For more coverage of UFC 2010: Undisputed, click here.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1; #3 Heavyweight) vs. Cain Velasquez (7-0; #6 Heavyweight)

The Fighters: Nogueira is one of the few PRIDE vets who was able to successfully transition to the UFC. He won his first two UFC fights, including a win over Tim Sylvia for the UFC title. Since he's gone 1-1 losing to Frank Mir and beating Randy Couture.

In his UFC stint 'Nog has been oft-injured. More particularly he's battled staph infections during his entire UFC tenure. 'Nog is never one to make excuses but, after the Mir loss it was revealed that he had spent a ton of time in the hospital battling a bad staph infection. It's hard to argue that the staph didn't affect his performance in that fight. Not only was he finished for the first time in his illustrious career but he looked old and more then a step slow. Many, myself included, wondered if wear and tear had finally caught up to 'Nog. However, in his win against Couture he proved that he still has a ton left in the tank. His boxing was as crisp as ever and he showcased his world class ground skills.

Cain Velasquez may be the fastest rising heavyweight prospect the sport has ever seen. He's 5-0 in the UFC, but more importantly he's looked better every fight. He proved against Cheick Kongo that he could win a three round war as well as take a punch. As Jordan Breen would say "the man has a great beard." Ben Rothwell was suppose to be another step up in competition for Velasquez. However, Velasquez took the much bigger and experienced Rothwell down at will and made him look like an amateur. Every test that has been presented to Velasquez he has passed with flying colors.

Breakdown: Odds makers have this fight as a Pick 'Em and it's hard to disagree. 'Nog has great boxing and will have a significant advantage when the fight is standing but, as we saw in the Kongo fight Velasquez isn't easy to drop. Velasquez will want to shoot early and often and should have no problem getting 'Nog to the ground. The key question is; will Velasquez be able to control the action on the ground? Velasquez is relentless and can push the pace like no other heavyweight in the UFC can but he's also never fought a fighter of 'Nog's caliber on the ground. 'Nog has a knack for taking a pounding, but still finding the perfect opportunity to sweep or submit. Even when it looks like he's on the brink of defeat he's not, just ask Bob Sapp.

Velasquez is so hyper active on the ground it could end up being reckless. Look for a classic 'Nog performance as he catches the wrestler off guard with a sweep followed by a textbook submission.

Prediction: Nogueira via Arm-Bar Round 3

Wanderlei Silva (32-10-1) vs. Michael Bisping (18-2)

The Fighters:

Unlike his PRIDE counterpart, Nogueira, Silva did not find immediate success upon entering the UFC.  In fact The Axe Murderer is only 1-3 in the UFC (though you can make a sound argument that he beat Rich Franklin.)  His UFC run has certainly been a disappointment but there's a lot of reasons to think that he can still turn his career around.  Silva is making his debut at middleweight, dropping from light heavyweight. Silva was always on the small side for a 205 pounder and has said he feels much quicker since dropping the weight.  Silva also underwent facial surgery.  He got his mangled nose repaired and a ton of scar tissue removed.  While the gains of such surgery appear superficial on the surface they are not.  The scar tissue left Silva's face much more susceptible to cuts, also Silva said the surgery on his nose has helped his breathing tremendously.

Silva certainly earned the nickname The Axe Murderer.  His style is to come straight at you at overwhelm you with strikes and knees from the clinch.  The underrated aspects of Silvas game are his wresting, more then adequate, and his jiu-jitsu.  He never uses either offensively but he's shown skill in both areas when he's been forced to.

Bisping is the brash winner of The Ultimate Fighter. I've long considered Bisping an overrated fighter whose record was inflated by fighting low level talent. After his decisive loss to Dan Handerson I found myself vindicated. However, in his win over Dennis Kang, Bisping proved the doubters wrong and showed he still has a lot of talent. What impressed me most about Bisping in the Kang fight was his jiu-jitsu. Kang has a tight ground game and Bisping did a great job using his hips to keep Kang off balance. In the later rounds he showed improved wrestling as he dropped Kang with ease.

With an 8-2 UFC record a win over Silva would put Bisping in or around the top 10 and potentially only one or two fights away from a title shot.

Breakdown: Bisping in a lot of ways is similar to Forrest Griffin. He's tough and he's well rounded but he doesn't have one particular skill that's exceptional, and at the end of the day that can only get you so far. Bisping should look to keep Silva at a distance with his jab and leg kicks, Silva on the other is going to try to showcase his trademark combination of explosiveness and violence and bum rush Bisping with strikes.

Bisping will find himself overwhelmed in the striking game just like he did against Dan Henderson, who really is just a one trick pony. Bisping could work for take-downs but Rich Franklin struggled to take Silva down and Silva's take down defense should only be better at a lighter weight class.

Prediction: Silva via TKO Round 2

Joe Stevenson (31-10) vs. George Sotiropoulos (11-2)

The Fighters: The hometown hero Sotiropoulos, is a very well rounded fighter. He's a BJJ Black Belt but he also has an amateur boxing background, in fact in 2004 he won a Victoran State Amateur boxing tournament. Sotiropoulos is 11-2 overall and 4-0 in the UFC. His only two losses are a DQ loss to Shinya Aoki and a split decision loss very early in his career. Sotiropoulos competed on the Ultimate Fighter and made it to the semi-finals before losing in controversial fashion. Sotiropoulos has never been finished in his professional career. As a former welterweight Sotiropoulos is a very large lightweight and is a handful to try to take down. Sotiropoulos is similar stylistically to Paulo Filho. He's incredibly methodical as he tightly transitions from position to position.

To say Stevenson is veteran would be an understatement. Stevenson fought Jens Pulver when he was only 17 years old! Stevenson is only 27 years old but already has 41 pro bouts on his record. Like Sotiropoulos, Stevenson moved from welterweight to lightweight. Stevenson won his first four fights as a lightweight before getting a shot at the UFC title against B.J Penn. Since losing to Penn it's been a mixed bag for Stevenson. He looked good against Diaz and Fisher but not so good against Florian and Sanchez.

Stevenson recently teamed up with Greg Jackson and it's done wonders for his career. Stevenson has gone back to his roots, his wrestling and top game, and is riding a two fight win streak.

Breakdown: Much like 'Nog vs. Velasquez the question in this fight is; what happens when Stevenson gets Sotiropoulos down. Sotiropoulos has the skills to sweep or submit Joe Daddy. However, what I see being the underrated aspect of this fight is Sotiropoulos boxing. He hasn't showcased it a ton in his UFC career but you can tell he has actual boxing technique, something we don't get to see in the UFC often. Joe Daddy might be able to take Sotiropoulos down but I don't think he'll be able to keep him down.

Prediction: Sotiropoulos Via Split Decision

Keith Jardine (15-6-1) vs. Ryan Bader (10-0)

The Fighters: Expect the word "unorthodox" to be used to describe Keith Jardine roughly 8,000 times this fight. The former Ultimate Fighter contestant began his career at heavyweight before settling in at 205. Jardine is 6-5 in the UFC but has faced top competition for most of the past three years. Jardine holds wins over contenders Brandon Vera, Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell. Jardine is well rounded, trains at a great camp (Greg Jackson) and has a unorthodox (Ding!) striking style that keeps opponents off guard. He likes to use his leg kicks, some of the best in the sport, and his jab to keep distance from opponents.

Ryan "Darth" Bader won his season of The Ultimate Fighter. When watching him on TUF you got the sense that not only did he have the raw skills to be a TUF champ but a UFC champ one day. A two time All-American wrestler at Arizona State University and a three-time PAC 10 Champion, Baders 120 wins ranks him 8th on the all-time wins list for ASU. Bader was college teammates with current UFC competitors Cain Velasquez and C.B. Dollaway. Bader is 3-0 in the UFC.

Breakdown: Where Bader struggles is on his feet. He has tremendous power but his striking arsenal is limited to a single Dan Henderson style overhand right. The UFC has protected him in the stand up game by feeding him grapplers and weaker wrestlers early in his career (Magalhaes, Marerro, Schafer.) That's why Jardine is a bigger test then people realize. How's Bader going to react to leg kicks? Will he check them properly or are we heading for Robbie Lawler territory (if you underestimate the importance of leg kicks look no further then Griffin/Rampage where Forrest essentially won a title because of them.) How will Bader react if he gets tagged? These things are unknowns with Bader. As for Jardine we've seen that he's most vulnerable when facing a striker with K.O power. Of his five losses three came within the first minutes of the fight (W. Silva, T. Silva, Alexander.) Where Jardine excels is when he's forced to wrestle and scramble.

Bader is a great wrestler and should be able to take Jardine down at will but even Rampage Jackson had trouble holding Jardine down for three rounds.

Prediction: Jardine via TKO Round 3

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (25-7-2) vs. Ben Rothwell (30-7)

The Fighters: Wild Boys...Wild Boys....Wild Boys!

It's been a quick and sudden fall for Cro-Cop who was once unanimously considered the third best heavyweight in the world. The one time PRIDE star has found almost no success in the Octagon. He's 2-3 in the cage but his wins have been over meek competition (Eddie Sanchez and Mastapha-Al-Turk.) I've written about Mirko's struggles at length. Mirko would blame his struggles on the lack of a proper training regimen and a mental block in the Octagon, I would simply blame them on age. PRIDE fighters tend to age in dog years and all those years of tournament fighting seem to have caught up to him.

Ben Rothwell came into the UFC with a fair amount of hype. The 28 year old was considered a borderline top 10 heavyweight and he racked up an impressive record fighting in the now defunct IFL. Somehow the UFC had always eluded him. Rothwell's UFC debut didn't go as planned as he was manhandled by Cain Velasquez.

Breakdown: Cro-Cop is on the small side for a heavyweight and relies on his kickboxing. In fact, Cro-Cop has basically made a career off of jab-head kick. Rothwell is a monster of a man, tipping the scales at 260 plus. Rothwell also relies on his kick boxing but he doesn't have the same technical acumen as Cro-Cop. Rothwell is a mauler and brawler, not a counter puncher. That fact should bode well for Mirko.

Prediction: Cro Cop via KO, Head Kick, Round 1

...Hey we all can dream.

For More UFC 110 Coverage:

UFC 110 Undercard Predictions

UFC 110 Walkout Shirts from the 3rd String Store!

Elvis Sinosic (8-11-2) vs. Chris Haseman (20-16)

The Fighters: Move along nothing to see here.  No, seriously.  This is the “hey let’s find two Australian dudes” and have them fight.  Sinosic isn’t very good as his losing record would indicate.  The UFC seems to love the King Of Rock and Rumble as this is will be his 9th fight, 1-7, in the UFC.  They must think he has a cool nickname.

Haseman, 40 years young, is also…well Australian.  He’s 0-1 in the UFC and has lost his last 5 fights.  This will be his first return to action in almost two years.

Breakdown: These two met once before and Haseman won by the dreaded submission “chin to eye.”  Of course that fight happened in 1997. Haseman/Sinosic II won’t exactly have the drama of Couture/Coleman but if nothing else we get to hear a whole lot of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie Oy Oy Oy.”

Prediction: Haseman Via Chin To Eye Round 1

Stephan Bonnar (11-6) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (18-9-1)

The Fighters: Is this a “loser leaves town match?”  [Side Note: Can we just officially start hyping these matches as such?  We have number one contender matches, why can't we have the opposite?  Joe Rogan can even pull his best Jeff Probst and kick the loser out of the cage in lieu of a post fight interview.]  Stephan Bonnar has earned a lot of good will with the UFC but it might be running out.  Seriously speaking, the UFC wouldn’t exist as currently constructed without the contributions of Bonnar and Forrest Griffin, and since that fateful day in April 2005 their careers have gone in opposite directions.  Griffin went on to win a title and Bonnar has been suspended for horse steroids and has lost 4 of his last 6 fights, including two in a row.  While Bonnar has become a more refined fighter, his skills haven’t really evolved in the past five years.  He’s still a mediocre striker, with questionable cardio, less than stellar wrestling and decent jiu-jitsu.  His last loss was to Mark Coleman in a fight in which Bonnar got bullied.  To say it was an embarrassing performance would be an understatement.

Soszynski entered his season of The Ultimate Fighter as one of the more experienced contestants.  The former IFL veteran has racked up a 3-1 record in the UFC and is coming off his first UFC loss.  Soszynski is a very big and strong light heavyweight who has found a knack for winning by submission (two of his UFC wins have earned him submission of the night.)

Breakdown: This is a fight that seems to break down perfectly for Soszynski to win.  Everything Bonnar does well Sosznyski does better.  Bonnars best hope might be to turn this fight into a brawl, ala Griffin/Bonnar I.  In his last fight, against Brandon Vera, Soszynski looked hesitant when he got tagged and never seemed to want to engage.  Forcing him into the pocket is the way to go.

Prediction: Sosznyski Via Unanimous Decision.

Chris Lytle (27-17-5) vs. Brian Foster (13-4)

The Fighters: Lytle is The Ultimate Gatekeeper at this point.  Don’t let the veteran Lytle’s UFC record fool you.  He’s a very well rounded fighter who always is a challenging fight.  In fact, Lytle’s last 3 UFC fights have been awarded Fight Of The Night honors.  Lytle will never be a title contender but he certainly has an important role in developing young talent.  Get past Lytle and it’s time for the big boys.

Foster is replacing Dong Hyun-Kim, who had to pull out of the fight due to injury.  Foster put himself on the map with impressive performances against Rick Story and Brock Larson.  In the Larson fight he received two illegal blows in the first round and came back to win.

Breakdown: We can expect fireworks here as both guys aren’t afraid to stand and bang.  Fosters edge may be on the mat but don’t expect Lytle to let it come to that.  At the end of the day Foster won’t be ready for a fighter the caliber of Lytle, when the brawling ends and the boxing begins Foster will be out of his league.

Prediction: Lytle KO Round 2

Goran Reljic (8-0) vs. C.B. Dollaway (9-2)

The Fighters: And the award for “fight I am randomly super excited for” goes to…Goran Reljic and The Doberman?

Reljic is one of the top prospects at 185 pounds.  The exciting 25 year old made his debut at UFC 84 and took out Wilson Gouveia in impressive fashion.  He mixed in punches and devastating kicks before eventually knocking out the veteran fighter.  Now moving down to middleweight for the first time Reljic hopes to quickly move up the ladder.  Reljics striking skills were on display in the octagon but don’t doubt his BJJ credentials.  Reljic is a BJJ Brown-Belt and in 2007 he swept the European Gracie Jiu-Jitsu championships.

Dollaway in a lot of ways is similar to Melvin Guillard.  Dollaway has an insane amount of talent but always seems to find a way to put his neck on the line, literally.  He got caught in an arm-bar, twice, against Amir Sadollah and got caught in a guillotine choke against Tom Lawlor (and almost caught by Mike Massenzio.)  Dollaway’s strength is his All-American wrestling background.  He trains with a great camp at Arizona Combat Sports that includes up and comers like Ryan Bader and Aaron Simpson.

Breakdown: Reljc will have a significant advantage while the fight is on the feet.   On the other hand Dollaway’s wrestling is good enough to the point where he should be able to get the fight to the ground at will.  The real question is whether or not Dollaway has learned from his mistakes and learned enough jiu-jitsu defense to remain out of harms way.  Something tells me he hasn’t.

Prediction: Reljic Via Triangle Choke Round 2.

Igor Pokrajac (21-6) vs. James Te Huna (12-4)

The Fighters: Pokrajac is a Cro-Cop disciple. While you would expect head-kicks from anyone on the Cro-Cop Squad, Pokrajac relies on his wrestling and submission skills. Pokrajac is 21-6 and 0-1 in the UFC. His one UFC loss was a decisive decision loss to Vladimir Matyushenko.

Huna is a Australian, shocker I know, fighter making his UFC debut. Huna relies on his Thai Boxing and wrestling skills. According to some publications he was considered the #1 Light Heavyweight fighter in all of Australia and New Zealand.

Breakdown: While these guys have a combined 43 fights between them most have been against local competition. In fact looking at Pokrajac’s record his 21 wins is clearly inflated by fighting lesser European competition. Every time he’s taken a step up in competition; Ausserio Silva, Mamed Khalidov and Vladimir Matyushenko he’s lost handily. One can come to the hypothesis that the only reason Pokrajac is still on the roster is because of his association to Cro-Cop. Look for the hometown fighter, Huna, to stifle Pokrajac’s take-downs en route to a K.O. win.

Prediction: Huna Via K.O Round 2

From The 3rd String Safety:

As May 25th draws closer, I’m getting more and more pumped for UFC 2010: Undisputed. After last year’s game was awesome, you can only assume that this year’s is going to be even better. IGN.com did a first look at the game this weekend, and I’ll be bringing you the MMA fans view of some of the news.

Let’s get started.

Moments ago, the company ran UFC Undisputed 2010 through its first public match – Mike Swick versus Paulo Thiago – and although the gameplay demo was extremely short, THQ promised and showcased some really good stuff. For starters and piggybacking off of my complaint, the static animations of 2009 are gone. When your fighters are in the prone position or mid-hold, they’re not just sitting there — they’re living and breathing. You’ll see your arm struggle against a hold as you try and break it, there are transitions between takedowns, and – thank the Lord – there are cage moves. This year, if you’re good enough, you’re going to be able to slam coverboy Brock Lesnar up against the chain link and wail on his ribcage.

This is a great thing. The game did have a “rock’em, sock’em robots” feel to it at times because most of animations were stiff. This was especially true in the ground game, as the opponent would stand still during transitions. Besides that, cage work was one of the biggest gripes of players last year. The fact that the fights took place in a cage, but you couldn’t interact with it was a bit ridiculous. Look for things like clinches, flurries against the cage and switching levels for takedowns to be included this year.

You can switch to the southpaw stance if you click in on the right joystick, the fight animations have been quadrupled, the clinch has been reanimated, the number of front submissions have been doubled, there’s a new targeting system, and there are individual submissions like B.J. Penn’s arm trap. Not enough octagon goodness? THQ has added karate, Greco-Roman wrestling, and Sambo fighting styles while doing away with archetypes for fighters – created fighters will now use individual movesets.

All good news once again. Fighters like Rich Franklin will feel more realistic due to the addition of the south paw stance. More of anything is never a bad thing, and more submissions and animations are a really good thing. The same goes for more fighting styles as the original six that were in the game simply weren’t enough. Since they did away with archetypes, I wonder how the new movesets will work. MMA is a sport where everyone knows how to do pretty much everything, just with varying levels of skills and success. Will my boxer not be able to throw muay thai knees? Will a wrestler not be able to use a triangle? Actually, that one kinda makes sense. Still, I’m curious of how that is going to work. Fighter specific animations are cool, but it made Anderson Silva a bitch to play with last year.

It did look sweet – the graphics are no doubt sharper than last year, as sweat clung to the fighters’ chests and blood spurted out as punches rained down on Thiago’s face – but that was about it. To drive home that TV presentation, the match ended with the fighters in the ring in post-fight outfits such as Swick’s “Dethrone Royalty Texas” shirt.

YYEEESSSSS. Call me a dork, but I think that the presentation is so important. Thinks like walkout shirts and banners for the fighters makes it feel more like an actual UFC. Besides, I already shot walking out in the Josh Koscheck UFC 106 walkout shirt.

It wasn’t shown, but a THQ press release makes it sound like UFC Undisputed 2010 is making a serious play for one of the best online fighting games. In this year’s game you’ll apparently be able to form “fight camps and leagues, train like real-life UFC fighters and go online to compete against other camps.” There will be online co-op sparring sessions that dictate your credibility, popularity and the types of sponsorships you get. On top of that, this year’s career mode will include the “Game Is Watching You” system, which will “track every action and use this information to dictate in-game commentary, opponent intelligence and overall career progression.”

This is meaty stuff. The online “camp” system sounds awesome. Sign-ups for The 3rd String Safety camp will come. Since Jason sucks, we’ll need good fighters. Similar to NBA2K10, the game seems to use a dynamic commentary system which should bring your created character to life, which is a breath of fresh air after last year’s game. They barely even mentioned your character last year.

Typically in the world of video games, the first year a sports game comes out is dedicated to getting the gameplay right. THQ did that just about perfectly. The second year is when they add all the features that they wanted to add in year one but didn’t have time. That seems to be the direction that Undisputed is headed.

UFC 2010: Undisputed comes out on May 25th. Yes, my copy is already pre-ordered.

Rob Emerson (17-8-1) vs. Phillipe Nover (9-2-1)

The Fighters: In what has become a staple of UFC undercards, this match, between two former Ultimate Fighter contestants, has "loser leaves town written all over it."

For some reason Rob Emerson seems to have nine lives. He’s 2-2 [1 NC] in the UFC. In his debut fight he got slammed on his dome by Grey Maynard and while it was eventually ruled a no contest it was obvious he would have lost that fight. His two wins were over Kekita Nakamura (a split decision against a fighter who went 0-3 in the UFC) and Manny Gamburyan (who now fights at 145 pounds.) Emerson has solid kickboxing and good takedown defense but not enough to present a serious threat against even middle of the road lightweights.

Nover of course had a ton of hype coming into the Ultimate Fighter Finale. Dana White went as far as to compare him to Anderson Silva….whoops. Nover is 0-2 in the UFC and has had serious medical trouble along the way. Nover feinted in the opening moments of his TUF season and had another incident before his scheduled fight against Sam Stout in September. On the day of the fight Nover had another feinting episode and was not medically cleared to fight.

Breakdown: While Nover is primary a ground fighter his standup is more then adequate. In this fight expect him to look to go to the ground early where he will have a significant advantage against Emerson. The key to this fight will be Emersons take down defense as the only hope he has of winning this fight is on the feet. And even then I’m not so sure how he’d fare.

Prediction: Nover Via Unanimous Decision

Brian Stann (8-2) vs. Phil Davis (4-0)

The Fighters: Brian "All-American" Stann is a former Marine who is probably best known for his three fight trilogy against Steve Cantwell. Since joining the UFC, Stann is 2-1 and 8-2 overall.

Phil Davis is one of the UFC’s newly signed prospects. Considering how many prospects the UFC has let sign with other organizations recently one would assume they think very highly of him. The 25 year old Davis is 4-0 heading into his Octagon debut. Davis was a decorated wrestler at Penn State. He was a 4 time All-American with a career 116-20 record, including a 26-1 senior year where he won an individual title.

Breakdown: While it’s possible Davis will have the so called "UFC jitters" it’s hard to see him losing this fight. While he is raw he’s far too decorated of a wrestler and natural athlete for Stann to contain. Plus do you really think the UFC would make a big deal about signing Davis only to have him lose? Davis is the second coming of Rashad Evans.

Prediction: Davis Via Unanimous Decision

Tim Hague (10-2) vs. Chris Tuchscherer (17-2)

The Fighters: Two guys that are infamous for very different things. Hague was on the wrong end of one of the most embarrassing losses in recent memory (the Todd Duffee power-jab) Tuchscherer in his UFC debut was kicked in the groin by Gabriel Gonzaga in one of the most horrifying sights in recent memory.

Hague fights like a caveman. He keeps his hands and body so square he’s just asking to be knocked out. He’s 1-1 in the UFC and billed as having submission skills but don’t let the one win fool you. Pat Berry, who has no ground game, basically gave Hauge his neck and said "please choke me." Tuchsherer on the other hand trains with Brock Lesnar and Minnesota MMA. He has legit wrestling skills and was a Division II All-American at Morehead University.

Breakdown: While we haven’t seen a ton of these guys in the Octagon I have yet to be impressed with Hauge. His chin is questionable, to say the least, and his stand up game leaves a ton to be desired. The same could be said with Tuchscherer but if nothing else we know he’s incredibly tough and a solid wrestler.

Prediction: Tucscherer TKO Round 2

Rolles Gracie (3-0) vs. Joey Beltran (10-3)

The Fighters: Rolles Gracie continues the legacy of the Gracie Family. He is the son of Rolls Gracie, who was raised by his uncle the Helio Gracie. As the Gracie name would suggest Rolles is an excellent submission fighter and is a second degree blackbelt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. This is Rolles UFC debut. Gracie is 3-0, including one win in the now defunct IFL.

Beltran is replacing Mustapha-Al Turk on very late notice (Al-Turk had visa issues.) The Mexicutioner, awesome nickname, presents a tougher test than Al-Turk would have. Primarily a kickboxer, Beltran is 10-3 with wins over UFC vets Wes Combs and Houston Alexander.

Breakdown: While Gracie is rough around the edges as a complete fighter his ground game is world class. As seen in his other fights his game plan will be simple. He will look to use his boxing to close the distance, clinch and proceed to look for a submission. While Beltran is a solid prospect he lacks top fight experience and will have no answer to Rolles ground skills.

Prediction: Rolles Gracie Rear Naked Choke Round 1

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