Pictured: A Screenshot from WMMA 2. So, You Wanna Be A Fighter Promoter?

The popularity of mixed martial arts is exploding, with TV shows, books and films springing up all around the sport, along with the newest of mediums, video games.

Most notably, a great deal of media attention was placed on ZUFFA’s release of UFC Undisputed last year. The game had flaws, and many hardcore MMA fans complained that it failed to capture the styles of the fighters. But it seperated itself by capturing the ebb and flow of the fight on the ground, and the deadly “puncher’s chance” that is so widely renowned in our sport. Overall, it give us a reasonably accurate representation of the sport, and easily the best representation of said sport on console today.

Or is it?

World of Mixed Martial Arts II offers a very different option for gamers; and it’s one that I highly recommend.

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If you were a sucker, like me, you would have just called in to Fedor’s conference call this afternoon in an attempt to hear what the big news was going to be from Fedor and his camp. Instead, we were treated to the delight of Jerry Millen, Vadim the Fink and a woman translating for Fedor ducking any and all questions of substance. MMAHQ has a pretty intensive list of what went down, which is more than I could tolerate.

The only real news that came out of this call could have easily been gathered if you are an avid Twitter follower and have the EA SPORTS MMA account on your follow list. This post summed everything you’d need to know up;

First three fighters announced for EA SPORTS MMA are Fedor Emelianenko, Gegard Mousasi and Babalu Sobral

Boom. Right there is all you need to know. There is talk of Fedor being on the cover, but until you see a mock-up, like everything else having to do with Mr. Emelianenko, don’t buy it. Other things to note is that Vadim and Co. are still not saying anything all that positive about a possible offer with the UFC. Vadim went on to say that the offer extended to them yesterday might of sold them two years ago, which of course is evasive. It does not answer the question of if Vadim will allow Fedor to fight in the UFC.

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Let’s face it, the older you get, the less fun or cool stuff you can do. It is just a matter of fact and a fact of life. After a certain age certain things just aren’t fun anymore, or you just don’t have time for them. I feel like for people in the super targeted uber age demographic(C) (18 - 34) we have a wealth of new time-wasters that are completely engrossing and acceptable forms of entertainment for fledgling adults. One of these is the videogame. What started out as something most of us dicked around with as kids, it has turned into something we can do after a long day of work or with our buddies over a few beers. It is no longer for the shut-in nerd playing 100+ hours of some Final Fantasy game to make sure they have the most points and saw every elaborate cut scene.

What I’m getting at is, if you currently own an Xbox 360 or a PS3 and have it connected to the internet, do yourself a favor and grab the UFC 2009 Undisputed demo. It is around 700mb and is well worth the download. Right now your only options are the tutorial to learn the moves and to play an exhibition match between Chuck Liddell and Shogun Rua. While it sounds limited, both fighters together have the combined skills to show off exactly what this game can do and why it is so fun. Shogun can show you what kind of stuff to expect from the ground game as well as the clinch game, Chuck can show you some of the finer points of stand up as well as takedowns and ground defense. It is incredibly engrossing and beyond fun, at this point I can see myself easily purchasing the full game come May 19th and holding a tournament with a few friends as soon as possible.

A late Holiday gift for you all! You didn’t think we had forgotten you? Inside this FREE pdf we’ll talk with Chris Horodecki prior to his fight this weekend for the IFL, look at the Fight of the Year for 2007, play the latest MMA video game, and do a little post Christmas shopping. Plus the world famous TOM Gentleman rankings go 70 deep this week!

Issue 8 (Right Click to Download)