Virtual fight fans are officially losing their minds. With EA Sports UFC 6 hitting early access on June 12, a few days ahead of its global launch on June 19, players diving into the game have noticed a massive, unexpected catch.

Despite rolling out a ton of highly anticipated gameplay updates and brand-new game modes, EA Vancouver has discreetly carried out a massive roster purge, removing over 60 playable fighters (65 to be precise) from the game and leaving UFC 6 with a lower day-one roster than its predecessor, UFC 5.

The roster reduction is a crushing blow for those who enjoy jumping between different eras or using fighters outside of the current promotional bubble. The extensive list of deleted talent reads like a mix of renowned combat icons, retired fan favorites, and fighters who have actively moved to other promotional entities.

The pop culture and celebrity guest categories saw the most significant cuts. Legendary heavyweights Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson, as well as martial arts icon Bruce Lee and even UFC CEO Dana White, have all been dropped from the game.

Hall of Fame icons and past champions including BJ Penn, Alistair Overeem, Cain Velasquez, Kevin Randleman, Junior dos Santos, Bas Rutten, Luke Rockhold, and Demian Maia have also been removed from the base selection.

This roster controversy is a classic example of a conflict between a video game franchise and the fluid, real-world landscape of combat sports. Even though EA Sports promotes UFC 6 as the ultimate, definitive mixed martial arts simulator, the sport’s legal and promotional realities have forced a significant limitation.

Fighters who have jumped ship to build massive profiles in rival organizations have been removed to protect the corporate brand. Bare-knuckle boxing phenomenon Mike Perry, who has become an absolute superstar for BKFC, is gone.

So are promotional legends like Eddie Alvarez and Anthony Pettis, who have moved on to spaces like ONE Championship, PFL, and professional boxing. Even Darren Till, who recently made his bare-knuckle debut against Aaron Chalmers, found his digital avatar cut from the game roster.

The purge also perfectly reflects the UFC’s actual roster purges. Muhammad Mokaev, an undefeated flyweight contender whose abrupt and highly controversial dismissal from the promotion in late 2024 stunned the MMA community, stands as the most high-profile active cut from the virtual game.

Dozens of other recently released or retired names, like Zabit Magomedsharipov and Paul Felder, as well as veterans Sam Alvey and Joe Lauzon, have been cleared out as well. But has EA UFC 6 really gone all downhill?

EA Sports gambles on depth and live service to balance out the missing stars

The massive roster cuts represent a major gamble for EA Sports, which is trying to shift the community’s attention away from sheer character counts and toward deep, engaging single-player experiences. It seems that to compensate for the missing names, the developers are relying heavily on their completely redesigned gameplay modes to keep the fight fans hooked.

According to the associate producer Marco Fiore, the goal with UFC 6 has been to create a deeper, more intimate connection with the fighters that actually remain.

“With UFC 6, we are strengthening players’ connection to fighters and sport by delivering transformative improvements to UFC Career Mode; The Legacy, our brand new narrative prologue; and Hall Of Legends, a brand new game mode to give players the reason why they should care about fighters,” he said.

The game is introducing an enhanced, narrative-driven prologue called “The Legacy,” which takes players on a cinematic, story-heavy journey from college wrestling to the regional MMA circuit, along with new fight venues such as a nightclub layout.

In addition, the game will feature “Hall Of Legends,” an interactive mode dedicated to cover stars Alex Pereira and Max Holloway, as well as Zhang Weili. The mode allows players to walk through historical hubs, watch real-life footage seamlessly transition into gameplay, and unlock iconic, era-specific fighter skins by completing historical objectives.

For many devoted gamers, however, these extensive single-player elements serve as a diversion from the fact that UFC 6 has fewer baseline fighters to choose from in standard multiplayer. EA Sports has defended the move by pointing out that this isn’t the first time a massive generation gap has forced a roster reset, citing UFC 4, which dropped 58 legends like Mark Hunt, Mirko Cro Cop, Chad Mendes, Matt Serra, and many more.

The developers promise that their new, aggressive live-service strategy would deliver fresh roster updates and legacy legends every month, in sync with real-world fight weeks. However, until those monthly drops begin to refill the character select screen, fans are left with a game that feels extremely advanced in the cage but surprisingly empty on the select screen.