Bellator: MMA Fury 2

Bellator: MMA Fury 2 is a mixed martial arts game developed by Headrush Games and published by ACS. It is based on the American mixed martial arts promotion Bellator MMA, and is the sequel to Bellator: MMA Fury. PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox ONE, Xbox Series X|S and PC.

Just like its predecessor, Bellator: MMA Fury 2 runs on the Unreal Engine 4, allowing for highly detailed in-game graphics and realistic character models.

Gameplay
The game retains the gameplay of the previous Bellator: MMA Fury titles, while also including brand new gameplay elements.

One of the newest additions to the game is the all-new counter-parry system, which allows players to catch incoming strikes from the opponent by flicking up (for upper body strikes) or down (for lower body strikes) on the right analog stick slightly before the opponent's attack lands. When done correctly, the attack will be successfully defended and countered into a clinch or takedown. Countering strikes is an essential defensive technique in the game, allowing players to regain the advantage and avoid more damage.

The game also features significant improvements to the grappling system, adding new postions that weren't featured previously. In the previous games, submission maneuvers were only applicable from ground positions. This time around, the game now allows the player to perform standing submissions out of a clinch, such as rear naked chokes, guillotine chokes and flying armbars. The game also adds an alternate "Amateur" grappling control scheme for new players, which eschews the intricate grappling controls in favor of simple right analog flicks.

Each of the 125 fighters in the roster utilize their own unique fighting style, which is further reflected in their gameplay. By default, each fight is contested via three (five during title fights) 5-minute rounds that can be won either by knockout, tap-out, stoppage or judge's decision. In addition to referee stoppages, doctor stoppages have also been added to the game, which can occur when a fighter has visibly taken significant damage. In-game commentary is provided by Mauro Ranallo and "Big" John McCarthy.

Game Modes
The available game modes are as follows: Fight, Grand Prix, Title, Match Maker, Career, Tutorial, Online and Options.

Fight
Fight mode consists of two modes: Quick Match and Exhibition. Quick Match mode allows players to start a single match against a random opponent, without the need for choosing the opponent. In Exhibition mode, players can create a bout of their choice against the CPU or another player.

Fights in Exhibition mode can be fought under Standard rules, only allowing bouts between fighters of the same weight, or Absolute (Openweight) rules, allowing fighters of different weight classes to fight each other. Quick Match fights are exclusively fought under Standard rules.

Grand Prix
Grand Prix mode serves as the game's main tournament mode, allowing players to set up a tournament of their own against the CPU or other players, in a matter not to dissimilar to Bellator's own annual Grand Prix events. Just like in Exhibition mode, these tournaments can be contested under Regular or Absolute rules. Grand Prix mode can support up to eight players.

Title
A brand new mode introduced in Bellator: MMA Fury 2, Title mode is an arcade-style gauntlet mode wherein players pick a fighter in a particular weight class, and fight their way up the Bellator rankings in a series of bouts in order to win the Bellator championship for their respective weight class. During Title mode, players may lose four times before having to start all over again.

Upon completing Title mode, players unlock Title Defense mode, a mode that pits the player in an endurance test against a larger gauntlet of opponents, with the difficulty increasing upon reaching certain milestones, with up to 100 fights possible. Unlike in Title mode, the player can only lose once this time around, but players are allowed to save their progress in between bouts.

Match Maker
A brand new mode introduced in Bellator: MMA Fury 2, Match Maker mode allows players to create and set up their own Bellator match card, including naming the event, choosing the arena and setting up the matches, after which then can then save their match card and play it for later. Upon playing their custom match card, the player is greeted with an in-game visualization of a standard Bellator event, complete with an intro, cutscenes and event fighter hype packages.

Career
The game’s Career Mode sees a major overhaul, eschewing the previous game's archaic menu-based approach in favor of a story-based career mode set in an explorable open world, much like those featured in other AAA sports games such as the NBA 2K series.

The game puts the player in the shoes of an up-and-coming Bellator fighter, from the start of their career as a street fighter, beating up opponents in unsanctioned backyard brawls. After a chance encounter with a pro fighter during one of these backyard brawls, their career trajectory takes a sudden turn as they decide to go pro.

The player's path to progression remains the same as with the first game's career mode, with players starting in the backyards, then as an amateur fighter, before entering Bellator as a pro. From then on, the player has to climb up the Bellator rankings, as well as entering the Grand Prix, in order to get a chance to win their respective weight classes' championship.

In the open world, the player is allowed to interact with the environment around them, entering facilities such as gyms to improve their skill and/or enter fight clubs, restaurants to take care of their diet, which could improve their stats, and also engage with sponsors via their mobile phone. The player could also talk to people on the street or enter the arcade and pass some time playing classic ACS arcade games, among others.

The way the player interacts with other fellow fighters can play a huge part in their career, as players are given a choice to treat their opponents humbly and become respected, or talk trash toward them in order to generate notoriety. A respected fighter usually gets smoother conversations, but usually obtains less popularity, while a notorious fighter gets a ton of popularity while also evoking either fear or ire from everyone, depending on their overall performance.

Create
The game includes an extensive Create-A-Fighter Mode which allows the players to create their own fighters, featuring extensive customization features that allow the player to alter their created fighter's appearance, profile, stats, moveset, pre- and post-match gestures and even create custom logos. The game includes 50 CAF slots available, as well as 100 slots for custom sponsor logos.

The game introduces the option to edit their created fighter's walkout, choosing between a set of animations, multiple options for walkout music (including the 24 licensed songs featured in the game's soundtrack, as well as a selection of generic soundalikes), and even the ability to edit their cornermen's individual attires. The custom fight gear creator returns from last game, and still largely works similar to how it did previously.

Tutorial
The game features an in-depth tutorial mode that teaches the player everything the game has to offer, from the basics of the game, to the more advanced techniques and options. Also in Tutorial mode is a Sparring mode, which allows players to practice moves against a dummy opponent.

Roster
Roster accurate as of October 20, 2023

Heavyweight

 * 🇺🇸 Daniel James
 * 🇺🇸 Davion Franklin
 * 🇹🇷 Gokhan Saricam
 * 🇷🇺 Kirill Sidelnikov
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Linton Vasell
 * 🇧🇷 Marcelo Golm
 * 🇷🇺 Oleg Popov
 * 🇺🇸 Ryan Bader
 * 🇸🇷 Said Sowma
 * 🇹🇳 Slim Trabelsi
 * 🇺🇸 Steve Mowry
 * 🇺🇸 Timothy Johnson
 * 🇺🇸 Tyrell Fortune
 * 🇷🇺 Valentin Moldavsky
 * 🇷🇺 Vitaly Minakov

Light Heavyweight

 * 🇺🇸 Alex Polizzi
 * 🇺🇸 Corey Anderson
 * 🇹🇲 Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov
 * 🇧🇷 Jose Augusto
 * 🇱🇹 Julius Anglickas
 * 🇸🇪 Karl Albrektsson
 * 🇮🇪 Karl Moore
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Luke Trainer
 * 🇵🇱 Maciej Rozanski
 * 🇺🇸 Phil Davis
 * 🇨🇲 Simon Biyong
 * 🇺🇸 Sullivan Cauley
 * 🇷🇺 Vadim Nemkov
 * 🇨🇺 Yoel Romero

Middleweight

 * 🇨🇦 Aaron Jeffery
 * 🇷🇺 Anatoly Tokov
 * 🇺🇸 Austin Vanderford
 * 🇮🇪 Charlie Ward
 * 🇳🇱 Costello van Steenis
 * 🇧🇷 Douglas Lima
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Fabian Edwards
 * 🇳🇱 Gegard Moussasi
 * 🇺🇸 Grant Neal
 * 🇫🇷 Gregory Babene
 * 🇷🇺 Khalid Murtazaliev
 * 🇺🇸 Johnny Eblen
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Mike Shipman
 * 🇭🇺 Norbert Novenyi Jr.
 * 🇺🇸 Romero Cotton

Welterweight

 * 🇷🇺 Andrey Koreshkov
 * 🇺🇸 Brennan Ward
 * 🇺🇸 Derek Anderson
 * 🇧🇷 Goiti Yamauchi
 * 🇯🇲 Jason Jackson
 * 🇺🇸 Joey Davis
 * 🇺🇸 Kyle Crutchmer
 * Levan Chokheli
 * 🇺🇸 Logan Storley
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Michael Page
 * 🇧🇷 Neiman Gracie
 * 🇸🇪 Oliver Enkamp
 * 🇮🇪 Peter Queally
 * 🇺🇸 Sabah Homasi
 * 🇺🇦 Yaroslav Amosov

Lightweight

 * 🇺🇸 AJ McKee
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Alfie Davis
 * 🇷🇺 Alexandr Shabliy
 * 🇺🇸 Archie Colgan
 * 🇺🇸 Brent Primus
 * 🇺🇸 Emmanuel Sanchez
 * 🇷🇺 Gadzhi Rabadanov
 * 🇳🇿 Jay Jay Wilson
 * 🇷🇺 Islam Mamedov
 * 🇹🇳 Mansour Barnaoui
 * 🇧🇷 Patricky Pitbull
 * 🇫🇷 Thibault Gouti
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Tim Wilde
 * 🇺🇸 Sidney Outlaw
 * 🇷🇺 Usman Nurmagomedov

Featherweight

 * 🇺🇸 Aaron Pico
 * 🇭🇺 Adam Borics
 * 🇮🇪 Brian Moore
 * 🇺🇸 Cody Law
 * 🇲🇽 Erik Perez
 * 🇨🇦 Jeremy Kennedy
 * 🇺🇸 Justin Gonzales
 * 🇺🇸 Kai Kamaka III
 * 🇷🇺 Khasan Magomedsharipov
 * 🇺🇸 Lucas Brennan
 * 🇩🇰 Mads Burnell
 * 🇧🇷 Patricio Pitbull
 * 🇵🇹 Pedro Carvalho
 * 🇷🇺 Timur Khziriev
 * 🇫🇷 Yves Landu

Bantamweight

 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Brett Johns
 * 🇮🇪 Ciaran Clarke
 * 🇺🇸 Darrion Caldwell
 * 🇺🇸 Danny Sabatello
 * 🇵🇪 Enrique Barzola
 * 🇺🇸 Jaylon Bates
 * 🇨🇦 Josh Hill
 * 🇺🇸 Juan Archuleta
 * 🇯🇵 Kyoji Horiguchi
 * 🇧🇷 Leandro Higo
 * 🇷🇺 Magomed Magomedov
 * 🇷🇺 Nikita Mikhailov
 * 🇺🇸 Patchy Mix
 * 🇺🇸 Raufeon Stots
 * 🇺🇸 Sergio Pettis

Women's Featherweight

 * 🇦🇺 Arlene Blencowe
 * 🇺🇸 Cat Zingano
 * 🇧🇷 Cris Cyborg
 * 🇧🇷 Dayana Silva
 * 🇺🇦 Ekaterina Shakalova
 * Leah McCourt
 * 🇺🇸 Pam Sorenson
 * 🇦🇺 Sara Collins
 * 🇺🇸 Sara McMann
 * 🇮🇪 Sinead Kavanagh

Women's Flyweight

 * 🇺🇸 DeAnna Bennett
 * 🇳🇱 Denise Kielholtz
 * 🇷🇺 Diana Avsaragova
 * 🇺🇸 Ilima-Lei Macfarlane
 * 🇺🇸 Justine Kish
 * 🇯🇵 Kana Watanabe
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Kate Jackson
 * 🇺🇸 Liz Carmouche
 * 🇺🇸 Sumiko Inaba
 * 🇺🇸 Veta Arteaga

Default Champions

 * Bellator Heavyweight World Championship - Ryan Bader
 * Bellator Light Heavyweight World Championship - Vadim Nemkov
 * Bellator Middleweight World Championship - Johnny Eblen
 * Bellator Welterweight World Championship - Yaroslav Amosov
 * Bellator Lightweight World Championship - Usman Nurmagomedov
 * Bellator Featherweight World Championship - Patricio Pitbull
 * Bellator Bantamweight World Championship - Sergio Pettis
 * Bellator Women's Featherweight World Championship - Cris Cyborg
 * Bellator Women's Flyweight World Championship - Liz Carmouche

Arenas

 * BBQ Backyard Brawl
 * Bellator Gym Fitness Center
 * Local MMA Fight Club
 * Mohegan Sun Arena
 * Pechanga Resort and Casino
 * SAP Center at San Jose
 * Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood
 * The SSE Arena, Wembley
 * Wintrust Arena

Soundtrack

 * Bad Omens - "Artificial Suicide"
 * Bia - "Millions"
 * Blessthefall - "Wake the Dead"
 * Chris Webby ft. Busta Rhymes - "Oh Boy"
 * Chimaira - "Eyes of a Criminal"
 * Disturbed - "Unstoppable"
 * Eminem - "Till I Collapse"
 * Godsmack - "Awake"
 * Hyro the Hero ft. Chad Gray - "Fight"
 * Jinjer - "Copycat"
 * Joey Valence & Brae - "Punk Tactics"
 * Jynx - "Cut Loose"
 * Lil Uzi Vert ft. Bring Me the Horizon - "Werewolf"
 * Linkin Park - "Faint"
 * Migos - "Avalanche"
 * Mount Westmore - "Motto"
 * P.O.D. ft. Randy Blythe - "Drop"
 * Rexx Life Raj - "Kimbo Slice"
 * Skindred - "Bruises"
 * Stic.Man - "Warrior Codes"
 * Tech N9ne ft. Hu$h & Kim Dracula - "W.H.A.T. (We're Hungry & Thirsty)"
 * The X-Ecutioners ft. Mike Shinoda & Joe Hahn - "It's Goin' Down"
 * Vic Mensa ft. G-Eazy & Chance the Rapper - "$wish"
 * Wu-Tang Clan - "Protect Ya Neck"

Trivia

 * The game's cover features Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix semifinalist Michael "Venom" Page and current Bellator Women's Featherweight World Champion Cris Cyborg.
 * Cris Cyborg is the first woman to be featured in the cover of an ACS sports game.
 * The game was originally announced during the Bellator MMA vs. Rizin broadcast as "Bellator: MMA Fury 24". However, development was pushed back for another year in order to fine-tune the game.