Fighter Balance Feedback (113 Hours)

Hi Devs,

This is part 2 of my forum post, sharing a couple balance thoughts. First, I just want to say I'm excited about where UFC 6 is heading. It's great seeing the team communicate with the community and continue making balance changes.

Some background on me (you can skip this paragraph):

I've played every UFC game from UFC 1 through UFC 6. I've reached Div 20 in UFC 4, UFC 5, and UFC 6. I mainly play Quick Fight, but I'm comfortable with both striking and grappling. I wouldn't consider myself a sweat, just a veteran who enjoys a good fight.

I've put 113 hours into UFC 6, completed 524 fights, won 460, and Jon Jones has been my most played fighter. I mention this simply to provide context for where this feedback is coming from.

I don't want to bore everyone with balance feedback for every fighter, so I'm just going to focus on the fighters I've spent the most time with and feel the most confident giving feedback on.

Alex Pereira

I understand Alex is the cover athlete and one of the hardest hitters in MMA history. He should absolutely be one of the best fighters in the game.

That said, I think his hooks are overtuned, especially in Ranked. I know Tiger is getting toned down in the upcoming update, but I don't think that's the core issue.

I tested this myself in online matches. I could literally pressure forward throwing hooks, especially body hooks, and consistently overwhelm good players. The combination of damage, stopping power, and pressure leaves almost no room for error, even before Flow State comes into play.

I also tested this against Jon Jones:

No Flow States active

Fresh 99 Chin Jon Jones

4 Jon Jones elbows = Knockdown

2 Alex Pereira hooks = Knockdown

That gap feels too large.

If it took 4 hooks to knock down a fresh Jon Jones with 99 Chin, and maybe 3 against most of the roster, I honestly wouldn't have an issue with it. 

Now, I know the obvious response is, "Well, you're not supposed to trade with Alex."

I agree... to a point.

Alex should absolutely make you think twice before exchanging with him. That's part of what makes him unique.

But right now it feels like the risk-reward has gone too far in his favor. It's not just that he hits hard. It's the combination of damage, stopping power, and how consistently his hooks win exchanges. That leaves almost no room for error, especially in Ranked.

Honestly, he feels closer to what Francis Ngannou should have been in UFC 4, except even Francis never felt this oppressive. You respected Francis' power, but you could still have striking exchanges with him. Against Alex, it often feels like you're forced to play perfectly because one or two mistakes completely change the fight.

That's why I think the issue isn't simply that Alex hits hard. It's that his hooks dominate almost every trade while carrying some of the highest damage in the game.

I don't think his kicks need to be touched. Those feel fair. I think this is mainly a hook issue, whether that's his hook ratings, the hook tuning itself, or a combination of both.

This feels much more like a Ranked issue than a Quick Fight issue.

Jon Jones

Jon Jones is my most played fighter, and I actually like what UFC 6 did with him overall.

He feels much more technical than in previous games, and I appreciate that a lot of the old cheesy gameplay is gone.

That said, I don't think he fully feels like Jon Jones yet.

Standing knees don't really have a purpose right now. The damage is okay, it's equal to one body hook, but they don't have enough stopping power to make opponents respect them or even a viable option besides being the wrong input.

Instead of buffing Jon Jones directly, I think the better solution would be to increase the stopping power (not damage) provided by the Bonesaw perk.

That way, fighters who specialize in elbows and knees feel more unique without affecting the rest of the roster.

Jon Jones is widely considered the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. Whether people agree or not isn't really my point.

My point is that his signature weapons should feel like signature weapons.

Right now, his elbows and knees (knees mostly) don't command the respect they should.

One last thing is his movement. I can't quite explain it, but sometimes it feels a little plodding compared to other fighters. I'm not sure if that's intentional or if it's just something I've noticed after playing him so much.

Overall, I think UFC 6 is in a great spot. These are just a few balance thoughts after spending over 100 hours with the game.

Thank you everyone for your hard work.