Any UFC Fans?

I am a huge fan, and I have also played the demo UFC game, and I have to tell you that game is awesome.

GameStop-Exclusive Interview with Efrain Escudero
May 8, 2009 at 2:00 pm


Efrain Escudero as he'll appear in UFC 2009 Undisputed. Click here to see a video on how to build your own UFC Champion.

Whether it's work, school, family, or video-games, we all perform balancing acts with our time. Efrain Escudero, winner of the lightweight division of The Ultimate Fighter 8 reality show and GameStop-exclusive downloadable fighter for UFC 2009 Undisputed, is no stranger to juggling his schedule. While training for fights or enduring the craziness of the house in TUF 8, he also squeezes in time for studying toward his degree in Sociology at Grand Canyon University in Arizona.

The juggling act seems to be paying off, because on top off being launched into the Mixed Martial Arts spotlight, Escudero will be the first in his family to graduate from college later this month. Not only will it be an important personal milestone for him, but it will also free up his time to concentrate completely on his upcoming fight with Cole Miller this fall. "I'm pushing my body to the max because I'm starting my summer this week," he told us during a in interview last week, just before his finals. "I'll have a five-month summer. So I'm going to fully focus on training and fighting and getting ready for this fight."

Escudero told us his schooling has carried over to help him succeed in the Octagon. He said he uses some methods he learned in school, like Compare and Contrast, to size up his opponents before a fight. He told us his high-school and college wrestling experience also taught him the value of reaching goals and being true to his word. "I want everybody to know that I'm a man of my word," he said. "If I say I'm going to do something, I'm either going to go down trying to make it happen, or I am going to do it. I do not attempt failure."

Refusing to accept failure doesn't mean you won't face obstacles or disappointments, he added. He recalled trying to add Ju-Jitsu and boxing to his wrestling expertise, and taking quite a few beatings while doing it. "I believe if you want to get something done, you must tell yourself to do it, an you must do it over, and over, and over," he said. "You must fall before you succeed. if I'm doing something and I don't fail, it's because I'm not trying hard enough."

Any failing Efrain Escudero has done has been in the training gym, because we've seen nothing but wins from him. He told us his confidence wasn't very high going into TUF 8 because he was matched with fighters from all over the world, but his first win gave him the boost he needed to press on. "That's when I decided, 'I came here undefeated, and I'm going to leave here undefeated,'" he said. "And sure enough, it did happen," he added.

This win thrust him into celebrity status in the Mixed Martial Arts world, but he said he doesn't consider himself a celebrity. "I consider myself a down-to-earth kind of guy," he told us. "I just do my same thing." He said he enjoys fans coming to talk to him. "I majored in Sociology because I really like talking to people," he said. "I love meeting new people. So that kind of fits with my style."

His rise to fame has earned him a spot in UFC 2009 Undisputed as a GameStop-Exclusive downloadable character. When reserve your copy of UFC 2009 Undisputed you'll get an access code to download him, while supplies last.

If you'd rather build your own fighter and work your way to the top in UFC 2009 Undisputed, you can try the Create-A-Fighter and Career Modes. Create-A-Fighter will allow you to jumpstart the career of a future champion by customizing his physical appearance and attributes, learning new fighting techniques to use in the Octagon and managing his training process through strength, cardiovascular health and more.

Career Mode will allow you to build your own ultimate fighter right from the ground up. You can select your fighter’s appearance, fighting techniques, skills and proficiencies, and throw yourself head first into the Octagon. You might even make it to the UFC Hall of Fame. Click here to see a video about the modes on our GameStop Cinema page. Check back next week, when we bring you another exclusive interview, this time with Ryan Bader, winner of TUF 8's light heavyweight division.

I saw the Videos of this, it looks amazing!

I also have a UFC 2009: Undisputed forum as well