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Last week, Mirror Sport was invited to an exclusive event in London to get a hands-on preview of the new EA Sports UFC 2 game.

The game will be released on March 17th for both Xbox One and PS4 and it features a total of five new games modes and a roster deeper than ever with over 250 playable fighters.

From a practice mode for new players, to the in-depth Ultimate Team mode for people who really want to get involved, there is something here for gamers of all abilities.

After a brief presentation of the all the new features from head designer Bryan Hayes, we got to play the game itself and pick Bryan's brains on several of the finer details of the game. Here's what we found out ...

You can mix weight classes in 'create event' mode

(Image: EA Sports/Facebook)

With the likes of Conor McGregor moving up and down in weight class, more than ever fans wanted to create their own fantasy match-ups and in UFC 2 you can.

Some fighters will be readily available in two weight classes, though if you head into 'create an event' mode you can also mix it up a little more with fights that aren't totally ludicrous.

Unfortunately, you still won't be able to create a 'Mighty Mouse' vs 'Big Country' Roy Nelson matchup but that would just be silly, wouldn't it?

Knockout mode is awesome

We spent most of our time playing the amazing knockout mode. In this mode grappling and takedowns are cast aside.

Knockout is a simple rock-em-sock-em robots mode where each fighter has a life meter that doesn't replenish (unless you set it to do so with blocks).

(Image: EA Sports)

This mode is just outright fun and it's the easiest mode to just pick up and play and have some quick-fire fun with your friends.

You can even handicap one of the players' meters if one of you is significantly better than the other.

The grappling system has been reworked - it's dynamic

In previous UFC games, ground fighting was determined by the first user to engage.

In those versions, the opponent could then only defend the submission or transition, however now they can counter with their own attack.

In a nutshell, UFC 2’s new dynamic grappling system now makes it possible for both players to move and engage at the same time, it makes the grappling and ground game a whole lot more fun.

The UFC set the fighter ratings

(Image: EA Sports)

One of the really interesting things we are asked Hayes about was the fighter ratings.

There has been uproar online on communities such as Reddit MMA (r/MMA) that some of the fighter ratings have been highly questionable. When speaking to us about this, Hayes said:

"It's a partnership with the UFC. We will take a first pass at the ratings and send them over to the UFC and they will say, 'this guy should be higher' or 'this guy should be lower'.

"Very few people know the UFC roster better than Joe Silva or Sean Shelby so those are the two guys we get feedback from and they say this should go up and this should go down."

Hayes also confirmed that the fighter ratings can be changed at any time on the EA Servers and they will make changes when required.

Conor McGregor is the number 1 striker in the game

(Image: Getty)

The 'Notorious' is rated as the best stand-up fighter in the game with a rating of 99.

The UFC women's strawweight champion Joanna Jerdzejczyk is number 2 while Luke Rockhold is number 3. These might just be the fighters to be looking at when you take on your friends in knockout mode.

Create a fighter mode is the most in-depth ever

UFC 2 takes character customisation to the next level with their revamped 'create a fighter' mode.

The new Fighter Creation tool allows you to do the most in-depth personalisation of your characters than ever before with robust facial sculpting, tattoo customisations and for the first time, the ability to create female fighters.

Players can also sculpt their own GameFace uploads to really get themselves involved in the action.

Randy Couture is not in the game, neither is Mickey Gall

Unfortunately, for fans, Randy Couture is still to make it into a UFC game. Hayes told us: "Randy Couture and the UFC have a tempestuous relationship I guess. They are not on the best of terms. He is one fighter that never signed a UFC licensing agreement that allows us to put all the fighters in the game."

Hayes also confirmed that Mickey Gall, CM Punk's soon to be first opponent, didn't make the cut for the roster of +250. Unfortunately, for Gall, he came into the process just a little too late, though Hayes did say he could well be part of one of the future updates.

Bruce Buffer and Crowd soundbites are from real events

Forget the horrible, canned, recorded-in-a-phone-booth sounding Bruce Buffer announcements.

This time around, the team at EA used actual real life Buffer soundbites from previous events to give a real big time fight night feel.

They also used recording from different venues around the world to replicate just what it would sound like at the arenas.

Mike Tyson has a limited move set

(Image: EA Sports)

For the first time 'Iron' Mike Tyson is included in the game as a bonus character.

His inclusion will allow fans to answer the question they've always dreamt of being able to answer - just how well would Tyson do in the UFC during his pomp.

According to Hayes, Tyson does have a limited move set, which will mean no kicks or takedowns. He does, however, predictably have some devastating punches which could make him a good option for the aforementioned knockout mode.

UFC 3 isn't in development... yet

Hayes did reveal to us that the UFC and EA partnership still have four years left to run so it's highly unlikely that this will be the last of the UFC games we see from them.

For the minute though, all eyes are focused on the March 17th launch date for UFC 2 here in the UK.