EVE Online Devs Will Take On Real-Life MMA Fighter At EVE Fanfest

[Andy Chalk]

EVE Online Devs Will Take On Real-Life MMA Fighter At EVE Fanfest

Members of the EVE Online development team will battle real-life MMA fighter Gunnar "Gunni" Nelson in a series of cage matches during the 2014 EVE Fanfest.

I'm not sure if this is the best idea I've heard all month or the worst, but it's certainly the most Icelandic. On the evening of May 2, the Friday night of this year's three-day EVE Fanfest, employees of CCP Games will take part in ten back-to-back cage matches against Gunnar "Gunni" Nelson [http://www.nelson.is/is], a real-life MMA fighter with a professional record of 12-0-1.

Nelson isn't a leading contender for the UFC championship, but he does beat people up for a living; CCP employees, on the other hand, have a somewhat less vigorous vocation. Even so, Ragnar "CCP Loki" Eðvaldsson said the matches against Nelson will be the real deal.

"The fighting itself will be very serious," he said. "We aim to defeat this world-class athlete and the team has been training hard for many months at Mjölnir [MMA gym] to do so. What is the distance between a person at the top of the pyramid and those who strive to get there? Tune in to find out."

Team coach and EVE Online community developer Sveinn "CCP Guard" Kjarval seemed to be of a somewhat different mindset, however, promising that his fighters will bring "flailing, half-strength maneuvers" to the cage that will "possibly, eventually have a two percent chance at best of causing this human tornado of devastation to pause and laugh just long enough that we get super-lucky."

The good news for the CCP fighters is that the "EVE of Destruction" bouts will be wrestling matches decided by submission rather than unconsciousness or the inability to see through a busted-up face. The bad news is, that plays to Nelson's strength: He's a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist who's won eight of his 12 victories by submission.

Believe it or not, this isn't the first time that an EVE Fanfest has included a martial contest: A highlight of the 2011 event was the "Twitch [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJy2kIWtyvQ].




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[synobal]

I really enjoyed the Chess boxing event they did. I dunno about the wisdom of this but hey it's iceland they have fantastic healthcare and its socialized so why worry.

 

[hazabaza1]

I anticipate three rounds of this guy hitting the devs in the face once, knocking them out and then pinning their unconcious bodies.

Should be fun.

 

[gigastar]

... Why? Is this, like, some kind of penance for cancelling World of Darkness or something? I don't understand what this has to do with their game or anything at all, really. I guess it will still be entertaining, in a bizarre, embarrassing sort of way.

I imagine its penance for creating and encouraging one of the most competitively cruel communities of the modern era.

 

[BrotherRool]

In the cold dark world of professional EVE Mixed Martial Arts no-one can hear you s- oh, wait yes they can

 

[Morsomk_v1legacy]

As an Icelander, this was my exact reaction from reading this article.
Dem devs are gonna get wrecked.

 

[Kargathia]

... Why? Is this, like, some kind of penance for cancelling World of Darkness or something? I don't understand what this has to do with their game or anything at all, really. I guess it will still be entertaining, in a bizarre, embarrassing sort of way.

I imagine its penance for creating and encouraging one of the most competitively cruel communities of the modern era.

Penance, or dissatisfaction with the purely digital nature of their sadomasochism up to this point?

In any case, it's probably a positive experience for them. It's good to remind yourself every once in a while that there's some fights you really shouldn't pick.

 

[Ldude893]

Related to: BAD IDEA

That's one way of putting it.

But seriously, anybody else think it's fitting that the developers of gaming's own capitalist Hunger Games are volunteering themselves to get spectacularly punched in the face?

 

[omega 616]

They aren't going to get punched in the face at all, it says MMA fighter but the story also says they would just be wrestling.

All that will happen is the devs will futilely struggle while the fighter does whatever the fuck he wants, tapping them out at will. The devs will wake up the next day with muscle aches and the fighter will think "man, I wasted a day when I could have been training".

 

[flamedance58]

Great...so the dev team is going to get the shit knocked out of them and several thousand braincells smashed apart...

So in future news EVE Online: Brony Force!

Oops! Maybe all those fights weren't a good idea XD

 

[Strazdas]

... Why? Is this, like, some kind of penance for cancelling World of Darkness or something? I don't understand what this has to do with their game or anything at all, really. I guess it will still be entertaining, in a bizarre, embarrassing sort of way.

The lead community officers knows the man personally. they are long time friends and they have in fact fought him before during the plex for good drive. they probably are just doing it for the kicks and publicity.

I imagine its penance for creating and encouraging one of the most competitively cruel communities of the modern era.

I didnt knew CCP created LOL, DOTA and WOT.