UFC Undisputed 2009 surprised many last year, including me. Its unexpectedly deep fighting system did an admirable job of recreating the multi-faceted fighting of a modern mixed martial artist, seamlessly blending stand-up striking with grappling and submissions. Thanks to a well-rounded roster of current fighters and plenty of attention to detail and authenticity, THQ managed to bring the UFC back from years of mediocrity to renewed videogame relevance.

UFC Undisputed 2010 is this year's follow-up, the result of a continued partnership between THQ and Dana White, UFC's outspoken president. White has famously commented on his distaste for EA Sports (the company snubbed him and the UFC a few years back, to THQ's benefit) and was eager to discuss the forthcoming UFC sequel and what it means for the sport. Here's a sample of what White had to say during our first look at UFC 2010.


Visuals: What He Said

Dana White on the UFC 2010 character models:
Anderson's looks like him. B.J. Penn's looks really good. Mine's horrible. If I'm that ugly, I don't know what I'm going to do with myself.
Visuals: What We Saw

Dana's character may be uglier than sin, but UFC 2010 is getting quite the visual upgrade. On top of better-looking sweat (really) and more accurately modeled fighters (with some new bouncy physics in play for popular ring girl Arianny), the biggest changes are coming to the fighters' repertoire of moves. UFC 2010 has far more bone-snapping and face-crushing moves at your disposal, and, thankfully, allows you to finally use the cage. You can now push opponents against the fence, and use it to do takedowns. Got someone on their back in the middle of the Octagon? Now you can butt-scoot them over to the chain link fence, step one in any good recipe for a ground-and-pound beatdown. Beat your opponent's face into a bloody pulp and you can show White what ugly really looks like.


Brock Lesnar: What He Said

Dana White on whether Brock Lesnar is a good ambassador for mixed martial arts:
He has his moments... but yeah, I do. At the end of the day, this is the fight business. He's a little brash sometimes, and he says some crazy things, but Brock's a good guy. I would never put so much behind a guy if I thought he was a bad guy or a jerk.

Here's a perfect example. Last year for Christmas, I bought him an iPod. This year, I bought him one of those flip cameras. So he calls me and says, "Why do you keep buying me this shit for Christmas? I got the iPod and thought I could get radio stations with it. I've never used the thing!"

I said, "Brock, it's easy. You push the red button, a little thing pops out in the side and you plug it right into your computer."

He goes, "I don't have a computer!"

So I started laughing and I hung up the phone, and then I called up the Bass Pro Shop.

"Get me some ice fishing poles, some wading boots," I said and I overnighted them to him. He calls me the next day, "Now you're talking! Thanks!"

My point is: This is the way it should be. This guy's no bullshitter. How many times do you get a Christmas present and think, "What the f*ck am I going to do with this thing?" It'd be nice to be able to call and say, "Hey, don't give me shit like this. This is what I want."

I like that about Brock Lesnar. I like that there's no bullshit.
Brock Lesnar: What We Saw

Cover athlete and mean-spirited grump Brock Lesnar has been inactive in the UFC heavyweight division as of late due to illness, but he exemplifies one of the main competitive advantages that the UFC brand offers over EA Sports MMA: the talent pool. EA Sports MMA may have Fedor Emelianenko, arguably the top heavyweight in the world, and it also has the recently announced Randy "The Natural" Couture and Dan Henderson, to name a few, but, if you're looking for a who's who of today's top fighters, you have to give the nod to UFC 2010 and its huge roster of over 100.