Sports and fighting games are both routinely criticized for being merely annual roster updates, so it stands to reason that a sports fighting game would be even more incremental in its improvements. Spoiler alert: UFC Undisputed 3 is an improvement on its predecessor in every way, and at this point in the series every improvement is still meaningful and welcome. For UFC fans, that’s probably all you asked for; you can stop reading now and go grab a copy. For everyone else, let me try to convince you why you should care.

As you’ve probably guessed, this isn’t the type of fighting game in which anthropomorphic panda bears air-juggle opponents until their health meter is gone. Undisputed 3 is the closest gaming has come to simulating two men in a real fight–with all the blood, flailing, and awkward, sweaty touching that comes with it. Even if you’re not interested in UFC as a brand, there’s something to be said for the strategic experience of one-on-one combat, and the brutal results of out-thinking your opponent. That, and the fact that this is an increasingly rare case of a modern sports/fighting game with a robust feature set, including a slew of offline modes.

Probably the most enticing feature–to you, undecided reader who is not a fan of UFC–is the deep, comprehensive tutorial. As I’ll explain, the controls of Undisputed 3 are pretty complicated, so this type of acclimation is essential. Not only will the game teach you how to do everything in it, but it also teaches you why you’d want to do those things. This is the best digital introduction to a sport I’ve ever come across. There are also fully-voiced explanations of every mode and mechanic as well, so don’t let a lack of knowledge dissuade you from looking into this title.

Step 1: Don't get kicked in the face.

As a casual fan of mixed martial arts, I appreciated the primers a lot, especially since the controls can be quite intimidating. Each arm and leg of your fighter is assigned to a face button, but holding down certain shoulder buttons will change the height, style, or intensity or your attacks, as will the left thumb-stick. Throw in two different types of blocking, a system for swaying your upper body, a counter mechanic, and the ability to clinch and grapple your opponent, and you have a lot more to deal with than memorizing traditional fighting game combos. That’s not even taking into account the controls for maneuvers once the fight moves to the ground; there’s a whole other game’s worth of button pressing going on down there. Luckily, there is an option to simplify grapple controls for beginners.

Once you get a hang of the way the game operates though, fighting is immensely satisfying. I recall most matches of Undisputed 2010 turning into button mashing, joystick spinning affairs more akin to Mario Party than anything, so it’s obvious that all of the tweaks made to the core fighting were for the better. The only real issue I have is with the mechanic for submissions, which involves a mini-game that feels too arcade-y for my tastes. The realism that the rest of the game builds up is diminished slightly when you have to play a color-coded game of tag to choke a man.

Which button is cuddle?

The veneer of reality is a critical part of the game’s appeal too. Everything from the fighters’ entrances to the news stories generated in career mode lend a touch of verisimilitude to the proceedings that is really immersive. The most memorable moment I had with the game was when I kicked my way out from under a bleeding opponent to see that his blood had dripped realistically down onto my fighter. It’s touches like these that really sell the illusion of the fight.

Besides that, everything else is polished about as well as you could hope for. Character models are as realistic as they can be without crossing into the uncanny valley, the music is appropriate (if lacking any recognizable licensed tracks), and the commentary is unintrusive, which all that I really ask. There are noticeable transitions between grappling animations, but given gaming’s current level of technology, this is understandable, and as glossed-over as possible. I can’t find any real fault with the presentation.