Dana White, president of UFC has confirmed his rumored stance that fighters hoping to make an appearance in an upcoming Electronic Arts UFC game will be banned from fighting with UFC.
His stance (har har) comes after what he claims was bad form by EA. Apparently UFC approached EA some time ago with the idea for a UFC branded game and was told, “You’re not a real sport.” That’s how White remembers it, anyway. He goes on to say the following:
We put our asses on the line, THQ and the UFC, to make a video-game deal in the worst economy in the world. We go out there and do this thing, and it’s successful, and now [expletive] EA Sports wants to do a video game. Really? That’s not what you told us a year-and-a-half ago.
On the one hand I try to be sympathetic with the guy. UFC is now turning serious money and has an enormous following. But things weren’t always this way, and I distinctly remember a whole lot of people dismissing early UFC as a violent fad that couldn’t last.
The most interesting part of this whole thing is that the game is getting made, regardless of what White thinks. I’m not sure how he thinks the game can carry the UFC brand and not have UFC fighters. Clearly the decision to make the game was out of his hands – I wouldn’t be surprised to see someone take the appearance decision away from him either.
Source: MMA Junkie
