Bantamweight Champ Ronda Rousey Lands on Cover of ‘EA Sports UFC 2’ Video Game

Ronda Rousey will be a global cover athlete for “EA Sports UFC 2” when the video game is released next spring.

EA Sports recently announced the news. Rousey joins the likes of Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Alex Morgan, Christine Sinclair and Stephanie Catley as female athletes who have graced the covers of various EA Sports games. However, the UFC’s reigning bantamweight queen is the company’s first woman global cover athlete. Rousey is expected to share the cover with another yet-to-be-named UFC fighter.

“EA Sports is a cultural barometer to know what’s going on in sports at the moment,” Rousey said. “As a gamer myself, it’s pretty surreal to be on the cover of the game and to have a woman on the cover of a UFC game shows a lot of progress. I’m really happy to be involved with it.”

Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson, who competed in a memorable light heavyweight title bout in 2013, shared the cover of the EA Sports’ previous UFC game. According to a release, the latest iteration will feature five new playable game modes as well as updated character visuals and other new gameplay features.

“Like any champion fighter going into their next fight, we listened to our corner -- in our case, the fans -- and took a detailed look at everything we can do to take the fight game to a whole new level,” Creative Director Brian Hayes said. “We’re doing that by introducing innovative gameplay features, delivering a game mode for every fighter regardless of their style of play, and adding helpful tools so fans can master MMA, all while producing the jaw-dropping visuals that fans expect.”

Rousey will defend her 135-pound belt against Holly Holm at UFC 193 in Melbourne on Saturday night.

“Ronda Rousey is a world class athlete that has helped grow the UFC into what it is today,” EA CEO Andrew Wilson said. “I am a huge fan of this sport, and I’m proud to have her as our global cover athlete for ‘EA SPORTS UFC 2.’”