Pucino, speaking at today's Pacific Crest Securities Technology Leadership Forum, shrugged off worries about MMA competition from EA Sports. When asked about THQ's competitors in the space, Pucino seemed hardly concerned with what EA Sports MMA might have to offer.

"There's one premiere league here, and it's the UFC," Pucino said, saying its contract with the premiere MMA league naturally comes with the top tier fighting talent. "We have the octagon, and we have the announcers. We'd rather be in our position than any other position."

That's hard to argue with. As is the potential for yearly installments of THQ's fighter to grow. Pucino pointed out that 75% of the revenues it pulled in from UFC 2009 Undisputed were from the United States, the rest coming from Europe. The CFO says that its WWE games were traditionally a "a 50/50 split" between the regions, a clear sign that UFC has room to grow internationally.

The publisher has already said it plans to expand its UFC offerings in the future, targeting releases on the Wii and portable game platforms.

Neven Dravinski, UFC Producer, tells gamers that the entire development team play a lot of online matches and read the boards daily, so they are "well aware of the issues."

"We want to make sure we patch this correctly so it is taking a bit of time, but I can confidently say we'll be releasing this patch soon," he said.

So far the team has worked up nine fairly significant fixes for the patch:

1. We recognize premature match quitting as the biggest online issue and have taken steps to fix it. The Patch will have integrated code that detects who pulls the cable and will assign a Loss as well as a Did Not Finish to that player. The DNF is only counted for the player who executes the disconnection. The DNF rate will be displayed on the fighter selection screen of the Online Ranked Match. When disconnected the Winning Streak is also reset to 0.

2. We've adjusted Ranked Matches to match up players with better connections, which will improve lag issues we've seen to date.

3. We've adjusted the difficulty of performing submissions against AI opponents to improve the balance of subs vs. striking when playing against the AI.

4. We've adjusted the Flash KO rate so that they are less frequent.

5. We've increased maximum number of points awarded in online play from 99,999 to 999,999 and we've increased the Max Level from 100 to 200.

6. We've lowered the Winning Streak Bonus Max from 5 to 3.

7. We've removed the decimal places on the Leaderboard Winning Percentage so we only show whole percentages.

8. We've addressed the CAF cheat so the skill levels in CAF cannot be cheated and increased. Also any CAF with unfair point values will no longer be able to be used Online.

9. For PS3 users we've also fixed a bug that causes a freeze during auto-save; whichever controller was used to Press Start on the Title Screen will be identified as the main controller.

Patch Update [Thanks Vickissv3]

Not my cup of tea, but I know how bent-out-of shape MMA enthusiasts get when you suggest the sport is anything less than the fastest growing sport in the world (I always imagine John Cusack in Say Anything: "Kickboxing: Sport of the future,") to say nothing of that "human cockfighting" label that never seems to go away. Still if you like squatting over another guy and jackhammering his skull off a virtual canvas, looks like it'll accommodate you nicely. And you don't have to do it as someone in the stable of UFC combatants. A deep "create-a-fighter" and career mode will make this almost a (wait for it ... wait for it) MMARPG.

Hit the jump for more details from Voodoo Extreme:

Authentic UFC Personalities - Explore a deep roster of more than 80 top names in UFC competition across five weight classes and enter the Octagon surrounded by the sport’s popular commentators, announcers, referees, trainers, Octagon girls and more.

Photorealistic Models and Effects – Experience the world of UFC as it appears on television with photorealistic fighters who breathe, sweat and move like their real-life counterparts. Players will also view amazing ripple effects across the faces and bodies of their fighters from the impact of devastating punches and kicks.

Constant Control – Gain the upper hand in matchups with a brand new ighting game engine designed specifically for next generation systems. Emphasis on innovative, responsive and easy-to-play controls will give players unparalleled command of their fighters in the Octagon.

Fighting Disciplines – Take down opponents and get the submission with a variety of mixed martial arts disciplines, including Judo, Muay Thai, Wrestling, Kickboxing, Boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Create-a-Fighter – Jumpstart the career of a future champion by customizing your fighter’s physical appearance, learning new fighting techniques to use in the Octagon and managing the training process through attributes such as strength and cardiovascular health.

Career Mode – Develop attributes, perfect moves and fight for entry into the UFC Hall of Fame through a series of dynamic storylines that build friendships and instigate intense rivalries.

And the screens:

UFC 2009 Undisuputed Details & Screenshots [Voodoo Extreme]

“UFC offers the fighting videogame genre a fresh and innovative look inside today’s most exciting live sporting event in the world,” said Dana White, president, UFC. “UFC 2009 Undisputed represents a significant opportunity for us to expand our growing, global audience and allow fans to step into the virtual Octagon™ to compete against the world’s most prominent mixed martial arts fighters.”

UFC 2009 is slated for a Spring 2009 release. I've generally been put off by the generic feel of previous UFC games, so here's hoping THQ delivers something unique enough to hold my attention for more than 15 minutes at a time.

Leading Fighting Game Publisher THQ Set to Enter the Famed Octagon™ with UFC® 2009 Undisputed

Debut Videogame Based on Ultimate Fighting Championship®

Poised to Deliver an Extensive Roster, Commanding New Game Engine and Powerful Features

AGOURA HILLS, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) today announced that UFC® 2009 Undisputed, the company’s debut videogame based on the renowned Ultimate Fighting Championship® mixed martial arts organization, is in development for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and mobile devices. Featuring an authentic and comprehensive UFC atmosphere, including an extensive roster of the best mixed martial arts fighters in the world, UFC 2009 Undisputed is expected to begin shipping to retail outlets worldwide in spring 2009.

“As the leading fighting videogame publisher(a), we feel the rising popularity of the UFC brand and its incredible mixed martial arts experience make UFC 2009 Undisputed the perfect addition to our expanding portfolio,” said Bob Aniello, senior vice president, worldwide marketing, THQ. “UFC 2009 Undisputed is certain to be the most realistic fighting game to date, including advanced collision detection and AI systems that incorporate individual fighter styles.”

“UFC offers the fighting videogame genre a fresh and innovative look inside today’s most exciting live sporting event in the world,” said Dana White, president, UFC. “UFC 2009 Undisputed represents a significant opportunity for us to expand our growing, global audience and allow fans to step into the virtual Octagon™ to compete against the world’s most prominent mixed martial arts fighters.”

About UFC 2009 Undisputed

UFC 2009 Undisputed is an explosive fighting game that will detail the action, intensity and attitude of a UFC live event. Players will explore a deep roster of more than 80 top fighters in UFC competition across all five weight classes. In addition, they will enter the Octagon surrounded by the sport’s popular commentators, announcers, referees, trainers, Octagon girls and more. Photorealistic models are at the forefront, as players will view amazing ripple effects across the faces and bodies of their fighters from the impact of devastating punches and kicks.

A brand new fighting game engine designed specifically for next generation systems will deliver innovative, responsive and easy-to-play controls that give unparalleled command of fighters, as players take down opponents with a variety of mixed martial arts disciplines like Muay Thai, Kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In addition, the game’s Create-A-Fighter system will jumpstart the careers of future champions through character customization and training management, while a robust Career Mode will develop a fighter’s attributes and skill sets while fighting to enter the UFC Hall of Fame through a series of dynamic storylines. Furthermore, players will be able to enhance their UFC 2009 Undisputed gameplay experience through online support, including downloadable content.

More information about UFC 2009 Undisputed can be found at www.thq.com.