Men’s bantamweight at 135lbs is where we start to see how stacked these divisions can get as a plethora of elite current era fighters from every discipline are available. 

 

At bantamweight, the elite fighters are more often than not extremely well-rounded e.g. Dominick Cruz, TJ, Dillashaw & Petr Yan. They not only excel at their main discipline but are a threat wherever the fight goes. 

 

Obviously, you’ll want to master your main discipline for career mode but at this weight, you have to prioritise being well-rounded. Otherwise, you will lose fights & you will get exploited if you’re on a high difficulty. It’s a difficult balancing act but don’t neglect any area. 

 

• Exciting Fight Style: The Men's Bantamweight division often produces fast-paced, action-packed fights with a blend of technique, power, skill, and speed
• Elite fighters from every discipline/background in the game 
• In the debate for the most stacked division in the game when it comes to solely current-era fighters - A perfect mix of styles, elite-level fighters, depth, and exciting younger fighters to use or fight against

Choose men's bantamweight if: 

• Wrestling and grappling are important aspects of your fighting style - There’s plenty of fighters from every background but wrestlers can dictate where the fight goes the easiest, and there’s a shark tank of them here
• You want to compete against skilled opponents and challenge yourself in a highly competitive weight class - If you select this weight class for career mode, it'll be tough fight after tough fight, with no easy options

 

6. Featherweight

5-star club UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski in UFC 4

Everywhere you look at featherweight is an elite & lethal striker, more often than not they have excellent jiu-jitsu too. There are good wrestlers available, but these are few and far between here in comparison to many other divisions.

Focus on being versatile, featherweight definitely benefits the exciting & fluid fighter whether that is striking or grappling. So be offensive and aggressive & push the pace but with that being said don’t go over the top with stamina wasting. 

Review: 

• Another option for the most stacked weight class in the game - A multitude of fighters who could be champion at any given moment
• The peak of the division has some of the greatest fighters of all time, Alex Volkanovksi, Max Holloway & prime featherweight Conor McGregor - All make perfect selections or exciting opponents for you
• Exciting Fight Style - The fighters available and styles more often than not lead to really fast-paced matchups with a mix of both explosive and fast strikers throughout the division
• Benefits the great strikers with offensive jiu jitsu

Choose featherweight if: 

• You excel in striking, combining speed and power in your attack - You’ll need every approach
• You enjoy fast-paced, action-packed fights with a mix of styles
• You can maintain stamina well - You’ll get picked apart on the feet if you don’t

 

7. Lightweight

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Dustin Poirier in UFC 4

Lightweight has been the gold standard of the modern UFC era and it still reflects this as one of the best divisions in the game on UFC 4. Maybe it’s seen its peak with Conor McGregor, Khabib & Tony Ferguson either moving on or slowing down but it still presents a fairly stacked roster of that generation & the new era to choose from. 

Conor McGregor once referred to the lightweight division as the ‘stuck in the mud division’ and I wouldn’t go that far but the speed difference to featherweight in UFC 4 is very clear & the power jump is too. Make up for that with fast combinations that you’ve memorised and if you’re up against a big power puncher or a great wrestler as the division is stacked with them, target specific areas over and over to break them down.

Review: 

• Speed is still a big factor but this is the first division where the power levels make a big jump and rocking your opponent with one shot becomes far more common
• Finishes in the earlier rounds are really frequent at lightweight, there’s a lot of devastating strikers & grapplers to choose from
• You have to be well-rounded or you’ll lose frequently 

Choose lightweight if:

• You have a well-rounded skill set and are comfortable in all areas of the fight - most fighters are well-rounded here 
• You have really strong takedown defence in particular - eventually, you’re gonna have to face Islam Makhachev or Khabib and you have to be prepared 
• You have mental resilience - you’ll more than likely have to pull off a lot of comebacks from bad positions against elite wrestlers whether it's online or career & you can’t get frustrated and fold or it’s over

 

8. Welterweight

Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman face off in UFC 4 

Welterweight at 170 lbs is known for peak athleticism for a reason, directly in the middle of the lightning-fast lower divisions & powerful heavier weight classes. Across the overall history of the UFC & UFC games, it likely is the most stacked division in the sport & it lives up to that l here. 

Favourites like Usman and Colby are machines when it comes to pushing a high pace & getting takedowns. Set your own pace on them and make them fight your fight. If that’s with your grappling, then match their own game & beat them at it. If it’s with your kickboxing or muay thai etc, fight at range with effective footwork and damage their legs and body with kicks. If it’s with your boxing, jab & feint to keep them on edge. Whatever style, don’t let them dictate their pace onto you. 

Review: 

• A lot of fighters get caught between weight classes at welterweight more than any other as separated by 15lbs between those around it so the size of fighters will differ frequently
• Welterweight is home to a lot of stocky & powerful wrestlers with devastating overhands that are cardio machines
• There are countless elite-level title contenders to deal with from Leon Edwards, Kamara Usman & Colby Covington amongst others if you want to rise to the top in career mode

Choose welterweight if:

• You like competing within a stacked weight class - there are a lot of elite-level fighters to choose from
• You can mix good boxing with wrestling as most champions in the division specialise in these two disciplines
• Tactical battles and adaptability excite you as a fighter - you won’t make it far if you’re one dimensional

 

9. Middleweight

UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya in UFC 4

Middleweight is stacked with killers in both the current era and previous eras. Anderson "The Spider" Silva, "The American Gangster" Chael Sonnen,  "The Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva, Robert "The Reaper" Whittaker, Israel "The Last Stylebender" Adesanya & Bruce "It's Time" Buffer… need I say any more? 

Take your time to read your opponent, there are so many powerhouses  & creative strikers at middleweight that the worst thing you can do is rush into a war. See the style your opponent is bringing & counter it. When you know what your opponent is bringing you can make the best decision over if you want to scrap, snipe, or grapple. 

Review: 

• Every shot feels noticeably heavier than welterweight and it’s very easy to rock your opponent yet they can still often take a lot of damage before you can put them away
• Striking diversity is prevalent - It has everything from masterful technicians like Israel Adesanya to brute powerhouses such as Paulo Costa & Yoel Romero to everything in between aka Robert Whittaker 
• You’ll rarely see a middleweight fight go to a decision as most fighters people choose are prolific finishers
• Pressure fighting is really overwhelming at times as there’s still a degree of speed but so much more power is coming at you now so it’s crucial to pick those fighters off effectively
• Icon versions of fighters like Anderson Silva & Michael Bisping as well as regular legends enhance an already solid roster

Choose middleweight if:

• You don’t mind facing a murderers row of opponents whether online or career as it’s a division stacked with strikers, wrestlers, and grapplers that all have great ability to finish fights easily
• You can stay composed when getting pressured as you’ll have to calmly pick pressure fighters off otherwise you’re at a disadvantage fighting at their pace
• You don’t mind sacrificing the speed of welterweights & below to lean into power and/or precision more as from here onwards it’s the heaviest hitters in the game

 

10. Light Heavyweight

5-star legend Daniel Cormier in UFC 4

Light heavyweight has likely had its heyday as the most exciting division in the UFC but the game roster does well to boost it. UFC 4 combines a mix of current fighters, heavyweights and middleweights who can or have fought at light heavyweight, and UFC legends such as Chuck Liddell & the late Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson, to make the division far more exciting to play again.

Attacking the body is a great option at light heavyweight, stamina really begins to become more and more precious the heavier you go. Light heavyweight presents far more agile fighter selection options to launch body attacks with a range of kicks, as most fighters are rangey as well as being devastatingly powerful yet nowhere near as sluggish as heavyweight. For that reason too, it hurts your opponent way more easily than it would in lower-weight divisions. 

Review: 

• A recovering but still thin current crop of light heavyweights is redeemed in UFC 4 with the legends of previous eras added to the mix
• There are a lot of fighters with heavyweight-level power mixed in with big middleweights coming up in weight as they meet in the middle at 205 - so the discrepancies in power & durability or speed & stamina can be massive between the two  
• Jon Jones & Daniel Cormier are two of the most frequently picked guys at this weight so you’ll likely have to get used to dealing with them, which won’t be easy

Choose light heavyweight if:

• You’re comfortable dealing with both massive knockout artists & lightning-quick technical masters - with the number of fighters from a division above & below here, you’ll face the best of both worlds
• Bringing the division back to its glory days in career excites you
• You love blending past & present eras as in both career & online there’s such a fun scope to do this with the amount of dream fights that can be made

 

11. Heavyweight

Lineal Heavyweight Champion & ex-UFC star Francis Ngannou vs UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones

Heavyweight is a mix of extreme fun & focus, as you know the grave consequences for you or your opponent when someone messes up.

Fighters often do feel heavily stuck in the mud at times. When you have a faster & more fluid heavyweight such as Cyril Gane, Tom Aspinall, or Sergei Pavlovich, it’s night & day in terms of how free you feel when moving.

Effective wrestling separates you from those who don’t use it at heavyweight,  even the most technical strikers are prone to getting rocked at this weight so wrestling negates that risk. Implement it early in fights to lower your opponent's stamina as they’ll be at a massive disadvantage after, or have it as a backup plan if you get rocked. Embrace the clinch too, you’ll need the stamina breaks & it’s an opportunity to dirty box or transition to a takedown. 

Review:

• You can’t sustain being rocked upwards of 10 times like you often can in lower-weight classes 
• A great blend of legends improves a fairly weak crop of current-era heavyweights available
• Stamina reduces ridiculously quickly if you miss strikes or takedowns or get taken down and struggle to transition 
• Fighter selection is often a choice between slow & stuck in the mud but devastatingly powerful in striking, & slightly less power but far more fluid, fast & free 
• Ground and pound is devastating and fighters can’t sustain more than a couple of strikes from bottom 

Choose heavyweight if:

• You’re comfortable using fighters with & dealing against great knockout power - All fighters you face will have very heavy hands
• You thrive in high-risk, high-reward situations - Higher fight-ending potential at any moment adds more pressure 
• You’re an efficient grappler/wrestler - Missing takedowns or reversed/rejected ground transitions has a devastating effect on your stamina at heavyweight
• You have a high fight IQ - it’s important to separate yourself from scrapping without a strategy to limit the danger