From Israel Adesanya to Conor McGregor: A look at all the UFC fighters who have graced the cover of EA Sports’ games

EA Sports UFC 5 will have Alexander Volkanovski and Valentina Shevchenko as the cover athletes while Israel Adesanya will be the cover athlete for the Deluxe edition of the game. The anticipation about the EA Sports UFC 5 game is at its peak. The fifth installment in the franchise is coming after three years and it promises several new features and a unique gameplay experience to the fans.

One thing that has generated a lot of curiosity about the EA Sports UFC franchise is the cover athletes. The fighters that grace the cover usually represent the pinnacle of competitive abilities in the UFC. In many ways, being on the cover is equivalent to being ‘one of the best’ if not ‘the best’ athletes in the UFC.

In this article, we’ll take a look at all the athletes, from Israel Adesanya to Conor McGregor, who appeared on the cover of the EA Sports UFC video game series.

1. UFC 1 - Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson

Heading into his UFC 165 title fight against a relatively unknown Alexander Gustafsson, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones had never been taken down or outstruck in his MMA career. Bones was the next-generation talent that had been pushing aside the old guard in a dominant fashion, never losing a round in his career until that point.

The sole loss of his career came via disqualification in a fight he was winning. All of that changed when the 6ft-5in tall Swede gave the champion a run for the money and nearly snatched the fight. This was the first time that Jon Jones felt like a human in the octagon. However, his greatness lies in the fact that he beat Gustafsson on his best night.

The fight won several accolades and he was also inducted in the UFC Hall of Fame. No wonder Gustafsson and Jones found their way on the cover of EA Sports’ inaugural UFC video game that was released in June 2014, nine months after their epic battle.

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