Knockout Mode is completely lacklustre, it tries to sell itself as a great party game to play against your friends which isn't true, all you have to do is throw blind punches and kicks and hope some of them connect. Get yourself in the top spot in your weight division though, and that's where the pre-determined fights really feel like they're starting to come in. All in all, I found the early parts of career mode to be exciting, The Ultimate Fighter bits when you start the game are really cool, and in the early stages of career you really feel a sense of excitement as you move up the ranks towards a title shot. The vast majority of matches are only won in this position, regardless of how good you are at submitting your opponent or striking from a standing position. My perks for flash knockdowns are completely upgraded and in at least 30 fights on my career I must've knocked someone clean out from standing position maybe once or twice, the rest of the time fights are spent holding my opponent on the floor and trying to get punches and elbows from the mount. Punch, block, kick, block, opponent attempts 100 take downs, opponent clinches you 100 times, opponent tries to tap you out, opponent top mounts you in the ground and pound and wins. Also, after a while the game does start to feel extremely repetitive. Maybe coincidence, but these things occured too often for me to believe that it's to do with the way I fight and my skill level. Decided to have one more fight (against a fighter rated 100, I was rated 85), and surprise surprise. On career mode with my created fighter, I lost 3 straight fights on the bounce and got so frustrated that I considered not playing the game ever again. Reversals and counters don't really seem to work, but your AI opponent can pull them off with such simple ease whilst popping off shots to the head and attempting submissions. Fights can be over in less than 20 seconds, but UFC2 never really seems to capture this 'real' feeling, resulting in repetetive fights no matter what weight class you choose. I also understand that in regular, real life MMA, ANYTHNG can happen. And believe me, it's not sour grapes that I can't win every fight, like MMA in real life I'm prepared to take losses on my record, but I can't help but feel the game does slightly 'adapt' depending on your progress throughout the game.

No matter what you do or try against your opponent, sometimes it feels like they are destined to smash you to bits. Beating everyone in your path on career mode? Well you'll soon see your attacking power completely diminish and every opponent you come across will be an unstoppable monster. Sucking on the game? Got a streak of 3 losses on the bounce? You'll somehow be able to knock Conor Mcgregor out within 20 seconds in your next fight, just to give you a glimmer of hope to keep pushing on and playing the game. I've spoken to friends before who feel EA Sports games (like FIFA), can be very much pre determined by the AI and your opponent will change their style to keep you invested in the game. Sure, it's an improvement on the last game, but still ends up in practically all fights being decided by holding your opponent on the floor and hitting them with sloppy ground and pound. After spending the past few weeks playing UFC 2, and as a massive MMA fan, I can't help but feel underwhelmed by what EA Sports has offered this time round. After spending the past few weeks playing UFC 2, and as a massive EA Sports pre determined/rigged matches strike again (in my opinion).

EA Sports pre determined/rigged matches strike again (in my opinion).

Ea sports ufc 2 deluxe edition