DVD Corner

UFC: Ultimate Fight Collection 2011 Edition DVD Review

“UFC: Ultimate Fight Collection 2011 Edition” is the perfect gift for any UFC fan.

Rather than having a long winded review about the entire set, I decided to give my thoughts on each UFC event in this set. So, without further adieu:

UFC 116: Gerald Harris Vs. Dave Branch, Seth Petruzelli Vs. Ricardo Romero, Brendan Schaub Vs. Chris Tuchscherer, George Sotiropoulos Vs. Kurt Pellegrino, Krzysztof Soszynski Vs. Stephan Bonnar, Chris Lytle Vs. Matt Brown, Yoshihiro Akiyama Vs. Chris Leben and Brock Lesnar Vs. Shane Carwin.

The two best fights in UFC 116 also happen to be two great comebacks. The main event between Lesnar and Carwin looked like it was going to be a Carwin victory early with Lesnar getting pounded on the matt. Somehow, Lesnar managed to survive the assault and in round two, he choked out Carwin. The other great battle here is between Akiyama and Leben. Akiyama looked to be in control early and was even close to submitting Leben. However, the exhausted Leben stays toughs, doesn’t quit, and keep. In the third round, Leben’s determination comes through big time as he leg chokes Akiyama to secure a victory.

UFC 117: Stefan Struve Vs. Christian Morecraft, Johny Hendricks Vs. Charlie Brennerman, Rick Story Vs. Dustin Hazelett, Junior Dos Santos Vs. Roy Nelson, Matt Hughes Vs. Ricardo Almeida, Clay Guida Vs. Rafael Dos Anjos, Jon Fitch Vs. Thiago Alves, and Anderson Silva Vs. Chael Sonnen.

Let’s face it; Silva Vs. Sonnen is not only THE main event here, but the best fight of the event. Sonnen was poised to upset and give Silva his first UFC loss, but Silva pulls out one of the greatest comebacks in UFC history with a late submission victory. A must see.

UFC 118: Mike Pierce Vs. Amilcar Alves, Dan Miller Vs. John Salter, Joe Lauzon Vs. Gabe Ruediger, Nate Diaz Vs. Marcus Davis, Kenny Florian Vs. Gray Maynard, Randy Couture Vs. James Toney and Frankie Edgar Vs. BJ Penn.

Most will talk about the rematch between Edgar and Penn, but to me, the real gem here is Diaz impressively thrashing Davis’s face and eye to a bloody pulp. The fight ends in the third round with a guillotine choke that renders Davis unconscious.

UFC 119: Mark Hunt Vs. Sean McCorkle, Thiago Tavares Vs. Pat Audinwood, Matt Mitrione Vs. Joey Beltran, CB Dollaway Vs. Joe Doerksen, Sean Sherk Vs. Evan Dunham, Chris Lytle Vs. Matt Serra, Rogerio Nogueira Vs. Ryan Bader and Frank Mir Vs. Mirko Cro Cop.

UFC 119 proved to be a largely underwhelming event with a bad judge call on the Dunham fight and a disappointing main event between Mir and Cro Cop.

UFC 120: Paul Sass Vs. Mark Hoist, Cyrille Diabate Vs. Alexander Gustafsson, Dan Hardy Vs. Carlos Condit, and Michael Bisping Vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama.

Again, UFC 120 was not the world’s greatest event, but the red and black Mohawk wildman Brit Dan Hardy versus a calm, composed, fearless Carlos Condit was an exciting match to be sure.

UFC 121: Jon Madsen Vs. Gilbert Yvel, Mike Guymon Vs. Daniel Roberts, Court McGee Vs. Ryan Jensen, Brendan Schaub Vs. Gabriel Gonzaga, Tito Ortiz Vs. Matt Hamill, Diego Sanchez Vs. Paulo Thiago, Jake Shields Vs. Martin Kampmann, and Brock Lesnar Vs. Cain Velasquez.

Up until last year, Cain Velasquez appeared to be the star of the future. He simply looked virtually unstoppable as evidenced by his commanding victory over Lesnar in UFC 121.

UFC 122: Kris McCray Vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha, Seth Petruzelli Vs. Karlos Vemola, Pascal Krauss Vs. Mark Scanlon, Vladimir Matyushenko Vs. Alexandre Ferreira, Dennis Siver Vs. Andre Winner and Nate Marquardt Vs. Yushin Okami.

Karlos Vemola is not a household name, but his ferocious performance will certainly catch your eye here. He has so much energy, power, and drive to win which makes the battle against Seth Petruzelli so fun to watch. Another highlight in UFC 122 is the Winner and Siver match. The “speed fighting” as I call it is a refreshing change of pace from some fighters who take their time. It’s almost like watching a fight in fast forward it’s that quick.

UFC 123: Paul Kelly Vs. TJ O’Brien, Mike Lullo Vs. Edson Barboza, Karo Parisyan Vs. Dennis Hallman, Aaron Simpson Vs. Mark Munoz, Matt Brown Vs. Brian Foster, George Sotiropoulos Vs. Joe Lauzon, Phil Davis Vs. Tim Boetsch, Matt Hughes Vs. BJ Penn, and Rampage Jackson Vs. Lyoto Machida.

The main event between Jackson and Machida wasn’t too thrilling, but thankfully the Penn and Hughes fight delivered. Penn looked legit here as he was clearly ready for business. He didn’t mess around and won a quick bout against an unprepared Hughes who didn’t even know what happened after he lost.

UFC 124: Pat Audinwood Vs. John Makdessi, Matt Riddle vs. Sean Pierson, Mark Bocel Vs. Dustin Hazelett, Thiago Alves Vs. John Howard, Joe Stevenson Vs. Mac Danzig, Jim Miller Vs. Charles Oliveira, Stefan Struve Vs. Sean McCorkle, and Georges St-Pierre Vs. Josh Koscheck.

The GSP/Koscheck five rounder proved that GSP is still the champ. Granted, it’s not the most exciting GSP fight for sure, but he got the job done and that’s what he had to do.  Jim Miller’s win against Oliveira was also noteworthy.

UFC 125: Mike Brown Vs. Diego Nunes, Phil Baroni Vs. Brad Tavares, Marcus Davis Vs. Jeremy Stephens, Clay Guida Vs. Takanori Gomi, Nate Diaz Vs. Dong Hyun Kim, Chris Leben Vs. Brian Stann and Frankie Edgar Vs. Gray Maynard.

After Diaz’s impressive performance in 118, I was curious to see how he’d follow up that fight. His opponent (Dong Hyum Kim) seemed jumpy and physically outmatched, but he truly surprised here with some patient and skilled ground work and some wickedly thunderous punches. The 5 rounder main event with Edgar and Maynard may seem like a cheat to some since it ended it in a draw, but the draw was deserved as both fighters gave it their all.

UFC 126: Mike Pierce Vs. Kenny Robertson, Kyle Kingsbury Vs. Ricardo Romero, Paul Taylor Vs. Gabe Ruediger, Kid Yamamoto Vs. Demetrious Johnson, Donald Cerrone Vs. Paul Kelly, Jake Ellenberger Vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha, Jones Vs. Ryan Bader, Forrest Griffin Vs. Rich Franklin and Anderson Silva Vs. Vitor Belfort.

If only ever UFC event was this good. Jon Bones Jones choking out Bader, Silva with a knock out face kick, and an intense duel between Griffin and Franklin. What’s not to like?

UFC 127: Mark Hunt Vs. Chris Tuchscherer, Tiequan Zhang Vs. Jason Reinhardt, Anthony Perosh Vs. Tom Blackledge, James Te Huna Vs. Alexander Gustafsson, Ross Pearson Vs. Spencer Fisher, Kyle Noke Vs. Chris Camozzi, Chris Lytle Vs. Brian Ebersole, George Sotiropoulos Vs. Dennis Siver, Michael Bisping Vs. Jorge Rivera and BJ Penn Vs. Jon Fitch.

While it was hard to top UFC 126, there are some intriguing results here. Ebersole’s upset win by decision, the draw between Fitch and Penn, and Siver upsetting Sotiropoulos made the event anything but predictable.

UFC 128: Raphael Assuncao Vs. Erik Koch, Kurt Pellegrino Vs. Gleison Tibau, Edson Barboza Vs. Anthony Njokuani, Luiz Cane Vs. Eliot Marshall, Mirko Cro Cop Vs. Brendan Schaub, Jim Miller Vs. Kamal Shalorus, Urijah Faber Vs. Eddie Wineland and Shogun Rua Vs. Jon Jones.

Fan favorite Jon Bones Jones has another winner here with an impressive victory over Shogun Rua. Likewise, Miller’s seventh straight victory proves that he’s both underrated and the real deal.

UFC 129: Yves Jabouin Vs. Pablo Garza, John Makdessi Vs. Kyle Watson, Jason MacDonald Vs. Ryan Jensen, Ivan Menjivar Vs. Charlie Valencia, Claude Patrick Vs. Daniel Roberts, Sean Pierson Vs. Jake Ellenberger, Nate Diaz Vs. Rory MacDonald, Mark Bocek Vs. Ben Henderson, Vladimir Matyushenko Vs. Jason Brilz, Randy Couture Vs. Lyoto Machida, Jose Aldo Vs. Mark Hominick, and Georges Sti-Pierre Vs. Jake Shields.

The main event in UFC 129 may involve GSP, but the real highlight is the 47 year old Randy Couture’s final fight in the UFC. Couture wanted to fight Machida and he finally got his chance. Machida, who thought it was an honor to fight Couture, did manage to beat Couture, but the real story was Couture’s classy exit. Going back to the GSP match, the five rounder battle against Jake Shields wasn’t what people had hoped, but it still showed that GSP is on top. Other highlights here: Vladimir’s 20 second knock out of Brilz and the powerful Jake Ellenberger (who took the fight a mere 17 days prior to the event) clobbering Sean Pierson.

UFC 130: Michael MacDonald Vs. Chris Cariaso, Gleison Tibau Vs. Rafaelllo Oliveira, Miguel Angel Torres Vs. Demetrious Johnson, Brian Stann Vs. Jorge Santiago, Thiago Alves Vs. Rick Story, Stefan Struve Vs. Travis Browne, Frank Mir Vs. Roy Nelson and Quentin Rampage Jackson Vs. Matt Hamill.

While this was a generally underwhelming event, UFC 130 had a few gems. Brian Stann’s  statement win and Browne’s superman punch knocking out Struve were great moments that would have any UFC fan buzzing.

UFC 131: Joey Beltran Vs. Aaron Rosa, Dustin Poirier Vs. Jason Young, Jesse Bongfeldt Vs. Chris Weidman, Sam Stout Vs. Yves Edwards, John-Olav Einemo Vs. Dave Herman, Demian Maia Vs. Mark Munoz, Kenny Florian Vs. Diego Nunes and Junior Dos Santos Vs. Shane Carwin.

For once, the main event actually delivered here as Junior Dos Santos pounded Carwin’s face to a literal bloody pulp and proved that he was not be underestimated. The other great highlight here is Stout’s NASTY knockout of Yves Edwards.

UFC Fight Night 22: Jared Hamman Vs. Kyle Kingsbury, Ross Pearson Vs. Cole Miller, and Nate Marquardt Vs. Rousimar Palhares.

Best fight here? The impressive comeback by Cole Miller against Ross Pearson.

UFC Fight Night 23: Cody McKenzie Vs. Yves Edwards, Mark Himinick Vs. George Roop, Matt Mitrione Vs. Tim Hague, and Evan Dunham Vs. Melvin Guillard.

The Dunham and Guillard is one of the most intense battles I’ve seen in UFC. This fight has everything from hammer fists and takedowns to fierce kicks and knee hits. Check it out.

UFC Fight Night 24: Johny Hendricks Vs. TJ Waldburger, Leonard Garcia Vs. Chan Sung Jung, Dan Hardy Vs. Anthony Johnson and Rogerio Nogueira Vs. Phil Davis.

Chan Sung Jung (AKA Korean Zombie) twister chokeout victory with 1 second left in second round has to be seen to be believed.

UFC Live 2: Charles Oliveira Vs. Darren Elkins, Brian Stann Vs. Mike Massenzio, DeMarques Johnson Vs. Matthew Riddle, Takanori Gomi Vs. Tyson Griffin, Yushin Okami Vs. Mark Munoz, and Jon Bones Jones Vs. Vladimir Matyushenko.

Want more Jon Bones Jones? You got it! Jones has another great win in UFC Live 2 against Vladimir. Additionally, Stann has another fantastic win here which will no doubt further catapult his career.

UFC Live 3: Igor Pokrajac Vs. Todd Brown, Rousimar Palhares Vs. David Branch, Thiago Tavares Vs. Shane Roller, Brian Bowles Vs. Demacio Page, CB Dollaway Vs. Mark Munoz, and Diego Sanchez Vs. Martin Kampmann.

Keep an eye open for the bloody battle between Sanchez/Kampmann. The “decision” is certainly controversial, but it’s still worth watching.

UFC Live 4: Michael Johnson Vs. Edward Faaloloto, Ricardo Lamas Vs. Matt Grice, Nik Lentz Vs. Charles Oliveira, Joe Lauzon Vs. Curt Warburton, Joe Stevenson Vs. Javier Vazquez, Tyson Griffin Vs. Manny Gamburyan, Matt Mitrione Vs. Christian Morecraft, Rick Story Vs. Charlie Brenneman, Cheick Kongo Vs. Pat Barry.

Barry/Kongo has to be the most surprising, unbelievable, and perhaps best fight on this entire set. Kongo looked to be knocked out by Barry, but Kongo manages to stand up and knock Barry out.

Note: The set is packaged in a long coffee table esque book with 2 discs on each page. The cardboard case holders may irritate some, but I can give it a pass for the creative set design.

Video/Audio:

The widescreen picture quality is sharp, but a Blu-ray set would have been preferable.

The unspecified audio track delivers clear sounding announcers, crowd noise, interviews, etc.

Extras:
* UFC.com ad.
* Bonus fights: James McSweeney Vs. Fabio Maldonado, Kyle Noke Vs. Rob Kimmons, Brian Foster Vs. Forrest Petz, Efrain Escudero Vs. Charles Oliveira, Pat Barry Vs. Joey Beltran, Cole Miller Vs. Matt Wiman, DaMaqrques Johnson Vs. Mike Guymon, Michael McDonald Vs. Edwin Figueroa, Amir Sadollah Vs. DeMarques Johnson, and Alex Caceres Vs. Mackens Semerzier.
* “Best Of Unguarded”- Deep and sometimes lighthearted interviews with the likes of Dan Hardy, Randy Couture, Josh Koscheck, etc.
* “Best Of Rogan 1-On-1”- A collection of interviews between Joe Rogan and fighters like Quentin Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida, and GSP.
* “Best Of UFC Fight School”- Fighters like Ryan Bader and Gray Maynard teach certain moves and techniques.

 

January 28, 2012 - Posted by nicklyons1 | DVD review | Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Bones Jones, Junior Dos Santos, UFC: Ultimate Fight Collection 2011 Edition DVD Review