EA Sports UFC 6 Review – Kicking Into Action

For years, EA Sports has chipped away at the rough edges of its MMA franchise, adding new mechanics and refining the action inside the Octagon. EA Sports UFC 6 arrives with the promise of delivering the most authentic mixed martial arts experience yet, boasting revamped striking, smoother grappling, and a presentation designed to make every fight feel like a pay-per-view main event. After spending countless hours trading blows, hunting for submissions, and climbing the ranks across its various modes, the latest entry proves to be an ambitious step forward, though not every change lands with championship precision.

Game Name: EA Sports UFC 6
Platform(s): Xbox Series X/S, Playstation 5
Reviewed On: Xbox Series X
Developer(s): EA Vancouver
Publisher(s): EA Sports
Release Date: 19th June 2026 (12th June with early accsess)

Gameplay

While gameplay is similar to previous UFC games, they have added 2 main editions, Flow State & Simplified Controls.

The world’s best fighters don’t just rely on physical attributes. They develop rhythms, habits, and moments where they perform at their absolute best. Flow State introduces 30 unique fighter identities built around authentic strengths, tendencies, and Fight IQ. From relentless pressure fighters to dangerous counter-strikers, each Flow State rewards players for fighting the way they are known to compete in real life.

Simplified Controls is a way for new players to get into UFC 6 without worrying about combos and complicated button pressing. Instead of a button for each hand and foot, it makes all punches and kicks 1 button, while also making it easier to learn more complex stuff like takedowns and grappling.

But aside from those 2 things, the core mechanics are the same. Striking feels good, but still has hiccups here and there, but when 2 bodys are flying around in a high-paced fight, that is expected.

Another really good thing they added this year is that all the main fighters feel like themselves; cover fighter Max Holloway feels like you’d expect. Further powered by next-gen Sapien Technology and Markerless Capture for anatomically accurate skeletons and bodies that look, move, and are distinctly recognizable. Every combatant is unique and faithfully represented across dozens of martial arts, including Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling, boxing, and Muay Thai.

Game Modes

Fight Week here is where you predict the winners in the upcoming UFC PPV. Guessing right awards you with in-game currency that you can spend in the store. There is also ‘contracts’: you are given a selection of fights and are challenged to complete them, and are rewarded with currency.

Fight Now is the bread and butter of any sports game; this is the mode you only really play under 2 circumstances: either you’ve just loaded the game up and want to brutalize the CPU, or your friend is over and you want to beat the brakes off each other. Modes include 3 or 5-round fights, and returning are Backyard & Kumite. Within these modes, you have combat presets, including Knockout, Stand & Bang, Competitive, and Simulation.

While most people won’t spend long on these modes, they’re a good place to just have fun without thinking. But it can also be used to earn XP for the fighters in your gym; we will discuss this soon.

The Legacy & Career Mode

The Legacy is a narrative prologue to Career Mode, bringing action-packed, heart-rending drama as you shape the future of Chris Carter, a collegiate wrestling prospect, inside and outside the octagon across three distinct phases of his career.

Danny Lopez, a one-time gym partner turned UFC rival. The story starts with a press conference between Chris & Danny, and then snaps back to your first MMA fight. Fighting your way through the promotion WFA. Danny becomes upset when Chris gets a title shot before him, setting up the rivalry.

Both The Legacy & Career follow the same cycle from many previous UFC games. You ‘Select’ the fight – you get 1 decline, but you aren’t really choosing. Then you decide how many weeks you’d like for camp. In camp, you have 7 ‘action points’, which can be used to promote the fight – this brings hype. Social media is where you occasionally respond to fans, coach or news. These can provide hype fans or money. Then the main meat and bones of camp: sparring, fitness, learning new moves, and studying your opponent.

This is where I come into my element in fighting games; I love starting from the bottom and working my way to a championship. Carlos Alvarez, Light Heavyweight. KickBoxer. I have had the most fun playing this mode, being able to craft your fighter as you want, with the moves you want, style and everything. While yes, the mode does become a loop of fight, spar, fight, spar. There is something that becomes sort of therapeutic in the loop.

Hall of Legends & The Gym

Experience the stories behind three of UFC’s most iconic athletes through a unique blend of real fight footage, curated storytelling, gameplay challenges, and immersive environments. Step beyond the Octagon to explore the moments, cultures, and legacies that transformed Max Holloway, Alex Pereira, and Zhang Weili into legends of the sport.

3 Fighters all with very different stories. I have to admit, this is the best thing they added this year. While there are only 9 fights, the sets you get to walk around in, learning each fighter’s story, are spectacular. It’s something I really hope you’d try, as I loved it.

This is where your journey goes beyond the octagon. The Gym is your personal fight factory, where collecting, coaching, competing, and customization all come together. Recruit and train UFC stars in a centralized hub. Play with them in any mode, earn new trainers, boosts, and exclusive cosmetic rewards that you can equip to your profile or in Fighter Select as you develop your team.

As you gain XP with each fighter, you progress across 10 levels, and in those, you will earn lots of things ranging from profile pictures, coins & some fighting cosmetics.

There is also a variety of online modes to play. Unfortunately, I was not able to experience this mode during the review period, but I hope to do so at release.

Settings

The settings are as standard as you’d think, difficulties, HUDs, and a bunch of others. But something that has been added, which I think is a great addition for new players and people who aren’t used to the fast-paced game, is ‘Time Dilation Assists.’ These settings make the game slow down at pivotal points in the fight, which is used more to learn the timing of blocks and takedown defences.

Audio is one highlight in my opinion, Official Songs in the game are 10/10, everything you’d want in a fighting game, “Boom”, “X Gon’ Give It To Ya”, “Crazy Train” and many more hyped walkout songs. Plus a plethora of music from older UFC games.

Final Thoughts

While new modes like Hall of Legends and The Legacy add something new, this year is a great entry into the ever-growing yearly fighting games. EA Sports UFC 6 does fall a little short of an upgrade.  Gameplay has some new additions, but ultimately feels similar to the older games, which will make it tough to capture enough new players. Unfortunately, many sports titles reach a point where major improvements are hard. This is exactly the point where EA Sports UFC 6 finds itself. Yes, EA Sports UFC 6 does its best and is an improvement over EA Sports UFC 5, but it just falls short of what I want from a new entry.

If you enjoyed this review, explore more of our in-depth video game reviews across PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.

Review Disclosure Statement: UFC 6 was provided to us by EA Sports for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy.