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#spo0rts Two retailers' listings now peg FIFA 11 for an earlier North American release date - Sept. 28 - which would seem to resolve a packed October schedule for EA Sports that must now accommodate EA Sports MMA. More »

The first mixed martial arts game, simply Ultimate Fighting Championship, was released way back in 2000, but it took nine years (including a five-year hiatus) for the sport to emerge as a successful video game sub-genre. THQ's UFC Undisputed series has enjoyed two years of positive critical and commercial reception. Now, EA is reaching for its own slice of the pie, introducing its UFC competitor, EA Sports MMA.

In the back of EA's E3 booth, I spent some time with MMA -- I even fought a few random show floor attendees, mostly in the game -- and discovered that while EA Sports' offering is still a ways away from being a lifelike recreation of the sport, from a gameplay standpoint, it's a pretty decent game.

#impressions Conventional wisdom holds that EA Sports saw UFC Undisputed's success, said wait a minute, we're the Fight Night guys, and started hustling out a competitor. That's crap, says Peter Moore, and EA Sports MMA's floor demo backs him up. More »

Peter Moore took pause during the EA E3 keynote to detail a launch date for its UFC competitor, EA Sports MMA: October 19. On top of a release date, Moore revealed that competitors Randy Couture and Fedor Emelianeko will battle for box art real estate -- both will be featured on the game's cover.

#screens Andre Arlovski, Lyle Beerbohm, Roger Gracie, Alistair Overeem, Kevin Randleman, Vitor Ribeiro, Murilo "Ninja" Rua and Fabricio Werdum. Heard of those guys? Me either. But they're in the roster for EA Sports MMA - and a new batch of screens. More »

#glitch Look, I know that the "sweaty dickpunching" joke is so old, but this kind of glitch definitely does not project an image of mixed martial arts as a scientific, action-packed and, moreover, manful sport More »

#clips New iPhone? Pfft. How about three pairs of sweaty men humping kicking the crap out of each other? Wait! Wait! Calm down! Form an orderly line or you'll crash the Internet! More »

#screens In this batch of screens for EA Sports MMA we can see blood, sweat and spit (I think). Tears qualify as sweat in my book. Do they blow snot bubbles? Does anyone know if the fighters blow snot bubbles? More »

In its continuing battle for buff dude beat-'em-up supremacy against UFC Undisputed 2010, EA Sports' MMA has confirmed three new brawlers via Twitter: Joachim Hansen, Josh Barnett and Vladimir Matyushenko. In doing some research, we've found out they're all very scary dudes and are apparently adept at the punching and the kicking. They should feel at home with the rest of MMA's roster of ripped rabble-rousers.

[Via VG247]

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Though we don't have any new gameplay details on upcoming grappler EA Sports MMA for you today, we do have a whole mess of new screenshots. The images feature everything from the usual "two sweaty dudes staring each other down" to the brand new "dude walking down a runway with fire shooting in the air" -- there are even several images of MMA rings with the audience seated at dinner tables, presumably in the VIP section, watching the fight. Nothing says "Roman Colosseum" quite like eating dinner while watching two meaty gents beat each other into the mat!

These stills beg the obvious question: Could the MMA game engine, with its crowd-eating technology, be used to create a fully-realized "Medieval Times" game? We think so.

EA has just announced that a new round of pummelers and pummelees have signed on for EA Sports MMA. The game's site lists seven new fighters in total: Cung Le, Gilbert Melendez, Robbie Lawler, Ronaldo Souza, Matt Lindland, Scott Smith, and Josh Thomson -- a few of whom have participated in UFC fights in the past. Considering the UFC president's stance toward EA's game, we have to wonder if their participation jeopardizes their chances with the UFC in the future. We've also got a few in-game screenshots for you to train with. Practice your virtual arm bars by checking 'em out in the gallery below. [Via @EASPORTSMMA]

Next year's heavy hitter makes its first appearance and doesn't fail to impress.

Fedor and Rogers clash.

Man, we have got to get into watching Mixed Martial Arts. Not only do the sport's leagues have like, the coolest names ever, but the televised bouts also occasionally contain sneak peeks into upcoming video games. For instance, on last night's Strikeforce (so, so cool) match, the first-ever gameplay footage from EA Sports MMA was revealed. You can find it posted just after the jump. How does it look? We have no idea. There's plenty of punching and kicking, sure, and one might say these two techniques are used intermittently -- or rather, that they are mixed. Therefore, our initial, amateur analysis of the video is that reeks of authenticity. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

A new contender is entering the ring.

Strikeforce.com EA has announced a deal to feature the Strikeforce MMA league in its upcoming EA Sports MMA. The publisher also finalized contracts with two pro mixed martial artists currently fighting in Strikeforce, Jake shields (pictured, left) and Brett Rogers, to appear on the game's roster. Don't expect the signings to throw any fuel on the UFC vs. EA fire, however, as neither fighter has ever been on the payroll of UFC prez Dana White.Frank Shamrock and Mauro Ranallo, Strikeforce's commentary team, will also be recording voiceover for the game. It has yet to be revealed which, if any other leagues will be featured in the game, and if their own commentary teams will be included. Currently, we know that MMA referee "Big John" McCarthy and Strikeforce ring announcer Jimmy Lennon, Jr. will also lend their voices and likenesses to the title.While locking up more pro talent and the Strikeforce license lends credibility to EA Sports MMA, we've still yet to see any hint of an actual video game apart from a lone screenshot released late last month. Hey, EA: You do know that, at this pace and given the nature of MMA, these guys could be retired by the time the game actually ships ... right?

With many more to come later down the line.