Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA, has continued to grow as a sport, entertainment event franchise, and major force in popular culture. Like any sport, the video games released featuring your favorite athletes in that event typically appeal to one of two audiences. Firstly, it’s a fun way for fans to play as their favorite fighters. Secondly, it’s a way to grow the fandom, encouraging gamers to play the new game, and maybe tune into a few fights. Let’s explore how effective UFC 5 is with both of these audiences in this review.

UFC 5 is the best case I’ve seen for gamers to come into the fold and join the ranks of UFC fandom. The controls for this year’s release, especially its ground game and grappling mechanisms, are so easy to pick up and learn as you go. As you spend more time with the game, you’re able to learn new moves and controller inputs that really allow you to expand your arsenal of attacks and defenses. If you’re someone just itching for a fighting game, but you’re not really into the UFC, that’s not a problem here.

If you are a huge UFC fan, I also think UFC 5 is the closest we’ve had to a truly great MMA simulator. The fights feel relatively realistic, minus the occasional bug where AI flips and folds around like possession is taking place. Fight Week, a new feature that lets you play fights happening that week in real life, is a wonderful way to keep fans engaged across media. It’s also an easy way to hop into the game and play a few fights without the extra burden of hopping into a fully fleshed-out game mode.

Taking center stage in this year’s release is the Real Impact system, which enhances fight dynamics with injuries affecting performance and excessive damage risking a doctor’s stoppage. I only had one actual doctor’s stoppage in my 20+ hours playing UFC 5, but plenty of moments where the doctor came to the ring to check on my bloodied opponent. Otherwise, the impact, no pun intended, of the Real Impact system is felt in each fighter’s wear and tear throughout a particularly intense match.

A great way to explore the effects of Real Impact is in the Career Mode, where I spent most of my time. I took a light heavyweight kickboxer from a backyard fighter to a 22-time UFC Champion in just about 15 hours. Between fights, your camp serves as a home base to watch tapes of your opponent, run promotions for sponsors, and work with real fighters to learn their signature moves. I loved my time in Career Mode, and watching my scrappy fighter rise to GOAT status was a lot of fun and helped me learn the game well.

I mentioned bugs earlier, which weren’t rampant but certainly present. This is one of two major criticisms I have of the game; the second being too few changes from UFC 4. The Real Impact system is great, and improvements to submission and ground game controls are noticeable, but this largely feels like an improvement to minor elements of the last game, not a truly new iteration. The Frostbite engine isn’t necessarily outdated in 2023, but I do feel like I’ve seen this game visually before.

There are bonuses if you spring for the $99 USD Deluxe Edition of the game. Primarily, unlocking three historic fighters, Fedor Emelianenko, Mike Tyson, and Muhammad Ali, is a huge perk here. You also get some XP boosts, alter egos of popular fighters, and iterations of fighters from past years. Overall, you’ll need to decide if this is worth it for you. That goes for minimal changes to this year’s release as well. If you’re a relative newcomer to these games and the UFC, however, this is a wonderful jumping-in point.

UFC 5 is out now, and certainly the most fun I’ve had with a game in the franchise for quite some time. With plenty of fighters to learn and utilize across online and Fight Night game modes, plus a robust Career mode, there’s a lot to love about UFC 5. It’s not a revolutionary step forward for the series, but most sports titles aren’t. If you play UFC 5 for yourself, then be sure to let us know what you think of the game in the comments.

An Xbox Series X review copy of UFC 5 was provided by EA Sports for the purposes of this review.

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UFC 5

$69.99

8

Score

8.0/10

Pros

• Real Impact damage system is a wonderful edition
• Fun new debuts for historic fighters in Deluxe Edition
• Career Mode feels well fleshed out

Cons

• Minor bugs can distract during matches
• Few major changes from the last UFC game
• Some microtransactions, like most sports games