REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sixteen fighters. One cover. Who joins Jones? Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) announced today that Jon ‘Bones’ Jones, the youngest champion in UFC history, will be one of two fighters to appear on the EA SPORTS UFC cover. The second fighter will be selected by fans in the EA SPORTS UFC Cover Vote presented by MetroPCS. The 16 fighters featured in the cover vote include current UFC champions and top contenders, such as Georges St-Pierre, Ronda Rousey, Anthony Pettis, Chris Weidman, Johny Hendricks, Jose Aldo, Alexander Gustafsson, Miesha Tate, and more. Fans can cast their vote now at UFC.com/covervote to ensure their favorite fighter gets to share in the cover spotlight.
Once fans cast their vote, they will have an opportunity to enter the MetroPCS EA SPORTS UFC Cover Vote Sweepstakes, where they can win a chance to experience the thrill of fight night first-hand. MetroPCS will pair one lucky winner with the fighter who wins the EA SPORTS UFC Cover Vote. At the fighter’s next UFC bout in the continental United States, the sweepstakes winner will have the ultimate experience – walking out of the tunnels with the fighter and their team.
“It’s a huge honor to be selected as one of the fighters to appear on the cover of EA SPORTS UFC,” said Jones. “I am a big fan of EA SPORTS and appearing on a cover is one of those things you dream about as a kid. I’ll definitely be following the Cover Vote to see which fighter the fans choose to join me as the face of the game.”
“It’s going to be exciting to see these 16 fighters square off outside of the Octagon in a fan vote to see who is ultimately selected for the EA SPORTS UFC cover,” said Tracey Bleczinski, UFC Senior Vice President of Consumer Products. “The UFC continues to engage fans in new and innovative ways. There will be some great conversations and debates amongst UFC fans across social media as they determine the second fighter.”
“The EA SPORTS UFC Cover announcement represents a landmark announcement for EA,” said Dean Richards, General Manager, EA SPORTS UFC. “The UFC is the first new major sports league partnership for EA SPORTS in over a decade and to stay true to the sport, we’re featuring two fighters on the cover. We couldn’t be more excited to be working with Jon Jones and we can’t wait to see who fans choose to join him in sharing the spotlight.”
“MetroPCS is all about giving our customers freedom and choice in wireless, and that’s exactly what the EA SPORTS UFC Cover Vote does -- put the decision in the consumer’s hands,” said Patrick Wong, Director of Field Marketing for MetroPCS. “Since the start of our partnership with the UFC two years ago, we’ve strived to take fans beyond the octagon and give them an interactive and personal experience with the sport – you can't get much better than walking out with a fighter in the final moments before they step into the cage.”
The EA SPORTS UFC Cover Vote presented by MetroPCS begins today and will run until December 1, 11:59:59 PM EST. The vote will consist of a weekly round-by-round, 16-fighter, head-to-head elimination tournament. Fans worldwide are encouraged to vote as often as possible at UFC.com/covervote to ensure their favorite fighter advances through the rounds.
Fans can double their voting power by using these fighter specific hashtags on “Twitter Vote Thursdays.” Each fighter specific hashtag used on Twitter on Thursdays will be counted as two official votes. Fans can join the conversation about the cover vote every day by using #EASPORTSUFC on Twitter and Instagram.
EA SPORTS UFC Cover Vote Schedule:
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Round of 16 : Prelims
- Voting live from Mon, Nov. 4th – Sun, Nov. 10th
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Round of 8 : Main Card
- Voting live from Mon, Nov. 11th – Sun, Nov. 17th
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Final Four : Co-Main Event –
- Voting live from Mon, Nov. 18th – Sun, Nov. 24th
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Finals : Title Fight
- Voting live from Mon, Nov. 19th – Sun, Dec. 1st
Voting by round will close each Sunday night at 12:00am and reopen Monday morning at 10:00am.
EA SPORTS UFC Cover Athlete Candidates
| Demetrious Johnson | Chris Weidman |
| Dominick Cruz | Junior Dos Santos |
| Urijah Faber | Chael Sonnen |
| Jose Aldo | Michael Bisping |
| Anthony Pettis | Alex Gustafsson |
| Ben Henderson | Daniel Cormier |
| Georges St-Pierre | Ronda Rousey |
| Johny Hendricks | Miesha Tate |
Powered by EA SPORTS IGNITE technology, EA SPORTS UFC brings the action, emotion and intensity inside the Octagon to life in ways that were never before possible. The next-generation of True Player Motion not only showcases the diverse, powerful and fluid attacks of elite mixed martial artists through Precision Movement, Dynamic Striking and Strategic Submission Battles, but also brings the combatants to life with Full Body Deformation and Real-Time Exertion. The simulation of Human Intelligence takes leaps forward with the strategic and adaptive MMAi system and is expressed through the most realistic characters ever created in a sports game.
Assets:
To download assets, please visit the EA press site at http://info.ea.com. Visit the EA SPORTS UFC website for more details.
EA SPORTS UFC is in development at EA Canada in Vancouver and will be available for the Xbox One® and PlayStation® 4 in Spring 2014. The game has not yet been rated the ESRB and PEGI; visit www.esrb.org and www.pegi.info for more information. Become a fan of EA SPORTS UFC on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/easportsufc and follow us on Twitter via http://www.twitter.com/easportsufc.
EA SPORTS is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive technology, fan programs and cross-platform digital experiences. EA SPORTS creates connected experiences that ignite the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports videogames, including Madden NFL football, EA SPORTS FIFA, NHL® hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, NCAA® Football, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® golf, SSX™ and EA SPORTS UFC®. For more information about EA SPORTS, including news, video, blogs, forums and game apps, please visit www.easports.com.
About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Universally recognized for its action-packed, can’t-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto, Beijing and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 35 live events annually. The UFC is the largest pay-per-view event provider in the world with events distributed residentially through North American cable and satellite providers including iN DEMAND, DirecTV, DISH Network, Avail-TVN, and in Canada on BellTV, Shaw Communications, Sasktel, and Viewer’s Choice. In 2012, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group for live events and thousands of hours of programming including the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, on FOX Sports 1.
In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 145 countries, to 882 million TV households worldwide, in 28 different languages. UFC content is also distributed commercially in the United States to bars and restaurants through Joe Hand Promotions, in English throughout Canada via Premium Sports Broadcasting Inc. and Australia via Main Event and in French throughout Quebec via Interbox. The UFC also connects with tens of millions of fans through its website, UFC.com, as well as social media sites Facebook and Twitter. UFC President Dana White is considered one of the most accessible and followed executives in sports, with nearly 2.5 million followers on Twitter. UFC businesses also include over 90 UFC GYM® locations in 28 US states, UFC FIT™, an in-home fitness and nutrition program, UFC 360, the internationally distributed magazine, UFC.TV offering live event broadcasts and video on demand around the world, a new videogame franchise in development with EA, best-selling DVDs, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, branded apparel and Topps Trading Cards.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company delivers games, content and online services for Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones and tablets. EA has more than 300 million registered players in over 200 countries.
In fiscal year 2013, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.8 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for a portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster brands such as The Sims™, Madden NFL, EA SPORTS™ FIFA, Need for Speed™, Battlefield™ and Mass Effect™. More information about EA is available at www.ea.com/news.
EA SPORTS, The Sims, Need for Speed, Mass Effect and Battlefield are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. and its subsidiaries. John Madden, NFL and FIFA are the property of their respective owners and used with permission.
About MetroPCS
MetroPCS provides the freedom and convenience of unlimited, no-annual-contract wireless services on an advanced nationwide 4G LTE network for a flat rate. With MetroPCS, customers get great value and a wide variety of device choices from leading brands. A flagship brand operated by T-Mobile US, Inc. (NYSE: “TMUS”), MetroPCS products and services are available online and across the United States through a network of company-owned stores, authorized dealer locations, and leading national retailers. For more information, please visit www.metropcs.com.
