This is a difficult review to write. Not because I’m unfamiliar – I’ve spent many hundreds of hours across the UFC games, but because UFC 6 introduces a few key new mechanisms which have been met with some hostile feedback in the community, and the developers have promised changes. To what extent may impact your want or desire to play this game, and as such if I were to review the game in a few months, it could look a bit different. I will explain – but fear not, I believe that if you strip away the ‘internet noise’, fundamentally you have a solid game here.
EA Sports UFC 6 is a significant step forward for the franchise, delivering the most polished and immersive mixed martial arts experience that EA has created to date. While previous entries laid a solid foundation, UFC 6 builds on those mechanics with smoother gameplay, improved visuals, more realistic fighter movement, and a deeper career mode. Although there are still areas that could be improved, the game succeeds in capturing the excitement, strategy, and unpredictability of the UFC better than any previous instalment.
One of the biggest improvements is the striking system. Punches, kicks, elbows, and knees feel far more responsive than before, allowing players to chain together combinations naturally. Every strike has weight behind it, making fights feel intense from the opening bell. Timing and precision are rewarded, meaning players cannot simply button mash if they want to succeed against tougher opponents. Counter-striking is especially satisfying, with well-timed punches capable of changing the momentum of a fight in an instant. And momentum is key here – punching while moving is costly, well, if you’re on the receiving end of it. A player moving forward hitting you will do a lot more damage, and my way of playing UFC 5 has seen me lose more than my fair share of games on UFC6.
The fighter animations are significantly improved, and UFC 6 really captures all the movement and atmosphere of a fight. This is helped by the visuals as a whole – they are outstanding. Fighter models are incredibly detailed, with realistic facial expressions, tattoos, and body movements. Damage accumulates naturally throughout each fight, with cuts, bruises, and swelling becoming increasingly visible as the contest progresses. The arenas are faithfully recreated, and the crowd atmosphere helps make every fight feel like a genuine UFC pay-per-view event. The improved lighting and presentation also enhance the realism, making each walkout and fight introduction feel authentic. Even the most recent UFC White House venue is in the game. Very cool.
One of the most controversial mechanics is the grappling system. It has seen improvements, although it remains one of the more challenging aspects for new players. Transitions are smoother, submissions feel more tense, and ground control requires genuine strategy rather than repetitive inputs. Experienced players will appreciate the extra depth and feel at home immediately, whilst newcomers may need time to understand the mechanics. Fortunately, the game’s tutorials do a reasonable job of explaining the fundamentals, making the learning curve less intimidating than previous titles and this is certainly evident online where most players I’ve encountered seem to have a decent idea of how to defend the most simple ground attacks.
Sound is brilliant as well. Like a lot of EA sports games these days, the commentary is excellent and adds excitement without becoming overly repetitive, while the crowd reacts dynamically to big knockdowns, submission attempts, and dramatic finishes. The impact of strikes is accompanied by convincing sound effects that make every punch and kick feel powerful. Together, the visuals and audio create an immersive presentation that closely resembles a televised UFC broadcast. But whilst the fighters and sounds make it feel ‘real’, some visual elements do not.
For a start, every limb health, overall health, stamina and block health are always on screen, so it looks a bit like a 2D fighter with multiple coloured bars. It’s useful, for sure, but takes away some immersion. Then there is Flow Mode. Flow mode is activated by your fighter building up a bar akin to their fighting style. A striker for example might build for clean hits, whereas another fighter may build their bar by defending and dodging. Once full, you can activate for a number of different benefits – extra stamina, less damage etc – and the entire screen except your fighter goes black and white, with exaggerated sound coming from your fighter and enhanced visuals. This is to try and capture the feeling of fighters being ‘in their flow’ – multiple examples of which have been seen in real-life UFC. And it sort of does work
– it highlights the moment, but it feels extremely ‘fighting game’ and not ‘MMA simulation’. The community seems extremely displeased and the developers have promised drastic changes in this place, which could change the game.
Career Mode is one of the strongest parts of the game. Instead of simply progressing through fights, players are given greater control over their fighter’s development. Training camps, skill progression, recovery, and fight preparation all contribute to long-term success. Decisions made outside the octagon have meaningful consequences, encouraging players to think strategically rather than rushing from one fight to the next. The mode offers a satisfying sense of progression as your created fighter develops from an unknown prospect into a championship contender.
There is a story mode too, seeing you take on the role of an up and coming MMA fighter. Cutscenes play out quite a fun story, but once you get to the UFC it becomes essentially the same as the Career Mode.
Customization options are extensive but sadly they are broadly the same as the last few games – even including the same suite of tattoos and hairstyles. It does allow for a personalised experience however, and you can compete online in the Online Career. This mode sees you taking your created fighter and upgrading their stats and abilities through frequently performing moves. I love this mode and it has been my main go-to in previous games, so I’m glad that it remains in UFC 6 and thankfully, the online gameplay is superb. Matchmaking is generally reliable, and victories feel rewarding. Having access to all of the health bars seems to be making strategic gameplay a bit easier to plan and adjust to mid-match, and I’ve had some incredibly competitive matches. Thankfully, fight stoppages due to damage seem a bit less frequent too.
A nice addition is the UFC museum mode. This has you walking round one of three museums each dedicated to a UFC star, with video walls playing which talk about their past, and classic matches, as well as giving you an option to replay certain ones. This is an amazing addition, and the care taken to showcase the likes of Max Holloway is fantastic – I can see EA adding this feature into other sports games to celebrate stars in the future.
It’s not all glowing though. Minor niggles exist – for some reason, the game has a sort of metagame where you can ‘coach’ players when you’re away from playing, which upgrade them. I don’t know what the point of this is, but the menu system for it is so excruciatingly slow, I’ve avoided it aside from the first few hours of gameplay. The grapple system will also come under fire I suspect from returning players – personally, I quite enjoy it, but can see that a return to the system from UFC 4 and earlier is favoured by many, so folks may be disappointed that the system is largely unchanged for UFC 6.
Overall, EA Sports UFC 6 is an excellent sports game that successfully captures the intensity, technical skill, and drama of professional mixed martial arts. The improved striking, refined grappling, impressive graphics, engaging Career Mode, and competitive online play combine to create the strongest UFC game released so far. I’m really excited to see what changes come down the line – in past additions there have been many gameplay tweaks, with new fighters and arenas added, as well as the expected changes to flow mode.
Whether you are a long-time fan of the UFC franchise, an avid MMA enthusiast, or someone looking for a challenging and rewarding fighting game, EA Sports UFC 6 is well worth playing.
Reviewed on PS5
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