UFC 5 is set to release soon, and the EA Sports UFC cover curse has become a fascinating narrative in the gaming world. This so-called curse has been associated with athletes who appear on the cover of EA Sports UFC games only to experience a downturn in their careers or personal lives shortly after.
Since the 1990s, the “EA curse” has been a topic of discussion among gamers and sports enthusiasts. Electronic Arts, the publisher of renowned sports games like FIFA, Madden NFL, and UFC, has been central to this narrative.
The curse began with the Madden NFL series, where players featured on the game’s cover often performed poorly or faced a career catastrophe. This phenomenon became known as the “Madden curse.”
The UFC cover curse emerged after the inaugural EA Sports “UFC” was released in June 2014. The cover featured Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson. After appearing on the Cover, Jones struggled with substance abuse and pled guilty to a hit-and-run, leading to his demotion from the UFC. Notably, Gustafsson lost both of his next two fights.
The EA Sports cover curse affecting UFC 5
The curse seemed to continue with subsequent UFC game releases. Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey were the cover stars for EA Sports UFC 2. McGregor lost to Nate Diaz, and Amanda Nunes defeated Rousey after the game’s release. McGregor also appeared on the cover of UFC 3, only to lose his next fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The fourth installment of the game featured Israel Adesanya and Jorge Masvidal as cover stars. While Adesanya managed to evade the curse, Masvidal suffered a brutal KO loss against Kamaru Usman. Some fans even blamed the EA Sports cover curse for Masvidal’s loss, with the hashtag #UFC4CoverCurse trending on Twitter.
Volkanovski fans should be very worried when EA UFC 5 drops pic.twitter.com/Xxg1TfqsiI
— OOC MMA (@oocmma) August 23, 2023
Interestingly, Israel Adesanya broke the curse spectacularly at UFC 253. His second-round TKO victory against Paulo Costa marked his second successful defense of his middleweight belt. Adesanya’s triumph led to discussions about whether the curse was real or a coincidence.
With the release of EA UFC 5, the cover curse is once again a topic of conversation. The game’s cover and the potential impact on the featured fighters’ careers are being closely watched. The curse’s history has left fans wondering if the new cover stars will fall victim to the same fate as their predecessors.
The EA Sports UFC cover curse is a captivating tale that blends superstition, sports, and gaming. While some may dismiss it as mere coincidence, others see a pattern in the misfortunes that have befallen the cover stars.