When it comes to EA Sports UFC and its two main game modes, there is a massive difference in the skill it takes to win. While playing through Career mode can be challenging on higher difficulties, nothing will test your gumption like battling against the human-controlled Jon Jones. He or she is likely younger and faster than you, plus they can drink a chocolate milk in one hand while submitting you with the other. In other words, you (and by you we mean we) need all the help you can get.
That said, here are five tips to becoming a terror online.
5.) Study Your Opponent
This one is quite tough. In almost any one-on-one competition in the world, knowing your adversary is one of the most important keys to victory. With EA Sports UFC, however, there is little to no opportunity to find out what you’re up against. Unless it’s a friend, your first experience with your opponent will likely involve them punching you in the face. Still, there’s a lot you can learn in the early moments of the fight, and how you adjust will determine if your hand is the one raised at the end.
EA Sports UFC features different kinds of fighters. You have the button mashers that like to spam heavy strikes in an attempt to knock you out. You have the grapplers who will take you down and try to submit you with a superior Jiu Jitsu practitioner. Then we have the folks who figured out the clinch game and will try to smash you in the face with knees while you try to figure out how to escape. Finally, you have the people who fight smart. They can strike, grapple or even defend themselves. They are a complete fighter.
Your job is to quickly figure out who you’re up against, then put them in a position they are not able to deal with. If you’re dealing with someone who throws endless significant strikes, utilize the takedown and put them on their back, then unleash some ground and pound. Not only does this frustrate them, but it also scores you points. If your opponent is a submission ace, use movement to avoid their takedowns, then counter strike when they are most vulnerable. In other words, don’t just study who you’re fighting, but make sure you are able to hold your own no matter what your opponent throws at you.
4.) Play a Quick Match… or Six
If you’ve never played against a living, breathing opponent, you’re in for a shock. They are killers in the EA Sports UFC realm. This is especially true when you get into the Championships game mode. This puts you up against other players in a competitive atmosphere. The better you do, the more promotions you gain and the tougher your competition gets. In other words, there aren’t many easy wins to come by.
To prepare for this, spend some time in the much more relaxed Quick Match. With Quick Match, you get to see who your opponent chooses to fight as, responding with someone to neutralize their strengths. Besides that, it’s sort of like dipping your toes into the water before jumping in. You’ll get a good idea of what online fighting is like without getting your face smashed in (we went 0-4 to start our online fighting career). You’ll get to see the different types of fighters we mentioned above, while at the same time carving out your own identity as a virtual combat sports warrior. In the meantime, don’t get cocky. Just because you’re 3-0 in Quick Match doesn’t mean you’ll have the same success in the Championships.
3.) Takedown Defense for the Win
Anyone who watches enough UFC will know that the person who dictates where the fight takes place is almost always the person who wins. If your opponent is constantly trying to drag you to the ground, it might be because that’s where he or she is most comfortable. By keeping the fight standing, you put them in a position to fight on your terms.
Even if you want to take the fight to the ground, takedown defense is still key. Nobody wants to get stuck on the bottom while Cain Velasquez rains down his thunderous ground and pound. Well, the exception to this rule might be Damian Mia, but few people in the world can bring his level of Jiu Jitsu to a fight.
In order to keep the fight standing, utilize movement and distance, making your opponent lunge to get a shot at the takedown. If they miss, punish them with kicks and punches for their trouble. Should you end up with your back against the cage, however, press R2/Right Trigger + Right Stick down to sprawl and try to stay on your feet. If all else fails and you do end up on your back, try to deter them from doing it again by throwing a few submissions their way.
2.) Learn the Ground Game
Just like Georges St-Pierre moving from half guard to full mount, we just pulled off a smooth transition as we moved from number three to two. While we don’t pretend to know all the answers to the ground game, being proficient in this area of the fight will give you a massive edge on the competition.
At some point, expect to find yourself rocked, struggling to stay on your feet and unable to block any of the incoming strikes your opponent throws. When that happens, the safest thing you can do is take the fight to the ground. Even when you do, though, expect your opponent to immediately try and get to their feet, or even throw up a submission while you’re still trying to remember your name. Knowing the controls required to block a transition, holding your opponent down or even transitioning will not only help keep you in the fight, it could also be the key to finishing off your foe. On that note, ground strikes are some of the most devastating in the game and should not be overlooked.
1.) Be Like Anderson Silva
Nobody on the planet is as good as Anderson “The Spider” Silva when it comes to counter punching. All the way back to when he knocked Forest Griffin out with a jab as he moved backwards, UFC fans knew there was something special about his style.
The same holds true for EA Sports UFC. Just like we mentioned with the different types of opponents in our first tip, you can expect to find a great deal of punch spammers in your online journey. While dragging them to the ground is an option, so is flattening their noses against their faces. In fact, the best method to deterring someone from standing in front of you and button mashing is to parry one of their strikes, then land a counter punch of your own. While it’s not a guarantee, if you do this often enough, you will eventually rock your opponents, giving you a chance to knock them out and improve your record.
