EA SPORTS UFC 5 Submission Guide: Controls and Denials

Submissions in EA SPORTS UFC 5 require depleting your opponent's submission health bar to zero through stamina advantages and precise transition denials rather than minigames. By setting up holds from dominant ground postures or clinch entries, you lock your opponent into a positional battle where every escape attempt can be shut down.

How Do You Initiate Submissions in EA SPORTS UFC 5?

Submission entries are grappling transitions activated by holding down the modifier trigger on the ground or in the clinch. In the official game pages, Electronic Arts transitioned UFC 5 to a Frostbite-powered, transition-based submission system that removes legacy onscreen mini-game meters.

Setting your grappling settings to Legacy provides direct manual selection over every hold on your fighter's wheel. When working toward a finish, follow these execution steps:

1. Secure a dominant or guard position on the mat, such as full mount, side control, or full guard.
2. Hold L2 on PlayStation 5 or LT on Xbox Series X/S to view available holds highlighted in purple text on your HUD wheel, referencing your core controls.
3. Flick the right stick toward the desired technique, such as pushing right for an armbar from mount or left for a Kimura from side control.
4. Enter the setup phase where your fighter secures the limb or neck, locking the defender into an escape state.
5. Deplete your opponent's stamina bar while keeping yours high, then flick the right stick toward the submission prompt a second time to lock in the final hold and force the tap.

Specialized submissions can also be launched directly from standing positions. Initiating a clinch requires pressing Square + X on PlayStation 5 or X + A on Xbox Series X/S in an orthodox stance. Landing a knee to the body or head advances your fighter into the Thai clinch collar tie. From this Thai clinch, holding L2 + R1 + Square on PlayStation 5 (or LT + RB + X on Xbox) triggers a flying standing guillotine choke that drags the fight directly to the mat. In the same way, pressing L2 + R1 + Square or X executes a flying armbar directly from the clinch.

After nearly a decade of not changing, EA Sports UFC 5 finally upgrades the submission system.

— EA Sports UFC 5: Submission System Breakdown - Gamepur

What Are the Visual Denial Cues for Every Submission?

Transition denials are directional defensive reactions executed by holding R2 on PlayStation 5 or RT on Xbox Series X/S and flicking the right stick toward the opponent's movement. While trapped in a submission setup, defenders can only attempt escapes to the left or to the right. Correctly reading the visual cue drains defender stamina, awards massive grapple advantage, and prevents them from breaking free.

As detailed in the Game Informer preview, the revamped ground engine focuses on fluid positional battles:

"minigames are gone; there's nothing over your screen, blocking the beautiful transitions we have." — the EA Vancouver development team

Recognizing the exact physical animations tells you which way to flick your stick:

• Armbar (Spider Web Position): If the defending fighter rolls their entire body outward or attempts to crawl away, flick right. When they roll inward or circle toward your chest, flick left.
• Rear Naked Choke (Back Mount): Focus your eyes on the opponent's limbs. If the defender reaches up and fights with their hands, flick left. When they kick or stomp with their feet to bridge out, flick right.
• Arm Triangle: If the opponent plants their feet and stomps while turning their body into you, deny right. If they pull their arms and fight away toward the open side, deny left.
• Kimura: Watch the defender's torso. If they launch their entire upper body to the side, flick left. If their torso gives a slight tilt or twitch back toward you, immediately flick right.
• Guillotine Choke: Monitor the defender's arms carefully. When their arm reaches down toward your leg to create posture, flick right. When their arm pushes against your neck or face, flick left.
• Triangle Choke: Observe the defender's legs as they emerge. If their leg kicks out to the right side of the head, flick right. If their leg bridges outward to the left side, flick left.
• Leg Locks and Heel Hooks: Watch the defending hands against the mat. If their hand posts toward the right side of the canvas, flick right. If their hand pushes down toward the left side, flick left.
• D'Arce Choke: Track hand positioning closely. When the defender grips their hands together, deny right. When they drop a hand flat onto the canvas to base up, deny left.

How Does Stamina Affect Submission Damage?

Stamina advantage is the single mathematical factor that governs how much damage you deal to the defender's submission health bar. Going for a finishing lock while both fighters have equal stamina results in minimal damage, often removing as little as 20 percent of the bar. When your opponent's stamina reaches zero, they lose the ability to deny your advance, allowing a submission to trigger an immediate one-shot tap out.

To force severe stamina penalties, attacker fakes are an effective tactic. Flick the right stick toward a submission and immediately press R2 on PlayStation 5 or RT on Xbox to cancel the attempt. If the defender bites on the fake and inputs a denial in that direction, their stamina drains significantly. Furthermore, holding R1 on PlayStation 5 or RB on Xbox while locked in the setup phase initiates a struggle mechanic. This action steadily burns the stamina of both fighters; as long as you maintain higher base stamina than your opponent, draining their pool down to red guarantees heavy damage on your next lock-in attempt.

Fighters can also land instant counter-submissions using reversal inputs during ground transitions. By holding both triggers and bumpers together (L2 + R2 + L1 + R1 on PlayStation 5 or LT + RT + LB + RB on Xbox) while denying takedown attempts, fighters can counter single-leg and double-leg shots straight into guillotine chokes or rear naked chokes. Choosing specialists from the roster such as Charles Oliveira, Islam Makhachev, or Fedor Emelianenko gives you access to broader submission arsenals and specialized reversal trees.

Which Ground Strategy Fits Your Submission Style?

Choosing a submission path depends on whether you prefer hunting immediate finishes from the top, countering from defensive postures, or setting up standing submission traps. Incorporating smart tips and tricks across different match situations helps conserve stamina while working toward finishes that accelerate your progress in both standard career mode and the online career mode.

Targeting the head and body in the striking exchanges directly aids your ground offense. Absorbing strikes to the midsection lowers total stamina recovery, while repeated blows to the face create cuts that can trigger a doctor stoppage or impair defender vision. Once you secure top positioning against an opponent nursing depleted cardio, chaining transition denials directly into high-damage holds turns submissions into reliable fight-ending weapons.

Where does this guide's official EA SPORTS UFC 5 information come from?

Official details in this guide follow Is EA SPORTS UFC 5 Crossplay? 2023 - No, which describes the game in its own words.

EA SPORTS UFC 5 is a sports game released in 2023, available on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Is EA SPORTS UFC 5 Crossplay? 2023 - No