Image via Complex Original
EA Sports acquired the license for the Ultimate Fighting Championship brand after THQ shuttered its doors, and with the release of EA Sports UFC, fight fans will finally be getting back into the Octagon after a two-year wait. This will be the first MMA game to be released on the Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One.
The developers dropped a bombshell when they revealed that Bruce Lee would be a playable character in the game. Lee is often credited as being a major influence on MMA, and he undoubtedly played a major role in popularizing and spreading martial arts across the globe.
Joining Lee are a number of retired UFC legends such as Royce Gracie, Chuck Liddell and BJ Penn. However, a number of notable names were left off the list. So, who else should make the cut?
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Yip Kai-man
You can't put Bruce Lee in without including the very man that taught him how to fight. Lee may very well have never risen to fame without the tutelage and guidance of Yip Kai-man, so MMA owes this man a debt of gratitude.
While Kai-man has gone relatively unnoticed in popular culture until a semi-autobiographical film loosely based on his life was released in 2008, it's hard to ignore his exploits now. As a Wing Chun Grandmaster, he was one of the most famous fighters and teachers of his time. His legend only continues to grow, and he's finally getting the recognition he deserves.
Mirko Filipovic
Mirko Filipovic is about as intimidating an opponent as you can get. Known as Cro Cop, which is short for 'Croatian cop' due to his time as a part of the Croatian police's elite special forces unit, Filipovic is one of the most devastating strikers the fight world has ever seen. Filipovic's signature move was a leg kick straight to the head, and any opponent unfortunate enough to get caught by one of those crushing hits can quickly say good night.
Carlos Gracie
As the founder of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Carlos Gracie holds a special place in MMA history. He started the Gracie family dynasty, and the sport would not be what it is today without him. Taught by the famous Japanese judo champion Mitsuyo Maeda, Gracie took his knowledge to create and develop Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which has become one of the most popular and practiced martial arts in the world.
Frank Shamrock
While Frank Shamrock's older foster-brother Ken Shamrock has the bigger name in the sport, Frank is widely considered to be the better of the two. He is the first fighter to become UFC Middleweight Champion, a title which he defended on four occasions. And during his time at the top of the Middleweight division, he was considered the best pound-for-pound UFC fighter in the world.
Kazushi Sakuraba
Kazushi Sakuraba will go down in MMA history as the scourge of the Gracie family, earning the nickname "The Gracie Hunter" for taking down several members of the Gracie family—Royler, Royce, Renzo and Ryan—during his fight career. A wrestler and muay thai practitioner, Sakuraba practically specialized in defeating those that used Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He was never afraid to challenge opponents that outweighed him by a considerable margin, and his conditioning was legendary. In his prime, Sakuraba was a force to be reckoned with, and he would be a welcome addition to the stable of fighters.
Bas Rutten
Bas Rutten is probably best known for his TV work and hilarious self-defense videos these days, but he was once one of the most feared fighters in MMA. He had a street fighter's mentality, and you certainly wouldn't want to go toe-to-toe and brawl with him. Give him the ability to go for his signature liver shots in the game and your opponent would be on the ground in no time. Rutten is well-versed in a number of disciplines, including muay thai, kyokushin karate and taekwondo.
He's a former UFC Heavyweight champion, three-time Pancrase world champion, and he even retired with a 22-fight unbeaten streak, winning 21 of those matches and fighting one match to a draw.
Randy Couture
Randy Couture is one of the greatest ambassadors for the sport, and his longevity as a fighter is a testament to his abilities as an athlete. He was the first fighter to win title belts in two weight classes, and he holds the distinction of being the oldest title winner ever. Couture specialized in taking down his opponents and pounding them into submission. Its game over if he ever mounts you, as there's no escaping his merciless ground-and-pound game.
Matt Hughes
The exclusion of Matt Hughes from the roster is perhaps the biggest disappointment as far as former UFC fighters are concerned. Hughes is one of the most dominant UFC champions ever, winning nine total championship bouts while holding seven total title defenses. He's tied for the most victories in UFC history with 18 wins, and he has notable wins over some of the greatest fighters—such as Royce Gracie, BJ Penn and George St. Pierre—in UFC history.
Fedor Emelianenko
Fedor Emelianenko is widely considered to be the greatest heavyweight MMA fighter ever, and it's hard to argue with that considering his impressive body of work. With numerous championship titles, fighter of the year and decade awards, gold medals and more, Emelianenko has secured a lasting legacy.
Fight fans have long clamored for Emelianenko to join the UFC and get in the Octagon, but sadly, negotiations with the UFC never took off and he ended up retiring before a deal could ever be struck. However, EA can rectify that by putting the sambo and judo master's virtual likeness into the game.
Chuck Norris
The man, the myth, the legend. These days most people know Chuck Norris for the series of "Chuck Norris Facts", his roundhouse kicks, Total Gym infomercials, action movies and his time on Walker, Texas Ranger. However, little did they know that he was once a highly-respected martial artist. The fact that Bruce Lee befriended and recruited Norris for his films speaks volumes about his skills, and he has had a large impact in helping to spread martial arts to the western world.
Norris is the first westerner to be awarded the rank of eighth degree Black Belt Grand Master in Taekwondo, and he held the Professional Middleweight Karate championship title for six years running in the International Karate Championships. Norris even created the martial art form Chun Kuk Do, in which he holds the rank of 10th degree black belt.
He has also earned a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo—so he's no pushover when it comes to the ground game—and a ninth degree black belt in Tang Soo Do. Remember that when the bogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.