Electronic Arts has dropped hints on the next mystery fighter for EA Sports UFC, who looks set to be fully revealed soon. Is it a sure fit that it is who everyone think it is, though? We’ll go through the clues and speculation below, but first, look at this tweet:
Look familiar? #MysteryFighter. Day 5 Reveal: http://t.co/OudCYYUtAj pic.twitter.com/nSL3GMFcWb
— EA SPORTS UFC (@EASPORTSUFC) April 5, 2014
So, getting it out of the way, the yellow with black stripes on it is making everyone think it’s Bruce Lee. In fact, it is such an obviously dropped hint that it’s hard to argue otherwise. Here are the clues EA’s dropped so far:
- He never fought in the UFC.
- He was born in the US.
- He can fight in four different weight classes, particularly, at 125, 135, 145, and 155 lbs.
OK, so obviously, Bruce never stuck around to see the UFC. He was also born in the US. To be specific, it was in November 27, 1940, in San Francisco. Now, the weight class thing, that’s the sticking point. Bruce did monitor his weight in his lifetime, and was really only around 130 lbs. in his prime. He technically reached those other weights as well, but he went up to 160 lbs when he did too much bodybuilding and 120 lbs when he starved himself. These were not his ideal weights at all.
It seems necessary to explain here why Bruce Lee is even here in the first place. While most casual fans know Bruce to be a great kung fu film actor, and possibly a fighter, few would know that he also pioneered in the field of physical fitness. After a famous duel in 1964, Bruce realized martial arts was not enough to optimize his physical conditioning, and created a fitness routine that combined what he learned in the West, including bodybuilding and nutrition, and from his own martial arts. Many elements of his training are recognizable and essential elements in MMA and bodybuilding training routines today.
So, aside from Bruce the movie star, even beyond the martial artist, the MMA world at large takes inspiration from Bruce as an athlete. The question is, does he have what it takes to go toe to toe with athletes today? Or maybe it should be, did EA really acquire the rights to Bruce Lee for video games? We should not have to wait too long to find out, with the clock ticking to less than 24 hours now.
EA Sports UFC itself releases to Playstation 4 and Xbox One spring of this year.
