A potential return of EA's Fight Night could face some hurdles

The resurgence in popularity of real-life boxing and the excitement surrounding the release of Steel City Interactive's Undisputed has apparently reignited EA's desire to bring back its popular boxing series Fight Night.

Recently, Inside Gaming's Mike Straw claimed in a report that EA UFC 6 is in development for 2025, which I believe is accurate, and that Fight Night is scheduled to return in 2026.

This sounds great for fans of martial arts video games. However, there are a few problems that EA needs to overcome if they want to bring Fight Night back.

Steel City Interactive already has a roster of 81 unique fighters at launch and even more have signed up to take part in the game. I've spoken to many people who have insider knowledge of the deals SCI has with some of the fighters, and some of them are exclusive.

Some of the fighters – top level guys and girls – have signed long-term contracts and would not be eligible to join any other boxing sport's roster. If someone like Canelo Alvarez, Tyson Fury and other big stars had exclusive deals with Undisputed, EA would have to deliver Fight Night without them.

There are famous fighters past and present who are not signed to Undisputed, such as Gervonta Davis, Manny Pacquiao, Devin Haney, Errol Spence, Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Bernard Hopkins, Marvin Hagley and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Securing the rights to half of these guys would make a huge impact, as would adding rights to use UFC fighters like Conor McGregor, Jose Aldo, Max Holloway, Holly Holm and Ilia Topuria.

Still, fans would have to deal with divided star pools due to affiliations associated with boxing.

The second potential hurdle is also related to Undisputed. While SCI's long-awaited boxing title launched in a state with obvious room for improvement, a pretty significant update is coming in December.

The updated numbers include gameplay improvements and potentially new fighters added to the roster. If Fight Night doesn't come back until 2026, Undisputed will have an even bigger lead over the classic series, as the latter will likely have undergone several updates by the time it's officially announced.

Unlike some titles that are no longer available, they are no longer salvageable; Undisputed is not a lost cause. The game has tons of potential, but it needs to fix some major gameplay issues to satisfy the urge that boxing video game fans have felt for over a decade.

There's one approach EA could take to bring back Fight Night, and it could be the most practical of all possible methods.

UFC President Dana White recently announced that he is fully committed to boxing. He said he wouldn't be a promoter, but he and his brand would operate more like “HBO” in boxing.

If White's addition to the boxing division and the UFC's current deal with EA can be merged, would it be crazy to see Fight Night as a boxing expansion for EA UFC 6?

Fight Night could use the same engine as EA UFC, only with boxing rules, a ring and other presentation elements. If EA took this approach, it wouldn't have to invest the resources necessary to reboot an entire game, and it would likely strengthen its relationship with the UFC.

Consider this nothing more than logical speculation, but it's worth considering whether EA wants to cautiously claim a slice of a market it once owned without competition.