Stamina and Head Movement Need More Punishment

Stamina, long combos and head movement need more punishment

I really think the current stamina and head movement mechanics need some serious adjustments.

1)Long combos are not punished enough. 8–9 strike combinations should come with a much bigger stamina cost. Right now players can spam extremely long combinations without their stamina being drained enough to discourage it.

2)Body strikes feel almost useless. Body shots should have a much bigger impact on stamina. At the moment, landing clean shots to the body often doesn't seem to slow the opponent down or meaningfully reduce their stamina.

3)Low stamina barely affects striking. A fighter with 30% stamina can still throw 4–5 strike combinations and perform head movement without any noticeable slowdown or reduction in damage. Low stamina should have a much more obvious impact on speed, power and defensive movement.

4)There is almost no punishment for constant head movement. Players can constantly move their head in different directions, spam dodges and then immediately continue attacking. Even after getting rocked, they can just spam head movement and avoid pressure instead of having to recover properly.

I don't think these mechanics need to be removed. They just need more risk and punishment.

I want fights to reward reading your opponent, managing stamina, working the body and gradually breaking them down — not constantly spamming head movement and 8–9 strike combinations with very little downside.

UFC 4 felt much better in this regard. You could pressure someone, work their body, drain their stamina and force them to take more risks as the fight progressed. That's the kind of strategic gameplay I would like to see brought back.