Mike Tyson will be a fighter in the new UFC video game
Former boxer Mike Tyson acknowledges the crowd before a WBC heavyweight title boxing match between Deontay Wilder and Artur Szpilka in New York on Jan. 16.
If Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey on the cover wasn’t enough to draw gamers to EA Sports’ new “UFC 2” video game, the addition of a new mixed martial arts “fighter” should clinch the deal.
Legendary boxing knockout artist Mike Tyson makes his octagon debut in the game.
The company responsible for the “Madden NFL Football,” “FIFA,” “NBA Live” and “Rory Mcllroy PGA Tour” games made the surprise announcement Wednesday that Tyson will be a fighter gamers can employ when “UFC 2” becomes available on March 15.
That’s 10 days after McGregor is scheduled to attempt to become the first UFC fighter to simultaneously hold two belts. The featherweight champion, who ended longtime champion Jose Aldo’s 10-year unbeaten streak with a 13-second knockout last month, will fight lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos on March 5 at MGM Grand.
On the same card, new bantamweight champion Holly Holm will make her first title defense after beating Rousey in November when she fights repeat title challenger Miesha Tate.
Rousey, who will host NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” this weekend, is expected to fight the Holm-Tate winner.
Fans who preorder “UFC 2” will receive instant Day 1 access to the Tyson character, and all players will be able to use him by advancing in the game and making it to the Hall of Fame in the “career mode” version of the game.
EA Sports equipped Tyson with the strongest punching power of any fighter in the game, and gamers will be able to compete with him in the light-heavyweight and heavyweight divisions.
“As a huge fan, I’m honored to be part of EA Sports and explore the world of mixed martial arts,” Tyson said in a company statement. “I follow UFC very closely and it’s going to be very cool to see how I would stack up against these amazing MMA athletes.”
A portrait of Tyson has long been a fixture in the office of UFC President Dana White, and the immensely popular fighter is a common sight at most of the UFC’s biggest cards.
Tyson’s inclusion in the game should help to continue to fuel -- in the virtual world -- the mythical debate between MMA and boxing fans about which athletes are the superior fighters.
McGregor was awarded the cover by virtue of his victory over Aldo.
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