The boundaries between video games and real-world sports are narrowing with time. Almost every real-world sport has a video game adaptation like FIFA, F1, Madden, NBA, and also UFC. So it leads to athletes appearing on the video game covers of their respective sports. Undoubtedly, it’s like an honorable moment for them.

But appearing on a game cover can be disappointing in some sports. Those who follow the NFL might be aware of the Madden curse where a player had a poor season after featuring on the Madden video game cover. Similarly, UFC has a curse. Whenever a fighter is featured on the Electronic Arts game’s cover, their season or career got ruined.

The EA game curse that affected the UFC fighters’ careers

The first UFC game by Electronic Arts came out in June 2014. This game featured Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson on the cover. Soon Jones became part of many controversies, leading to UFC stripping off his Champion title and also suspending him. Meanwhile, Gustafsson lost his next match after the game’s release and also faced many injuries that year.

In March 2016, EA released the sequel UFC 2, which features elite fighters Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor. Both the elite UFC fighters lost their next respective fights after appearing on the cover. Moreover, both fighters were the favorites in those bouts, but still lost. Ronda even took retirement from MMA after her poor performance in 2016.

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The third installment of the game was released in 2018. It featured McGregor as a two-time champion. After the game’s release, Conor faced Khabib Nurmagomedov. It was the most hyped match that year but ended in Conor’s defeat. The following year, Conor announced his retirement.

The fourth game continued the curse, but there is an exception

The fourth and latest installment in Electronic Arts’ UFC series came out in 2020. This time it featured Jorge Masvidal and Israel Adesanya. But like past cover stars, Masvidal also lost his next fight. Fans were furious at EA for featuring their favorite stars on the cover, which were leading to their doom.

However, the fourth title also saw an exception. Adesanya finally broke this infamous EA video game cover curse as he defeated Paulo Costa in a dominant fashion.

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It would be interesting to see if the next UFC video game would continue the curse or if Adesanya’s win actually broke it for good. What are your thoughts on this? Share them in the comments below.