I always thought boxers were a bunch of wusses: strutting around the ring with big red cushions on their hands so they don't hurt each other too much and backing off when one of them is unfortunate enough to take a tumble onto the canvas. But boxing's monopoly on violent sports video games is about to take a beating with the introduction of an MMA franchise in UFC 2009 Undisputed.

For those who are unfamiliar with Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA, it is a sport where boxers and wrestlers fight with martial artists from a range of disciplines such as Judo or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Given the mix of styles the combat tends to vary from stand-up fights to grappling and wrestling on the floor, usually switching very quickly. There are far less rules in MMA and fights are ended by more than points or Kos - you can also be taken out via submission moves such as arm or leg locks.

Punching and blocking are not the only aspects of MMA however, and this is where the gameplay and controls start to get a bit tricky. A lot of combat centres around grappling and this is handled using the right stick. Move the right stick towards your opponent and you reach in for a grapple. Hold the left trigger down while doing this and you'll lunge to take your opponent to ground. This is a very simplified explanation which avoids the minutiae of possible counters, blocks and modifiers which can be applied with use of the right stick and good timing.

Once on the ground the game changes completely, with both fighters wrestling to gain a favourable position over their opponent in order to pull off a submission move or get into the infamous 'ground and pound' position to pummel your opponent half to death. This is done by moving the right stick in certain patterns, similar to performing some tricks on EA's Skate game, which if successful will move you closer to having your opponent in an undefendable position.

In order to appear as realistic as possible there's no health or stamina bar, but both are important to your game. Knacker your player out with a long attack and you're vulnerable to a KO from a well-placed punch or an easy submission move. If you stand back too much then your stamina will not go above your maximum health so you'll need to get your punches in before you take too much of a pounding.

However the combat isn't quite perfect. With the mix of standing and ground fighting you'll find it's much easier to just perfect the right hook and block your opponent's attempts to go to ground as it's so much easier to win that way. Submissions are almost impossible to pull off, particularly without the stamina bar as you're guessing (and putting them on just feels like you're cheating) and I have won every game through KO punches. The system of ground fighting feels a bit too fiddly and it's hard to tell when or how to counter any of the transitions so you essentially just fiddle the sticks like a berk until you get into a favourable position then pour on the punches. However this hasn't turned me off the game; if anything I've been more motivated to try and figure out the 'proper' way of playing and trying out new styles, and that’s a good sign.

The presentation is a mixed bag. The character models look really good, move convincingly and have some good ragdoll effects. The game runs with no slowdown and as the fight progresses your players get sweaty (rather than covered in PVA glue as the early Fight Night games looked) and cuts and bruises appear in damaged areas. If you fight on the ground and get particularly involved blood will start to spatter a little onto the mat. Punches hit convincingly without being over the top - the game is aware that it needs to straddle being entertaining while being a serious simulation.

However most things outside of the ring are not styled as well and the menus are sluggish and fiddly to say the least. In several areas the game isn't designed for quick, fluid use, and most of those appear in the career mode. For example if you get a new sponsor you'll have to stick their patch on your shorts in order to get the sponsorship 'cred'. This requires closing the email, going into player customisation and then clicking through at least six different menus relating to your shorts before you can choose the sponsor to add to the shorts. Then you need to back all the way out again. You'll also be bombarded with emails from UFC telling you how the imaginary fights went, as if you actually cared, but you can't delete them until you've read them!

The game comes with an in-depth create-a-fighter mode, where you can do all sorts of customisation, which you can then take out onto the career circuit. You can also play exhibitions online but the most fun I had was playing against a human opponent, as they're usually as bad as you so the game inequalities are evened out and the gloat-factor® is through the roof and heaps of fun.

Undisputed is a good first attempt to build a new franchise from the ground up and there's some great potential for the series. The gameplay is complex but intuitive and involving and the game balances fun with simulation very well - something a lot of sports games get wrong. However it is far from perfect and a few blemishes prevent the game from being as much fun as it could be. If Yuke's take this on-board and make the ground combat a bit easier to gauge and execute, along with streamlining the game to make jumping in and out of the action a lot easier, then they will have a cracking game on their hands.