EA Sports have picked three names as the cover athletes for UFC 5 but fans aren’t too excited about it

EA Sports have confirmed the cover stars and athletes for the upcoming UFC 5 game, and it hasn’t really worked for the fans it seems. 

The cover athletes for the standard edition feature former UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion, Valentina Shevchenko, who many consider as one of the best female MMA stars ever.

The other athlete is current UFC Featherweight Champion, Alexander Volkanovski. The Australian is considered by many as the best current fighter in the world, and he is ranked #2 in the men’s pound-for-pound rankings.

The deluxe edition features current UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya as the only cover athlete. 

EA Sports have decided to go with the character models from the game with Adesanya standing in his signature pose. 

Adesanya, Shevchenko and Volkanovski are the new cover athletes for UFC 5 🎮

(via easportsufc) pic.twitter.com/ykfHkII7sE

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 5, 2023

Last time around, the covers featured Adesanya and Jorge Masvidal for UFC 4. However, fans have some problems with the current covers.

Fans unhappy with selection and look of UFC 5 cover athletes 

When Adesanya and Masvidal were picked as cover athletes for the previous game, EA decided to use actual pictures of the two MMA stars.

The decision to use character models from the game has met with derision from some quarters with a few even claiming that the game’s graphics look outdated already.

https://twitter.com/Cage/status/1699083310474117323?s=20

Smh I’ll just replace the cover with my own custom cover then I guess

— Eric (@Ebab117) September 5, 2023

https://twitter.com/PurpleSuede22/status/1699089089964691609?s=20

If this is a copy paste of UFC 4 mechanics I swear I will start a riot.

— Biscuit_Mongr.BTC (@Biscuit_Monger) September 5, 2023

These aint it

— r m (@Rigom99) September 5, 2023

They look like Disney Pixar characters

— Jose Mireles-Sparks (@tuvzwee) September 5, 2023

Why’s Izzy in HD whilst Volk and Valentina look like they’re from UFC 1

— The Fight Clock (@TheFightClock) September 5, 2023

However, there are others who aren’t happy with the selection of athletes. Shevchenko might be one of the greatest female MMA stars of all-time, but she isn’t a champion anymore.

She lost her title to Alexa Grasso, and some suggested she should not have been selected as one of the cover stars for UFC 5.

Valentina Shevchenko can’t sell tickets as champion, but can make the cover after losing? pic.twitter.com/KrEJLP5HD3

— Darren Parker 👁️⃤ . (@OGDarrenParker) September 5, 2023

Where’s @AlexaGrasso?

— Daniel (@daniel_dinoia) September 5, 2023

https://twitter.com/denis0427h/status/1699098576628985988?s=20

Shevechenko? For what?

— Cgbsmoke (@Cgbsmoke1) September 5, 2023

Grasso will have to defend her title against Shevchenko at UFC Fight Night 227 on 16 September. 

EA Sports are also bringing in the new Frostbite engine for this game, and it is to be seen how this looks.

They have also confirmed several game changes which should make the title better. EA Sports UFC 5 has a release date of 27 October 2023, and there are many bonuses for pre-ordering the game too.  

Learn all about EA Sports UFC 5 and its leaks here

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