UFC 6 aims to enhance the authenticity of the MMA video game series. EA Vancouver has had a run of great entries in this sports sim franchise, and a slew of new game animations, fighting and grappling mechanics, and a focus on momentum in the octagon make it feel like another wonderful step forward. Like any sports game, however, there are some downsides to where the team focused their time for this entry, some of which are hard to look past as you spend more hours in the game.

Over 1,000 new animations related to in-match movement, collision, and body-to-body contact make UFC 6 look better than any entry that came before it. EA has boasted a brand-new skeletal construction for fighters in this game that helps every athlete feel and look distinct. It’s evident too, whether you’re fighting as a rising star or a longtime favorite. As always, the color grading and lighting in UFC 6 make the game feel so alive, and each fighter’s unique look adds to that realism.

In terms of game mode offerings, Hall of Legends is the newest feature worth noting. Max Holloway, Alex Pereira, and Zhang Weili are featured as you enjoy real-life footage and gameplay challenges to explore their careers. When it’s time to map your own destiny, Career Mode continues to serve as a great way to hone your skills in-game. Before taking advantage of new crossplay features across PS5 and Xbox Series X, working your way through the Career Mode ranks helps get a feel for new gameplay elements.

A few of the new fight features are really great. Flow State, fighter identities that help dictate how your fighter prefers to approach an opponent, is a fun way to play to your character’s tendencies. It encourages you to lean into how they gameplan in real life and, in Career Mode, lets you build a fighter and their moveset around a strategy, much like how 2K has mastered MyCareer in NBA 2K26. New blocking styles also allow for ground game and on-foot grappling to have more variety in how you keep your opponent at bay. It feels a lot more user-friendly than past years.

These new features, along with what has worked so well for the UFC games in the past, are hindered by something that seems to be worsening. EA’s Frostbite engine is now pushing 18 years old, and the ragdoll physics and ways in which fighters move and respond to strikes are starting to lag heavily. Knockout hits are immediately reduced in immersion and excitement by awkward falls to the ground. Tweaked movements in grappling face-offs end up cutting animations short in awkward ways. In short, the jank is more noticeable than in past years because the animation library and body-scanning tech have gotten so in-depth.

It’s not quite enough to make the game a headache to play, but it does feel like far too many fights end in unnatural ways. The presentation EA Vancouver strives for in these games is the best we’ve ever seen in a boxing or MMA game, so it’s a bummer that the physics engine is such a deterrent from full immersion. I hope we see some more focus in this area next time around, but for now, it’s a minor blip in an otherwise great entry in the franchise.

For UFC fans or fighting game fanatics, UFC 6 is a no-brainer pickup. With regular updates coming around every Numbered Event, and expansions, including a new mode and more, coming in Winter 2026 and Summer 2027, this game will keep us busy. It feels like a great roadmap to warrant the purchase now, especially with the Fighter Pass headlines by Randy Couture and Ken Shamrock. If there’s extra attention paid to some ragdoll physics failings, it’s tough to say there’s much UFC 6 didn’t knock out of the park this time around.

An Xbox Series X review copy of UFC 6 was provided by EA Sports for this review.

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UFC 6

69.99

8

Score

8.0/10

Pros

• New animations provide greater diversity in movements
• Flow State mechanic is the best addition to the series in a long time
• Great variety in fight styles that actually feel different to play

Cons

• Ragdoll physics in the EA Frostbite engine look rough more often than they should