UFC President 'At War' with EA Sports over MMA Game

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Following EA Sports' announcement of a new mixed martial arts videogame, a move that comes on the heels of THQ's successful release of UFC 2009 Undisputed, UFC president Dana White now says that any UFC fighter to sign a licensing deal with EA will be kicked from the fighting league.

"EA doesn't give a [expletive] about mixed martial arts," said White in a series of expletive-laden comments made to MMAJunkie.com. "They made that very clear." White explained that the UFC attempted to court EA for a UFC-licensed game in the past, but that EA refused to meet with the organization.

"They wouldn't even take a meeting because mixed martial arts disgusted them," he said. "This wasn't a real sport. Boy, they got over that real quick, didn't they?"

Since its launch this May, publisher THQ's UFC 2009 Undisputed has now sold over 2 million units according to White. The game was the top-selling title in North America for May, selling over one million copies between its over two platforms.

THQ rival EA announced "EA Sports MMA" on the first day of June, promising a "vast array of top fighters.. from around the world."

In response, White bluntly stated that any UFC fighters that allow EA Sports to license them for its upcoming game "won't be in the UFC."

"We put our asses on the line, THQ and the UFC, to make a video-game deal in the worst economy in the world," he added. "We go out there and do this thing, and it's successful, and now [expletive] EA Sports wants to do a video game. Really? That's not what you told us a year-and-a-half ago."

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