"Crazy there are ranked guys not in the game" - Fighter wants EA Sports' UFC 4 to have every fighter currently with a contract

EA Sports has been in charge of producing video games for the UFC since the closure of video game developer THQ nearly ten years ago. While the game has been commercially successful, there are still plenty of things fans would like to see upgraded, as is often the case with most video games. One major issue has been the lack of some exciting fighters on the roster, which was addressed by a fan and eventually called out by a UFC lightweight.

The list of fighters missing from UFC 4 is surprising, particularly Alex Pereira, who is set to take on cover athlete Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title at UFC 281. While there is still time to add him to the game before the title fight, Pereira could potentially become a champion before he is included in the video game. Talia Santos nearly defeated Valentina Shevchenko for the women's flyweight championship over three months ago and has yet to be added to the game.

Each of the ten fighters listed is currently ranked by the UFC, with No.11-ranked welterweight Shavkat Rakhmonov the only fighter listed falling outside the top ten. UFC lightweight Matt Frevola took note of the tweet and stated that he felt every fighter under contract should be in the video game.

Adding every fighter might be an impossible task for video game developers. As of 2020, there were 724 fighters on the UFC roster. That number nearly doubled by 2022, as there were 1410 fighters signed as of July. The UFC is constantly signing new fighters, and it would be difficult to include all of them. However, EA Sports does face and overcome similar problems with other titles, such as FIFA, Madden, and NHL.

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When will EA Sports release UFC 5?

EA Sports has reportedly paused the development of a highly anticipated Fight Night reboot to work on UFC 5. With this news, video game writer Tom Henderson believes that the upcoming game in the UFC franchise will be released sometime in the summer of 2023.

While many fans would surely like the game to come sooner, or at least for fighters to be added to the current game, it would be encouraging to find a deeper roster in UFC 5. It is understandable, though, that not all 1410 fighters can be included.

With a deeper roster, EA Sports can develop a better career mode, which currently offers a quick rise to becoming champion. There also aren't many fighters to defend your belt against, and you are forced into retirement rather quickly. When compared to other games, which allow for a much lengthier career, adding more fighters would enable gamers to have a more realistic UFC career.