When it comes to combat sports, there are few names as universally recognized as Mike Tyson. Over the course of his 20-year professional career, Tyson made a name for himself as one of the most devastating heavy-hitters of all time. In his retirement, Tyson has shown a great passion for MMA, has appeared at numerous UFC events, and on multiple occasions he has stated that he would have competed in MMA if the sport was big during his prime. While Tyson will never fight inside the Octagon, today it was announced that he will be a playable character in EA UFC 2.
Mike Tyson will be playable in two models, a “legacy Tyson”, designed to represent the latter years of the fighter’s career, and “Iron Mike Tyson” who is designed upon Tyson as he rose up the ranks in the 1980’s.
EA UFC’s creative director, Brian Hayes went on to elaborate why they picked Tyson to be a guest character:
“When you think about the most devastating fighters of all time, Mike Tyson is either around, or at the top of everyone’s list. It’s fun to think that if MMA was as popular back when he was competing as it is today, you might have seen Tyson put on four ounce gloves and step into the Octagon. This is one of those great ‘what ifs’ that we get to create when making a game like EA Sports UFC 2.”
Mike Tyson’s inclusion in the game marks the latest incarnation of special characters in UFC games. UFC Throwdown featured Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta, Bruce Buffer and Big John McCarthy as secret characters and UFC Undisputed 2010 featured Shaquille O’Neal.
EA Sports UFC 2 is scheduled for release in North America on March 15, followed by a worldwide release on March 17 on both Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Fans who pre-order the game will gain access to Tyson as well as Bas Rutten and Sakuraba.