SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Randy Couture and Fedor Emelianenko will face off -- at least in pixel form.
Electronic Arts announced on Saturday that the six-time UFC champion has been signed exclusively to feature in an MMA interactive arts video game due out some time in 2010 -- making what had once been touted as the “fight of the century” available for play in millions of homes.
EA Sports President Peter Moore said the game is in its second year of development. Moore said it is undecided if the game will utilize a ring or cage for the fights, as the company’s goal is to capture the “geographic diversity” of the sport.
“Our goal is to grow the sport through an innovative and very differentiated product versus what’s out there, and you’ll be seeing that in 2010,” said Moore.
Couture joins previously revealed participants Emelianenko, Gegard Mousasi, and Renato Sobral. Jay Hieron, who faces Jesse Taylor Saturday at Strikeforce, will also join the game’s roster.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, Strikeforce middleweights Benji Radach and Tim Kennedy, and Muhammed Lawal have also announced their involvement with the game in past interviews.
Moore said the company is currently scouting additional talent for the game.
UFC President Dana White, whose organization released its own video game “UFC Undisputed 2009” through THQ in June, has publicly stated that any fighter that signs on with the EA version would not be welcome in the UFC. Couture signed his EA agreement after resigning from the UFC in October 2007 to pursue a fight with Emelianenko. Couture, who re-signed a three-fight contract with the UFC in September 2008, seems to be the only exemption to the UFC’s ultimatum thus far.
White and UFC majority owner Lorenzo Fertitta both lambasted EA a month ago, claiming the video game juggernaut rejected the UFC in negotiations held sometime in the last three years. Both claimed EA Sports only jumped on the bandwagon after seeing the UFC's success.
"EA Sports told us, 'You're not a real sport,'" White said in July. "'We wouldn't touch this thing. We want nothing to do with this.'"
Moore said he was not with the organization when the meeting with Zuffa LLC, the UFC’s parent company, occurred. Moore later told Sherdog.com that he could not find a current EA employee who had sat in on the meeting, but voiced his skepticism that the game company had spoken negatively about the sport.
“I actually can probably tell you that I’m sure wasn’t the case, but I wasn’t working for Electronic Arts at the time,” said Moore. “For whatever (reason), my friends at the UFC want to purport to be the situation, that really doesn’t matter now.”
Moore also said the company has experienced no setbacks signing talent since the UFC announced its embargo on EA-signed fighters.
“We’re not seeing any pushback from any outside influences in regards (to) people influencing fighters not to be in the game,” said Moore. “If we believe the quality of the fighter is there, that they’re actually going to help us build on authenticity, we’ll certainly sign them up.
“We have nothing but the greatest respect for what Dana (White) has done with the UFC, but he doesn’t own the sport,” continued Moore. “We want to grow the sport.”
