EA has posted a definitive tutorial on the gameplay system of EA Sports UFC. To recreate the complexity of MMA fighting, they have developed different attack systems for when fighters are in different positions, such as standing up, on the ground, in the clinch, etc. We’re going through the details here so you can get a better grasp of how to play.
Attacking
The main attacks are mapped to the face buttons, similar to Tekken. The top buttons are your left and right punches, and the bottom buttons are your left and right kicks. While pressing an attack button, you can point your left analog stick towards or away your enemy, and/or press the L1/R1 buttons to use even more moves. If you hold L2 while attacking, your strike becomes a body attack. Different fighters have different movesets.
True to a UFC fight, your character has stamina, so you have to pace your attacks and pay attention to your stamina meter. If you knock your opponent down, you can then press forward on the left analog stick and one of the two punch buttons, to go down on the floor and keep attacking him/her.
Defending
Press R2 to block. Blocks will protect the body, but you will still receive slight damage. If you just stand there and keep blocking, it gradually becomes less effective. Stamina regeneration will also go down.
Fortunately, you can also strong block. Press R2 and a punch button to block high, and R2 and a kick button to block low. These provide 100 % protection from strikes. However, if you can time your strong block at the exact moment a strike hits you, you parry. Parries deflect the attack and leave your opponent vulnerable to counter strikes.
You can evade strikes by flicking the left analog stick in any direction (of course, away from the strike). This will move your character around. If you flick the left stick and press L1, you evade while staying in place, Anderson Silva style.
Attacking in the Clinch
The clinch refers to several types of holds, but usually involves fighters getting up close and physically holding each other, to limit their attacks and control them. EA Sports UFC incorporates several clinch holds, including the back clinch and the Thai clinch, but you usually start with the double collar tie. In this position, the fighters face each other, with at least one hand holding the opponent’s body.
To start a clinch, flick the right stick forward while in front of the opponent. From the clinch, you can strike your opponent, or initiate a takedown, throwing them to the floor. You can also transition into other clinches with the right analog stick; either by pushing left and swooping clockwise, or pushing right and swooping counterclockwise. The clinches you transition into depend on your and your opponent’s positions.
If you get your opponent in the Thai clinch, you can use the kick buttons to strike him/her hard. Either kick button strikes the legs, left analog forward and a kick button strikes the body, and left analog back and a kick button strikes the head.
Takedowns are done using the L2 button and right analog stick. You can by pushing left and swoop clockwise, or pushing right and swoop counterclockwise. If you hold L1 at the same time, you can pull off a power takedown, with more damage.
Defending in the Clinch
You can thwart your opponent from getting you in the clinch. When he moves in for the hold, hold R2 and push up on the right analog stick. If you do get in the clinch, you can try to get out of it by clicking the left stick.
While in the clinch, you can block strikes by holding R2. A successful block can give you a chance to escape the clinch, or enter a better position so that you attack in the clinch.
If your opponent tries to transition to another clinch, you can stop them by holding R2 and pushing the right stick either left or right. This will keep you both in the double collar tie.
Attacking while in a Takedown
You can execute a takedown even if you are not in the clinch. To start, you press L2 while pushing the right stick towards or away your opponent. When you are in the right place, swoop the right stick clockwise or counterclockwise to finish the takedown. If you press L1 while swooping the right stick, you can execute a power takedown, with additional damage.
To get up after successfully executing a takedown, press down on the left stick.
Defending while in a Takedown
You can thwart your opponent’s attempt on a takedown on you by holding R2 and pressing down on the right stick.
If you happen to get in a takedown, you can try flicking the left stick to get out of it.
Attacking on the Ground
When you are in a dominant position against your opponent on the ground, you can attack with any of the face buttons. Pressing any combination of the L1, R1, and L2 buttons with a face button allows you to use even more attacks.
You can posture up (torso upright but legs holding opponent on the ground) by pressing up on the left stick. From there, you can attack in a dominant position, ground and pound, as they call it.
You can switch positions by pushing left and swooping clockwise or pushing right and swooping counterclockwise. In different positions, you can use different attacks and submission variations.
To initiate a submission, hold R1 and push right stick either up, down, left, or right. To finish it, swoop the right stick clockwise or counterclockwise to lock it in.
Defending on the Ground
If you are the one in the bad spot on the ground, you can hold R2 to block a strike. After a successful block, you can transition by swooping the right stick clockwise or counterclockwise, or getting up, by pressing the left stick up.
You can thwart your opponent from transitioning into another position by holding R2 and pressing the right stick left or right. You can keep your opponent from getting up by holding R2 and pushing the right stick down.
You can stop your opponent from putting you in a submission by holding R2 and pushing the right stick up. You can stop an advanced transition by holding L1 and swooping the right stick left or right.
You need to remember one thing; while you are in the bad position on the ground, your stamina recovers less quickly, so you want to get out of it as soon as possible.
Attacking and Defending with a Submission
You can initiate submissions while on the ground, and in the dominant position. Hold R1 and push the right stick up, down, left, or right. To lock the submission in, swoop the right stick in either direction.
You can stop an opponent from putting a submission on you by holding R2 and pushing the right stick up.
Submissions are themselves treated like a different position. In this position, four gates will appear, that correspond to up, down, left, right on the right stick. The defender can press on those directions to get out of the submission, and subsequently, the attacker needs to match that input the defender made to keep him/her locked in.
If the defender gets out of one gate, he/she gets out of the submission. The idea here is for the defender to confuse the attacker by moving between multiple gates.
If the attacker thwarts the defender’s attempts long enough, a prompt will come out for the attacker to move the left stick in one direction. If the attacker enters this correctly, the submission enters the next phase, and the gates reset. Go through all submission phases to finish out the match with a conclusive victory.
The attacker’s stamina affects how easy it is to enter a submission, and how effective the move will be. Subsequently, the defender’s stamina affects their chances of getting out of said submission.
We hope you liked this guide. EA Sports UFC is coming June 17 on Xbox One and Playstation 4.
