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By Anthony De Franco  March 14, 2010, at 5:25 am
Each week, THQ has decided to answer some questions that the public has about UFC 2010: Undisputed. Since most game sites aren’t exactly versed in Mixed Martial Arts, We’re here to breakdown what the answers mean to us fans.
A quick note before we get started this week. If you are amongst the people leaving questions (which you should do), then please think about what you are writing. Far, Far too many people are focusing on the wrong things. I’ve seen some pretty rediculous questions on the thread, including beating on already unconscious opponents, and having UFC 1 style matches with no rules. Let’s think people.
Now, on to the questions!
XPlicit asks, “When you notice your opponent is rocked can you rush them as hard as you can and throw with all your might wasting every last bit of energy just to finish that person.”
You will get a bonus after you rock an opponent. We implemented the new “Adrenaline Rush” system into fights which should make things pretty interesting. You will not be conferred a movement speed bonus, but your fighter will have his energy replenished. This means you can execute the full array of moves without worrying about getting gassed yourself. We wanted to give the player that feeling of mastery and dominance that comes with rocking an opponent and following through on it in the real Octagon — from playing with it and testing it, it brings a ton of excitement to Undisputed 2010.
Interesting development. One of the complaints that was common last year is that every rocked situation ended the same the way. The winner would just stand over the helpless loser throwing bombs until the fight was stopped. The “Adrenaline Rush” would seem to indicate that the stamina boost will be necessary to try and finish fights, which means there will be someway to recover from being rocked.
Fornez1 Asks “How will escaping submissions work with the new system? will you always wind up in an advantages position or will sometimes you escape to standing and sometimes escape to side mount(for example)”
Last year, when you failed a submission, you’d almost always end up in a tough situation — usually on your back or with a player in control. We wanted to move away from this system and towards more of an organic, and realistic submission escape system. There are a number of positions that you can escape into that are beneficial, neutral, and even disadvantageous depending upon what has been happening during the fight. In keeping it real as it gets, escapes will never result in only side control or a full guard.
Another complaint from last year addressed. Fighters never really escape submissions and wind up in dominant positions. Last year, so many subs would be reversed into side mount that it often was worth it try for the submissions. This should also take away some of the predictably from a game that was stiff last year.
SleepyWeasel asks “In the new Career mode, does your fighter age at all? Or does he stay the same age throughout the entire career?”
Your fighter, and all other fighters will age. Aging occurs in two ways. As your fighter becomes more experienced at certain skills and moves after training, it’ll become easier and easier to better maintain your proficiency in that field. For example, once you get so good at wrestling, you don’t have to train as extensively to keep up your skill as a wrestler. On the other hand, we’ve implemented a decay system that’s a function of your age. Once your fighter gets up there in the years, you’ll find that you need to focus on maintaining your core stats through your weekly training routine a bit more to stay fresh in the Octagon. Along your career mode playthrough, you’ll even see the greats of the UFC retiring.
Yes. Thank goodness. Last year’s career mode was underutilized in many different ways. One of the main ones was that once you became champion, you fought the same people over and over again. As fun as it is beating down B.J. Penn, I wanted some new blood for my fighter to face. This year, it seems that the divisions will be thinned out by retiring fighters and re-stocked with new talent. One big step for a better career mode.
Kurowski God asks “Are there different “rocked” stages, like you hit with a head kick, maybe he gets more rocked then a good right hook.”
In this year’s game, we shared that you can be rocked from any position and by almost every move. While these moves, and by extension the rocked states that they’ll be causing, will look different depending upon what you do (head kick, uppercut), being rocked will not have varying degrees of ‘rockiness’ or grogginess. What’s important is how the player who rocked the other executes his next few moves. If you have your combos down and have excellent timing, you’ll be able to quickly level some devastating moves on your groggy opponent — you might even knock him out. These ‘follow up’ combos are going to be tough to execute, as any other button inputs after the rocked animation will derail the combo. But the skilled player who uses caution and foresight when he knows his opponent is struggling will get an awesome payoff.
This seems to relate to the first question of the day. It seems that some skill will be needed this year to finish a rocked opponent. It’s no longer enough to just land the big punch and pound out every opponent. This should lead to longer fights and more decisions.
Check back Tomorrow afternoon for the full B.J. Penn Trailer!

By Anthony De Franco  March 8, 2010, at 4:05 pm
I’ll save everyone the normal speech about how the WEC fighters are treated like second class citizens because they weigh less than 155 pounds. I’ll skip right to the interesting notes.
- Joseph Benavidez wins the night by making 29,000 in his victory. I was surprised when I saw this, but more power the Joe for getting that money. In a preview of a future article, it’s only a matter of time before Joe is the man at 135.
- Miguel Torres made 26,000 in a loss. This makes me wonder he had a symmetrical win bonus. If he made 52,000 in a victory, that is UFC money right there. This is a good sign.
- Of course, this is the last card before the first WEC PPV, and you all should be ordering it. Remember, PPV revenue means more money for the fighters. Think of them.
Here is the full list:
Televised Card:
Dominick Cruz ($9,000+$9,000=$18,000) def. Brian Bowles ($12,000)
Joseph Benavidez ($14,500+$14,500=$29,000) def. Miguel Torres ($26,000)
Javier Vazquez ($6,000+$6,000=$12,000) def. Jens Pulver ($14,000)
LC Davis ($9,000+$9,000=$18,000) def. Deividas Taurosevicius ($9,000)
Bart Palaszewski ($6,000+$6,000=$12,000) def. Karen Darabedyan ($4,000)
Preliminary Card:
Scott Jorgensen ($8,000+$8,000=$16,000) def. Chad George ($3,000)
Chad Mendes ($4,000+$4,000=$8,000) def. Erik Koch ($3,000)
Anthony Pettis ($3,000+$3,000=$6,000) def. Danny Castillo ($9,500)
Leonard Garcia ($14,000) fought George Roop ($3,000) to a split draw
Fredson Paixao ($2,000+$2,000=$4,000) def. Courtney Buck ($3,000)
Ricardo Lamas ($5,000+$5,000=$10,000) def. Bendy Casimir ($3,000)
By Anthony De Franco  February 28, 2010, at 10:00 am
Last year, Pre-ordering UFC 2009: Undisputed netted you access to the winners of TUF 8, Ryan Bader and Efrain Escudero. This year, you’ll get some more Ultimate Fighter vets for ordering early, according to sports gaming website PastaPadre:
The pre-order bonus for UFC Undisputed 2010 will offer a code to download four exclusive fighters. The first has been announced as James McSweeney. The other three, though not officially revealed, are expected to be fellow TUF 10 participants Roy Nelson (winner), Brendan Schaub (runner-up), and Marcus Jones. Gamestop is currently the only outlet that has this offer listed.
Personally, I’m excited that McSweeney was announced. This means that I’ll be able to create Ring of Combat Light Heavyweight Champion Ricardo Romero, and smash McSweeney just like Ricardo did in real life.
Just like every sports game, I’m excited for the reveal of the ratings for the fighters. Here are some guesses:
- Roy Nelson: 83
- Brendan Schaub: 80
- Marcus Jones: 75
- James McSweeney: 78
Have guesses of your own? Leave them in the comments!

By Anthony De Franco  February 8, 2010, at 9:23 am
It’s good to be Randy Couture. Not only is he still more of a man than I will ever be at age 46, but he is the top earner on the card for UFC 109. The Natural continues a trend of guaranteed money for the top guys in the UFC, as he made 250,000 with no win bonus.
Seeing Matt Serra at the top of this list is a lot more surprising to me. His 150,000 payday seems like a lot of money for a guy who would have been in danger of being cut had he lost that fight.
Here is the complete list from MMA Junkie:
Randy Couture: $250,000 (no win bonus)
def. Mark Coleman: $60,000
Chael Sonnen: $64,000 (includes $32,000 win bonus)
def. Nate Marquardt: $45,000
Paulo Thiago: $30,000 ($15,000 win bonus)
def. Mike Swick: $43,000
Demian Maia: $62,000 ($31,000 win bonus)
def. Dan Miller: $15,000
Matt Serra: $150,000 ($75,000 win bonus)
def. Frank Trigg: $30,000
Mac Danzig: $40,000 ($20,000 win bonus)
def. Justin Buchholz: $8,000
Melvin Guillard: $28,000 ($14,000 win bonus)
def. Ronys Torres: $4,000
Rob Emerson: $24,000 ($12,000 win bonus)
def. Phillipe Nover: $10,000
Phil Davis: $10,000 ($5,000 win bonus)
def. Brian Stann: $17,000
Chris Tuchscherer: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus)
def. Tim Hague: $7000
Joey Beltran: $12,000 ($6,000 win bonus)
def. Rolles Gracie: $15,000
Attendance: 10,687
Gate: $2.27 Million
By Jason Comack  February 4, 2010, at 9:39 pm
Mac Danzig (18-7-1) vs. Justin Buchholz (8-4)
The Fighters: Danzig came into the sixth season of the Ultimate Fighter as a favorite. The King Of The Cage and Pride vet had amassed enough quality wins to justify his presence in the UFC even without TUF. His post TUF career hasn’t gone as planned however. He’s 2-3 in the UFC and has lost three fights in a row. No UFC fighter that isn’t a star isn’t going to survive a four fight losing streak.
Bucholz has also struggled in his UFC career. He’s 1-3 in the UFC with his lone win being over a very green Corey Hill.
Both fighters desperately need a win and this is most definitely a “loser leaves town” match.
Breakdown: Despite his recent failings, 2-5 in his last seven fights, Danzig is a 3 or 4 to 1 favorite depending on where you look. That says a lot more about his opponent then it does him. Bucholz clearly isn’t a guy ready for UFC competition. He brought a 7-1 record into the Octagon but it was clearly inflated by fighting local bums. Look for Danzig to mix it up both standing and on the ground as he cruises to an easy decision win.
Prediction: Danzig Via Unanimous Decision
Melvin Guillard (22-8-2) vs. Ronnys Torres (14-1)
The Fighters: Can you believe Melvin Guillard is still only 26 years old? It certainly seems like he’s been around forever. Most likely it feels this way because Guillards career has been a consistent stream of disappointments. Every time he takes a step forward he seems to take two back the next fight. The former Ultimate Fighter Season 2 contestant began his career at 170 pounds. He went 1-1 at welterweight before dropping down to lightweight. Since dropping to lightweight Guillard is 5-4 in the UFC.
Guillards talent is enormous. He’s a gigantic lightweight whose sheer athleticism and explosiveness will remind you a lot of Kevin Randleman. Guillard has a great shot and terrific power in his hands. However, Guillard has an Achilles Heel. He is a terrible submission fighter. All four of his UFC losses have come via submission. If you remember he was dominating, understatement, Josh Neer before being stupidly caught in a triangle choke. It looked like someone attacked Neers face with a tack hammer (as Guillard stupidly jumped into Neers guard to finish him off he was caught in a triangle.) Most recently he was caught in a guillotine against Nick Diaz that could have easily been avoided. If he fought with any kind of game plan he could have easily won both those fights.
It’s also outside the cage that Melvin has had troubles. After his loss to Joe Stevenson, Guillard accused Stevenson of using HGH. Not so ironically after that fight Guillard was caught with cocaine in his system in a post fight drug test. He was fined $2,100 and suspended 8 months.
The reason Guillard, unlike so many fighters, is getting second and third chances is because he’s insanely talented. He has wins over Marcus Davis, Denis Siver and Gleison Tibau. Those are very quality wins and it’s insanely frustrating to watch Guillard not maximize his god given ability.
While Ronnys Torres is making his UFC debut the talented Brazilian is no push over. Torres is 14-1 and one of Brazils top prospects. He trains with the highly regarded, and highly underrated, Nova União team. The dude trains with Jose Aldo, Paulo Thiago and many other talented fighters.
Breakdown: Sadly for Guillard this fight seems to be designed for him to lose. As I said his Achilles Heel has always been his submission defense and that is the area that Torres excels at (7 of Torres 15 wins have come via submission.) If there’s one area of concern for Torres it’s that he might not be coming into this fight 100%. He had to pull out of Fight Night 18 and 19 with various injuries.
If Guillard wants to win this fight he needs to take a page out of Chuck Liddells book and reverse wrestle. Torres isn’t good enough to take Mevlin down and it’s unclear if he has that same knack for pulling guard effectively like Damien Maia does. Knowing Melvin he’ll stun him with a power shot and go in recklessly for a finish and get submitted.
Prediction: Torres via Armbar Round 2
*Bonus* Random Fun Fact: Torres holds a win over Luiz Azeredo. Azeredo is one of only 4 men to ever beat Anderson Silva. Azeredo also holds a win over top welterweight contender Paul Daley.
By Anthony De Franco  February 3, 2010, at 3:23 pm
So, it turns out that there is a reason to not hate Strikeforce if you are Jay Hieron. They are paying you quite well to not fight on the main card. However, don’t forget that he is losing sponsorship money because his fights aren’t being seen by the world.
One other note: I’m pretty sure that Walker didn’t make $600 for the fight. Maybe that money was after he donated his salary to charity. However, I seriously doubt Herschel’s entire deal looks like that. Expect him to make something around Nick Diaz’s $100,000 next fight.
Last but not least: They paid Wes Sims 25,000 for that? He should hand half that money back after that performance.
Main Bouts:
- Nick Diaz $100,000 (no win bonus) def. Marius Zaromskis $30,000
- Cris “Cyborg” Santos $35,000 ($15,000 win bonus and $5,000 championship bonus) def. Marloes Coenen $2,000
- Herschel Walker $600 (no win bonus) def. Greg Nagy $5,000
- Robbie Lawler $100,000 (no win bonus) def. Melvin Manhoef $5,000
- Bobby Lashley $50,000 (no win bonus) def. Wes Sims $25,000
Preliminary Bouts:
- Jay Hieron $65,000 ($35,000 win bonus) def. Joe Riggs $30,000
- Pablo Alfonso $3,000 ($1,500 win bonus) def. Marcos DaMotta $2,500
- Hadar Hassan $2,000 ($1,000 win bonus) def. Ryan Keenan $2,000
- John Kelly $2,000 ($1,000 win bonus) def. Sabah Homasi $1,000
- Michael Byrnes $2,000 ($1,000 win bonus) def. David Zitnik $1,500
- David Gomez $2,000 ($1,000 win bonus) def. Craig Oxley $1,500
- Joe Ray $1,500 ($500 win bonus) def. John Clarke $1,000
STRIKEFORCE: MIAMI DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $469,600
Thanks to MMA Weekly For the Salaries.
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