Hey guys.

This game is awesome, but going online you will quickly find out peoples "game".  I know that different strategies exist from the fighter types, but there is definatly the player who is good at standing up but not great on the ground, others who are total ground and pound by full mounters like myself (since alot of people dont know how to full mount... yet). Then there are people who go for submission after submission until its not your fighter that wears out, but your thumb muscles.

So whats your game?

Btw, quick tip: As a rule, NEVER fight a guy using a custom character. If you do, check their stats beforehand. I just leave a session at the player select screen if I see a guy with a custom character who has 94 in submission offence and takedown offence and 80% of their wins are from submission, because you just know they are gonna get you on the ground and submission you with their lame weighted custom char.

I find it fun to stand up and throw punches, but if I'm serious I go almost exclusively with the ground game. As you said most people don't yet know how to stop it. Plus getting a takedown is pretty satisfying.

I'm pretty tentative in the stand up game, actually.  If I've got a guy well measured, I'll throw at him, but when things get hairy, I got right into the clinch.  Personally, my game is to get into a clinch and brutalize the opponent a lot.
I also like to pull guard with BJJ fighters.  I'm definitely pretty comfortable on the ground, and ground and pound is my fallback plan, but a lot of times if I pull guard, I'll play loose defense and let the other guy throw punches to gas himself, then try and lock in the submission.

i personally keep my guard up and try to stay just out of range from the other guy, wait for the moment that they throw a strike that I'm too far away from them for it to hit, and then go in for a few body-head combos, leg kicks occasionally, or a clinch. I'll generally only take someone down if they're an crazy well-timed striker, simply because the grappling controls can be damn frustrating at times.

I'm more of a kick-first guy, and will go for the occasional punch every now and then. Combinations of kicking and blocking with some evasion, of course. I haven't mastered the remaining of the controls in UFC 09, because submissions and grappling on the ground is totally ass-backwards.

I have my custom fighter, and he has his upsides and downsides, hes a  boxer with strong hands, definite KO power, but I love his BJJ - it makes you a squirly motherfucker, giving you the ability to pull off submission attempts from the clinch and from full guard defensive through the Rubber Guard, plus transitioning from  rubber guard to a full mount and pouding a dudes face in with hammer fists.... satisfying.

i take it to the ground right off the bat.