It was nearing showtime for EA MMA at Madden Bowl when Gegard Mousasi entered our private hotel room for his chance to play. What he didn't know was there was one problem.

We didn't have the right power supply for the Xbox 360 dev kit being used for the demo. We were in Miami, and what we needed was in Orlando.

Hours earlier, the realization we couldn’t turn on the console was disheartening. Vic Lugo made a phone call and a plea to one of our designers, Carl Dungca, back at our studio.

When Carl answered the phone, among the first words he heard were, “What I’m about to tell you is not a joke.”

With no more than four hours available to him, Carl made it to Miami with the correct power supply as Gegard began asking when he’d get his exclusive time with our game.

As showtime approached, we rejoiced as creative director Jason Barnes joined us with the power supply held triumphantly above his head.

Gegard’s first fight was against our art director, Peyton Duncan, and he had a great time beating him up. Despite having a 360 controller – Gegard said he’s more comfortable with a PS3 controller – he played very well.

Soon after, the rest of the fighters joined us, and the many members of their entourages packed the room. There was a lot of excitement about getting a sneak peek at the game.

Eventually, Jason Miller was handed a controller to compete against our very own Rob Hyder. When Mayhem selected himself, he commented on how cool it was to see the red stripe in his hair.

Little did he know we’d done more than just add the signature stripe to his head. Our animation director, Simon Sherr, had messed with the animations in his move set.

As soon as the fight started, the man known to describe his style as “slap boxing” threw a punch.

Except it wasn’t a punch. It was slap! In fact, both hands were just slapping no matter what punch he threw! The crowded room started laughing in unison. It was a great moment.

“Come on, Mayhem. Throw a punch!” I yelled. “What’s the matter?!”

Soon after, he went for a takedown, but instead of shooting at his opponent, his fighter dazzled the crowd with some graceful ballerina movements. When he tried to clinch, his fighter performed pirouettes.

To add insult to injury, whenever Rob would hit his fighter, we’d hear funny yelps and hilarious pleas for him to stop.

Mayhem conceded he’d been punked, and Rob even quoted the famous line from their previous encounter: “No disrespect. No disrespect.”

It was a great event, and despite relying on an early version of the game, those who played it had a fantastic time. It was an awesome night.

That's hilarious!

No disrespect, no disrespect.

that is unreal man

Haha thats hilarious. Mayhem doing pirouettes, lol. Will this version of Mayhem Miller find its way as an unlockable character in the real game by any chance?


Was Mousasi able to recognize himself in the game?

cnc_ra3_epd.Yari wrote:Haha thats hilarious. Mayhem doing pirouettes, lol. Will this version of Mayhem Miller find its way as an unlockable character in the real game by any chance?


Was Mousasi able to recognize himself in the game?

I'm not sure what we'll ultimately do with the slapping and ballerina animations. I've heard a few things discussed, but nothing confirmed.

As for the Mousasi question, it depends what you meant by "recognize." He did review his attributes before his first fight, if that's what you meant.

^ Did he look like Murila Bustimante or did he actually look like Mousasi in the game? The pphoto in the Game informer was a pretty bad Mousasi.

But that was pretty funny.

Hahaha thats hilarious!! I love Mayhem he's awesome! Looking forward to using him in the game!

lol thats awesome

that's hilarious!!! payback's a *


do u guys have a vid of it??? if so, u MUST post it for us to see!!!!

...and Rob wins fight number 2! Great story.

easw.EA_Rocky wrote:

I'm not sure what we'll ultimately do with the slapping and ballerina animations. I've heard a few things discussed, but nothing confirmed.

As for the Mousasi question, it depends what you meant by "recognize." He did review his attributes before his first fight, if that's what you meant.

Just leave em in the CAF mode so we can make some Dana Whites.

Hahahaha, that is hilarious! It's also probably the most commited practical joke I've ever heard of - that's dedication! Did Mousasi pick himself as a character? Also, I take it this was the very funny thing you were talking about rather than the Hendo signing? lol

wii.wavesnew wrote:^ Did he look like Murila Bustimante or did he actually look like Mousasi in the game? The pphoto in the Game informer was a pretty bad Mousasi.

But that was pretty funny.

Mousasi did comment on his character model, but he was enough of an experienced gamer to understand we're still in development.

It certainly didn't keep him from picking himself in the game and beating up our art director

thats pretty f'in hillarious! i just have 2 questions
1) will we ever see a video of that moment
and 2) can that version of mayham please be unlockable!

loooooooool that is funny, i was like what so funny about hendo beeing signed, but now i see what you ment, please at some point you have to show us that video