UFC Undisputed 3: New Game Pushes MMA Further into Pop Culture Relevance

Ladies, if you're reading this and you're still trying to figure out what to get your man for Valentine's Day (assuming there's to be any gift-giving reciprocity on this most Hallmarky of Hallmark holidays), then you may want to consider standing in line at your local video game purveyor on Tuesday to grab a copy of UFC Undisputed 3.

OK, so that isn't likely to happen much, but wouldn't it be interesting if it does?

A mixed martial arts video game serving as the jumping-off point for a seismic shift in America's culture of consumption—that has to rank right up there among UFC president Dana White's most coveted fantasies, alongside Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao opting to settle their Cold War-style score in the Octagon and getting Carmen Electra and Marilyn Monroe to do the ringside walk.

That aside, the release of the latest UFC video game will serve as a noteworthy barometer of where MMA currently ranks in the nation's collective sports conscience. The previous edition proved to be something of a boondoggle for developer THQ, which saw the game's sales check in well below expectations.

Of course, much has changed since May of 2010, when the last UFC Undisputed was released in North America. The UFC has absorbed WEC and Strikeforce and has begun broadcasting some of its best bouts on FOX and the network's cable television affiliates.

Big steps for the once-fledgling sport, to be sure. Now, if only the powers-that-be at the UFC headquarters could find a John Madden-like figure to serve as the face of its video-game franchise.

Hmmm...how about "Gracie UFC"?

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