UFC Undisputed 3 preorder offers detailed

Earlier this year, THQ confirmed that the latest installment in its mixed martial arts fighting game, UFC Undisputed 3, would ship on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in January next year.

At the time, the publisher indicated that the series would be moving away from a yearly release schedule to give the development team more time to implement new features. The previous title in the series, UFC Undisputed 2010, met with flagging sales upon its release.

THQ has now released the preorder details of the upcoming UFC Undisputed 3, outlining a substantial offer that includes four separate packs tailored to individual playing styles.

The Contenders Fighter Pack will be available to users who preorder the game from GameStop in the US and EB Games in Canada, and it will include access to prominent UFC newcomers Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Brian Stann, Phil Davis, and Nick Diaz.

The Early Access Pass will be available to users who preorder the game from Best Buy in the US and Canada, and it will include immediate access to content that would otherwise be locked, including 150 in-game items for created fighters (T-shirts, hoodies, caps, and nicknames), as well as access to new bouts in Ultimate Fights Mode, including Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez (UFC 121), Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin (UFC 115), and Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin (UFC 101), as well as a Legendary Chuck Liddell playable fighter.

The Ultimate Fights: Knockout Pack, which will be available to users who preorder the game on Walmart.com in the US and Canada, features five memorable UFC knockouts to complement the game's Ultimate Fights Mode, a challenge-based system that encourages players to re-create famous UFC fights to unlock montages, behind-the-scenes footage, and fighter interviews.

Finally, the Ultimate Knockout Artist Boost Pack will be available to users who preorder the game at Amazon in the US or FutureShop in Canada, and it will allow users to build their own fighter using instant upgrade tips from some of the game's designers. THQ says this boost to the Create-a-Fighter will save an estimated eight to 10 hours of gameplay time that would normally be spent training fighters.

UFC Undisputed 3 will be released in January 2012 on the Xbox 360 and the PS3, and it will include changes to UFC's classic striking and grappling systems, an alternate, simplified control scheme, and in-match tutorials.