
(If this happened in real life, you’d expect the people around the cage to freak out a little more. Image courtesy of GameSpot.)
GameSpot has revealed the full fighter roster for the UFC’s long-awaited video game 2009 Undisputed, which will be released on May 19th for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. (Props to MMA Junkie for the heads-up.) The list is below; fighters with weight-class abbreviations after their names can also be played in those divisions. As you’ll see, there are some unfortunate omissions (Randy Couture, Shane Carwin, Matt Hamill, Patrick Cote, Jon Jones, Junie Browning), a few guys who left the UFC a long time ago (Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia, Tito Ortiz, Kazuhiro Nakamura), and one fighter who isn’t even alive anymore (Evan Tanner).
Heavyweights: Andrei Arlovski, Mark Coleman, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Gabriel Gonzaga, Antoni Hardonk, Heath Herring, Cheick Kongo, Brock Lesnar, Justin McCully, Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Eddie Sanchez, Tim Sylvia, Cain Velasquez, Brandon Vera (LHW) and Fabricio Werdum
Light heavyweights: Houston Alexander, Ryan Bader (downloadable character available exclusively through GameStop), Tim Boetsch, Stephan Bonnar, Rashad Evans, Wilson Gouveia (MW), Forrest Griffin, James Irvin, Quinton Jackson, Keith Jardine, Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Tito Ortiz, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Thiago Silva and Wanderlei Silva
Middleweights: Ricardo Almeida, Michael Bisping (LHW), Kendall Grove, Rich Franklin (LHW), Dan Henderson (LHW), Martin Kampmann (WW), Chris Leben, Thales Leites, Jason MacDonald, Demian Maia, Nate Marquardt, Drew McFedries, Yushin Okami, Amir Sadollah (WW), Anderson Silva (LHW) and Evan Tanner
Welterweights: Thiago Alves, Matt Arroyo, Kyle Bradley, Josh Burkman, Marcus Davis, Jon Fitch, Matt Hughes, Anthony Johnson, Josh Koscheck, Chris Lytle, Karo Parisyan, Diego Sanchez, Ben Saunders, Matt Serra (LW), Georges St. Pierre and Mike Swick (MW)
Lightweights: Mark Bocek, Rich Clementi, Mac Danzig, Nathan Diaz, Frankie Edgar, Efrain Escudero (downloadable character available exclusively through GameStop), Spencer Fisher, Kenny Florian, Hermes Franca, Tyson Griffin, Roger Huerta, Joe Lauzon, Gray Maynard, B.J. Penn (WW), Sean Sherk (WW), Joe Stevenson and Thiago Tavares
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GameSpot also has new interviews with THQ’s general manager of product development Colin Mack and senior creative manager John Edwards that give a little more insight into the game. Check out what Edwards had to say about how the different weight classes will "feel" to players:
We also liked this bit:


forrest is gonna beat Anderson Silva.. in real life & once i own this game ! royce gracie being in this game is kickass.. theres gonna be 97 total fighters says so on GameStop.com if u look up the UFC 2009 guide for the game.. so it shows 80 plus royce witch dana white has said in interviews.. so this game has alot more then meets the eye.. please probly think i am stupid for what i am about to say but i havent played the demo i dont do online gaming but.. from what i hear this game is more then worth it. so i am super pumped about it & playin as all the fighters and the mode where u can do older fights like.. start were it ends and try to finish it like it was in real life and u earn videos & stuff. thats neat i think.. also having almost every big name fighter in the game.. only missing a few key names. it is a game that will never leave the PS3 till ufc 2010 comes out thats for shure. the game has Collieflower ear,sweat,black eyes,welts,bruising,blood & everything else that makes it REAL as Real can get.. i’ve scene a few glitches in the demo on youtube but i think its just the demo.. thq made the best mma game to date with PrideFC for ps2 and this game will blow that outta the water easy.. u dont hafta be a expert to win either watch YOUTUBE gsp vs dana white .. they both never had played the game and GSP KNOCKED HIM OUT WITH A SPINNING BACK FIST ! anywayz UFC 2009 MAY 19TH I AM COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS !! FIGHTING/MMA GAMES WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN AFTER THIS DROPS I PROMISE