On July 3rd, when Electronic Arts Inc., creator of the popular UFC video game announced this version’s cover subject would be none other than Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, the only thought many could conjure up is: it’s about damn time!
EA SPORTS UFC 3 Icon Edition is headlined by UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, whose record 11 successful title defenses are the most in UFC history. After a rocky relationship as of late with the promotion perhaps this is Dana White’s way to extend an olive branch to his much celebrated but often-overlooked champion.
This one is for all the hard-working gamers out there. Games are a big part of my life, so to be on a cover of an EA Sports game for the first time ever, thats incredibly special, Johnson said via statement. I worked hard to get here, and its a great feeling to be immortalized as an Icon.
EA SPORTS UFC 3 | Icon Edition
New Icon Edition is available Now on Xbox One and PS4: http://x.ea.com/48164 EA SPORTS UFC3 is releasing the new Icon Edition for a limited time. From July 3 to 17, pick up the Icon Edition for $39.99 USD and get 5 new icon fighters, including: Tito Ortiz, Mirko Cro Cop, Wanderlai Silva, Kimbo Slice, and Matt Serra.
On October 7th, 2017 at UFC 216, a historic moment took place in MMA when Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson defeated Ray Borg in the fifth round to retain his UFC flyweight title and did so in spectacular fashion. With three minutes and fifteen seconds left in the final round of action, the flyweight kingpin unleashed a suplex-to-armbar, forcing his competitor to tap out of the bout, enabling Johnson to tap into history.
With the submission of Ray Borg, Johnson surpassed the record held by Anderson “The Spider” Silva for the most consecutive title defenses in UFC championship history with 11 successful outings. The fact that he took this achievement away from Silva, an Afro-Brazilian, is an even larger testament to the power of melanin inside of the eight-sided cage.
Why Johnson’s achievements weren’t rewarded with this level of cache earlier in his historic career is unknown aside from the fact that UFC head honcho Dana White has been very vocal about Johnson’s inability to sell tickets and move the PPV needle. celebrated with the same fervor by the world at large is in part due to MMA’s culture of dissonance with the black athlete.
In June of last year, Johnson spoke out against the organization about what he considered to be unfair treatment when his request to fight a then-featherweight champion Cody Garbrandt was denied. Johnson went further when he accused the UFC and its President, Dana White, of bullying him during his tenure as a champion.
With UFC champions of color like Tyron Woodley and Johnson very vocal about their mistreatment, this might be a move in the right direction by the new UFC leadership of WMG-Endeavor. In the past former UFC light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones was featured on the first EA Sports collaboration with the UFC. He appeared with former foe Alexander Gustafsson on the cover in 2014.
In addition to delivering standout features like the new G.O.A.T. Career mode and Real Player Motion Tech that revolutionizes character movement, the Icon Edition adds legendary and fan-requested fighters such as UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz, former UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra, former PRIDE FC middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva, former PRIDE FC world open-weight Grand Prix champion Mirko Cro Cop and fan favorite Kimbo Slice.
The Icon Edition also includes one permanent champion fighter and move in UFC Ultimate Team for players to choose from, including Demetrious Johnson, former UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor, former UFC womens strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, former two-time UFC welterweight and former UFC middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre or former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, as well as additional UFC Ultimate Team content.
EA SPORTS UFC 3 Icon Edition is available now through July 17
