Wins and losses. KOs, TKOs, and submissions. These sensational headline-grabbers are essential, but they only make up one part of the bigger, brutal picture. The pieces that are arguably more important — the countless bloody knuckles, cuts, gashes, and bruises it took to reach that point — often get lost in all the pre- and post-fight commotion. Luckily, these unforgiving journeys full of pooled sweat, sacrifice, and punishment are the stories EA Sports UFC 6 aims to deliver, and, man, does it do that well. With an impressive roster of legendary fighters and a handful of curated stories that captured my complete attention the minute I dove into them, I’ve found myself enjoying and appreciating the violent art of MMA more the longer I played, even if EA Vancouver’s latest creation has strayed further than ever from the sport’s reality.

No, I don’t mean how the fighters’ joints will occasionally bend in awkward ways during a fight (although that still cracks me up whenever I catch it). I’m talking about Flow State, the newest and most significant feature added since the series moved to the Frostbite engine in UFC 5. Look, I get that flow is a very real thing because I’ve repeatedly watched Anderson Silva dodging a hailstorm of punches like he’s Neo from The Matrix (Chris Weidman is Agent Smith in this scenario). But his instinct was born out of endless reps in the gym, and probably a bunch of behind-the-scenes knockouts, too.

The flow in UFC 6, on the other hand, is the opposite; it’s manufactured and gimmicky. Out of place like a Street Fighter move dropped in the middle of the octagon’s bloody canvas. After getting so used to the straight-up, no frills fighting that all the previous games in the series were known for, it’s hard to take a feature like Flow State into account. I’m not even kidding, I always forget to activate it when my meter’s maxed out because it’s the last thing on my mind. I’d much rather focus on my hit-and-run fighting style, not losing my advantage on the ground game, and avoiding getting my face beaten to a bloody pulp, thank you.

Flow does have its moments, though, especially in my favorite mode, Hall of Legends. Across the weekend I’ve had with UFC 6 so far, I spent about a quarter of it reading every tidbit and watching every video in Max Holloway’s museum. And, naturally, completing all three of his highlight fights, the last of which covers his BMF title win against Justin Gaethje in 2024. Of course, the most iconic part of that bout is the last 20 seconds, and I was able to recreate it with the help of Max’s Flow Boost, which has him actually point down at the canvas when it’s activated. You would not believe the noise I made when I saw and did that for the first time — like a caveman discovering fire. Having thoroughly enjoyed my time in this first interactive museum, I’ve got very high hopes for Alex Pereira’s and Zhang Weili’s own curated experiences.

The Career options are more entertaining and less repetitive than UFC 5’s.“

Now, you’re probably wondering why Hall of Legends would be anyone’s idea of a favorite mode when there are a few other better ones to choose from. Well, reader, it’s because I’m a sucker for a good story, and it doesn’t get much better than immersing myself in the lore behind three legendary champions. Although the dedicated UFC Career story, called The Legacy, is a close second. That’s right, there are now two separate Career modes you can pick from: the former, which drops you straight into Dana White’s octagon, or the latter, where you star as Chris Carter, a relative no-name who starts from the bottom. Do I even have to tell you which one I was drawn to first?

Yes, as soon as I saw The Legacy, I pressed select faster than Jorge Masvidal’s knockout on Ben Askren. I won’t be spoiling much of the plot here because I would like everyone to experience it knowing as little as possible. But I will say I love how it immediately establishes a rivalry that quickly got me invested in the journey. Add in the fact that there are so many more pre-fight events that demand your attention, and this mode (taken in its entirety alongside Career) is both more entertaining and less repetitive than UFC 5’s.

In fact, developer EA Vancouver’s decision to separate this prologue tale from the UFC Career mode is ultimately what distinguishes UFC 6 most from its predecessor. Not only does it give you more options and a better onboarding experience, but it also doubles down on the overall pitch for this version: that every fighter has a story; a central concept I have seen consistently and resonated with in the brief time I’ve played UFC 6 so far.

But we’re still only in round three of a five-round bout, folks. I’ve got a lot more to see before I finalize this review with a score, including The Gym, which seems to be about collecting as many fighters as possible and training them to unlock specific cosmetics (remember what I said earlier about UFC 6 straying from reality?), as well as the various online modes and how Flow State impacts the fights there. So stay tuned, because this one isn’t ending in a stoppage, and all three judges (me, myself, and I) will be ready to give their unanimous decision later this week.