In the Absence of EA’s Fight Night series are the UFC games by the same studio. Both titles represent a strategic element to the fighting genre where one is expected to have matches that have three and five-minute rounds in Fight Night and UFC 4 respectively. However, unlike Fight Night which represents boxing, the UFC series represents mixed martial arts. Just like the real sport, one is expected to be well-versed in all aspects of the game.
There will, however, always be gamers that will do their best to keep the fight on the feet and avoid those takedowns and the ground game as much as possible. Thankfully, there’s a good range of strikers in the game that, just like their real-life counterparts, are designed to keep the fight on the feet and defend takedowns.
Updated April 6, 2022, by Michael Llewellyn: EA’s UFC 4 is still a hugely popular game on both the PS4 and the Xbox One. Thanks to the complicated mechanics in UFC 4 many online matches will favor the Stand and Bang match removing the clinch and takedown game entirely. As a result, it’s always a good idea to know who the best strikers in the game are. Thanks to the stats and ratings in UFC 4 it’s a good way to get an idea of how good a fighter is in the game. However, thanks to some unique animations the stats don’t tell the full story. This list has been updated with more fighters that make a great choice for those that favor the striking game.
13 Alexander Gustafsson
- Punch Speed:
- 95
- Punch Power:
- 90
- Accuracy:
- 93
Known for having wars inside the Octagon, Alexander Gustafsson is always a constant in the top ten light heavyweight rankings. He is known for almost defeating Jon Jones in his prime in a five-round war that has gone down as one of the best fights in UFC history.
This naturally makes him a great choice against Jon Jones in UFC 4 because just like the real-life fighter, Gustafsson has reach and height that matches Jones. Furthermore, he has great Footwork at 97, and Accuracy at 93. He isn’t massively powerful but thanks to his speed he’s great for landing combos and counterpunches. Gustafsson also has great perks such as Fast Hands, Skirmisher, Slippery, Laser Focus, and Marathoner.
12 Conor McGregor
- Punch Speed:
- 98
- Punch Power:
- 96
- Accuracy:
- 99
Missing out on a ranked top ten spot in UFC 4 is Conor McGregor which is likely down to his inactivity. However, regardless of this, it’s still pretty strange that McGregor doesn’t have a full score of five for his striking game, which will come as a surprise. If you pick him, however, you’ll find that he’s incredibly powerful, fast, and has great head movement especially when it comes to landing those deadly counterpunches that he’s known for.
Furthermore, he’s very quick on his feet thanks to the Predator perk and has a long reach which allows him to keep his opponents on the outside. With other useful perks like Laser focus, Fast Hands, Pay To Miss,and Frontal Assault, McGregor isa favorite in the online fighting scene but be aware that his cardio will let you down if he can’t put his opponents early.
11 Max Holloway
- Punch Speed:
- 96
- Punch Power:
- 85
- Accuracy:
- 97
Max Holloway is already a future legend in the UFC and a fighter that many believe was robbed in his title fight against Alexander Volkanovski. He is known for his blistering hand speed, combination punches, and cast-iron jaw.
He is a tall Featherweight that can keep the fight at distance and has incredible footwork with a rating of 96 and Head Movement at 95.However, it’s his accuracy and speed that make him a great choice in online matches with perks like Fast Hands, Laser Focus, and Pay to Miss. Better still, Holloway scores a 97 for his Chin, 97 for Recovery, and 100 for his cardio. This makes him the perfect antidote to online gamers that love selecting Conor McGregor.
10 Robbie Lawler
- Punch Speed:
- 94
- Punch Power:
- 94
- Accuracy:
- 94
Robbie Lawler is a former UFC Welterweight Champion and a former Elite XC Middleweight Champion. He is known for his excellent boxing skills and has had some of the most memorable wars in UFC’s history. He has fantastic striking in UFC 4 with his punching power, speed, and accuracy all sitting at 94.
In addition, Lawler has amazing defensive skills with his head movement and blocking stats scoring 96 each. He also has great striking-based perks that allow him to throw punches while consuming less stamina in the later rounds. In addition, he has the Fast Hands perk which is self-explanatory, and the Weathering Storms perk which boosts his blocking defense when moving backward or sideways.
9 Stephen Thompson
- Punch Speed:
- 95
- Punch Power:
- 92
- Accuracy:
- 98
Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson is a Karate practitioner and Kickboxer and one of the most gifted strikers in the UFC. He’s won 58 out of 58 of his kickboxing matches but is yet to win a championship in the UFC. He is a great choice for those that like strikers who are lightning-fast and can keep their distance using his long reach.
Thompson has deadly accuracy in his kicks and punches and can switch stances with ease and has some of the best footwork in the game scoring 99 in both negating his slight blocking disadvantage. Additionally, he has great perks that allow him to throw faster kicks from all angles and has the Laser Focus perk which gifts him with fast and accurate punches.
8 Jose Aldo
- Punch Speed:
- 96
- Punch Power:
- 95
- Accuracy:
- 93
Jose Aldo is a former UFC Featherweight Champion and is regarded as one of the greatest featherweights of all time after having 18 straight wins. Despite having a few setbacks in recent years Aldo is still one of the most dangerous strikers in UFC 4.
Aldo has a full 5-star rating in the game and for good reason he scores 96 for his punching speed, kicking power, kicking speed, and head movement. He also scores 95 for his punching power and 91 for accuracy. Additionally, Aldo has great striking-based perks like Fast Hands and Untouchable which allows him to sway and avoid hits far more easily.
7 Anthony Johnson
- Punch Speed:
- 94
- Punch Power:
- 98
- Accuracy:
- 95
Anthony “Rumble” Johnson is a retired fighter and even though he has competed in several weight classes he had the most success in the Light Heavyweight division in the UFC. He’s best known for knockout power with five of them obtained in under a minute and that’s represented accurately in UFC 4.
In terms of perks, Johnson has Fast Hands and Laser Focus activated along with his punching power scoring 98 and punching speed at 94 he’s deadly in the light heavyweight division. Additionally, he has a good takedown defense at 92, so he’s able to force the action to the feet.
6 TJ Dillashaw
- Punch Speed:
- 93
- Punch Power:
- 95
- Accuracy:
- 95
Former two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion TJ Dillashaw is set to return to the Octagon sometime after January 2021 due to a failed test for banned substances. Whether he returns to that former glory remains to be seen but as a striker in UFC 4, he’s still one of the best picks in the game.
Dillashaw has solid punching power, kicking power, kicking speed, accuracy, and head movement all scoring 95. In addition, with the perks Untouchable, Marathoner, and Predator he’s able to move in and out of pocket without draining much stamina. He also has the Crazy Legs perk which allows Dillashaw to throw more accurate and faster roundhouse and switch kicks.
5 Valentina Shevchenko
- Punch Speed:
- 96
- Punch Power:
- 93
- Accuracy:
- 96
Valentina Shevchenko is the current Women’s UFC Flyweight Champion and with a full five-star rating, she’s one of the most balanced fighters in the game. She’s an especially gifted kickboxer with her overall striking skills scoring a full five stars.
Shevchenko scores a massive 96 in her punching speed, accuracy, head movement, footwork, and kicking speed. In addition, her perks like Crazy Legs allow her to land faster and more accurate switch and roundhouse kicks. The Taekwondo and Frontal Assault perks also let Shevchenko land fast accurate front, side, and spin kicks.
4 Amanda Nunes
- Punch Speed:
- 96
- Punch Power:
- 96
- Accuracy:
- 94
Current Women’s Bantamweight and Featherweight Champion Amanda Nunes is easily one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet right now in any division. She’s defeated the best of the best adding names like Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm, Valentina Shevchenko, and Cris Cyborg to her list to become the first-ever two-division women’s champion. In addition, Nunes is the only fighter to actively defend two belts at the same time.
Nunes is ranked as the number one fighter in UFC 4 and herstats in the game are an accurate representation of her skills. Her punching power and punching speed both scored a massive 96 and are capable of knocking out most of the competition. Nunes also scores 94 for her accuracy, blocking, and kicking speed. Additionally, Nunes’ perks like Fast Hands, Laser Focus, Crazy Legs, and Bulldog make her one of the most devastating strikers in the game.
3 Alistair Overeem
- Punch Speed:
- 94
- Punch Power:
- 94
- Accuracy:
- 99
Alistair Overeem was and still is one of the most feared strikers in mixed martial arts. He’s yet to win a UFC title, but the kickboxer is a former K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, DREAM Heavyweight Champion, and Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion. Overeem holds victories over some of the most elite fighters in the world like former WWE/UFC Champ Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Mark Hunt, Fabricio Werdum, Vitor Belfort, and Junior Dos Santos.
Overeem is also a monster striker in UFC 4 scoring a full five stars in that category. He has the accuracy and a switch-stance score of 99 and his kicking power and speed score a massive 97 in each category. Overeem’s punching power and punching speed both score 94 and even though his head movement isn’t great at 89 he has the Skirmisher perk which allows him faster movement when going backward. Other notable perks are Razer Wire which makes his knees and elbows more accurate, Crazy Legs for faster roundhouse and switch kicks, and finally, the Like Glue perk makes him a real threat in the clinch.
2 Anderson Silva (Legend Version)
- Punch Speed:
- 98
- Punch Power:
- 93
- Accuracy:
- 97
Arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all-time Anderson Silva finally gets his prime version in UFC 4 thanks to the game’s patches and updates. This version of Silva is one of the best choices in the game and the most capable of going toe-to-toe with Israel Adesanya in the game.
Silva has a score of 98 for Punch Speed, 93 for Punch Power, 97 for Accuracy, 97 for Footwork, and 100 for Head Movement. Moreover, his Cardio and Chin score is 96, and his Recovery is 94 making him a great choice if you expect a fight to go the distance.
1 Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya is the current UFC Middleweight Champion and is undefeated in 19 fights. He’s a rising star in the UFC which has a lot to do with his entertaining fighting style and ability to keep the fight standing.
While Adesanya doesn’t have massive power in his hands with a score of 92, he’s one of the best fighters in the game and makes up for it in punching speed with a score of 95, kick power at 93, kick speed at 97, and accuracy scoring a massive 98. He’s also able to avoid danger with his head movement scoring 96, his footwork scoring 97, and takedown defense at 94. In addition, his perks also add to his striking game with Laser Focus, Cray Legs, Frontal Assault, and Taekwondo abilities.
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