This weekend sees the return of the biggest star in mixed martial arts, Conor McGregor. The first simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history returns to rematch Dustin Poirier this Saturday at UFC 257. In addition to headlining that pay-per-view event alongside Poirier, McGregor is also the main event of EA Sports UFC 4's January title update, which hits today.

To celebrate the highly anticipated UFC 257, EA Sports and developer EA Vancouver have added a new version of Conor McGregor to the featherweight division, where the Notorious Irishman began his UFC run and captured his first UFC championship. The Legacy version of Conor McGregor joins the featherweight division, based on his skillset and look from UFC 178. At that 2014 event, McGregor faced off against Poirier for the first time, knocking him out in the first round. His Legacy model features a 4.5 out of 5 overall rating, with high marks in striking and health.

To continue the Conor celebration, new McGregor-themed vanity items for your created fighters have been added to the in-game closet. These items include an orange shirt and green shorts that say "The King is Back" and a shirt and pair of shorts that say, "I'd Like to Apologize to Absolutely Nobody," – an abridged version of McGregor's famous quote after capturing the lightweight belt at UFC 205 in 2016.

This title update also adds light heavyweight contender Jiri Prochazka to the game. Prochazka is coming off of a UFC debut in July 2020 where he brutally knocked out former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir. He is currently set headline the February 27 UFC Fight Night, where he will face two-time title challenger Dominick Reyes.

On top of those two real-world additions, fans of the Fight Night franchise can rejoice, as Andre Bishop and Isaac Frost, the fictional protagonist and antagonist of Fight Night Champion respectively, have been added to UFC 4's heavyweight division. The two fighters were previously added to UFC 3 as one of the final free updates for that game.

Changes have also been made to systems like stamina and submissions, and blocking animations have been added and tweaked. The biggest gameplay change comes in the form of the new ability to throw calf kicks. Performed by tapping the leg kick command instead of holding it, calf kicks do less damage, but are safer than regular leg kicks and are effective at interrupting your opponent's strikes.

The free January title update is available now for EA Sports UFC 4. For more on the game, check out our review.

[Source: EA Sports]