Only a few things hold this game back.
When you hit a guy in the face, it really feels like you hit him in the face. The presentation is outstanding and very much like your watching a live Pay Per View main event.
The different modes are fun and will have you playing for awhile.
Career mode is cool, gives you the feel and really lets you develop your created fighter. The CAF options are great and let you tweak almost anything.
The bad parts are the knockouts, and the online play.
The flash KO does occur in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, but in this game it happens way to often. When your dominating an opponent online and out of nowhere he catches you with a punch and you get knocked out, you feel robbed. Yes this does happen in the real sport OCCASIONALLY but in this game it is far too common place.
The Online play is fairly good, but three major flaws hold it back.
Joining a game is hard, and takes awhile and you can join games that are full by accident ALL THE TIME. The lag inside the octagon is noticable and sometimes game breaking.
Then if you do find a game and win, sometimes your opponent takes the easy way out and turns off his console right when he loses.
Besides these facts, it is a fun and well put together fighting game that is really fun to play with friends. I recommend this as a fan of the sport.