BlurayMMA.com

It was considered a dream match-up, but did it live up to expectations? That was what I was hoping to find out by watching UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN here in Britain.

The show began with the preliminary fights as Matt Mitrione faced Joey Beltran in the heavyweight division.

This was a really enjoyable encounter. Mitrione got off a few good shots at the start until Beltran tagged him with a right before he took the fight to the ground.

From there both men gave us a good back and forth striking battle, with Mitrione showing how much he’s improved since his time on The Ultimate Fighter.

Meathead came out on top here as he took the unanimous judges decision.

It was down to middleweight for the next fight as C.B. Dalloway faced Joe Doerksen.

After a great striking display in the previous fight we saw a good display of ground work, with Dalloway going for an in-arm guillotine as soon as they went down. Doerksen didn’t panic though as he chose to relax to see how things would play out.

When nothing came of that Dalloway released the hold and went for a normal guillotine, and after they rolled on the mat a few times Dalloway synched in the hold completely, with Doerksen tapping out to give C.B. the submission win.

Then it was on to the UFC debut of K-1 legend Mark Hunt as he went up against Sean McCorkle in a heavyweight encounter.

The blink and you’ll miss it affair saw Hunt take the guard when the fight went to the ground, only for McCorkle to attack his arm and take him out with an evil looking arm bar. I have to admit I winced a little when I saw Hunt’s arm go as he tapped out.

Action from the lightweight division followed as Thiago Tavares faced Pat Audinwood.

Audinwood looked like he was in a whole different weight division because of his size advantage, but it didn’t help him when Tavares took him down with a couple of big slams.

Tavares then controlled the fight on the ground and took home the impressive submission win when Audinwood tapped out to a standing in-arm guillotine.

The main show began with more lightweight action as Melvin Guillard took on Jeremy Stephens.

This looked like it was going to be an explosive encounter, especially when Stephens put Guillard on his backside in the first few seconds.

But after Guillard got back to his feet immediately it became obvious what sort of battle we were going to get, and although both fighters connected with some good blows, especially Stephens’ liver shot in the third, this fight will probably be remembered for the two low kicks in the second round.

Guillard took home the split decision in a fight that could have gone either way.

The lightweight action continued as former champion Sean Sherk went up against Evan Dunham.

This proved to be a very intriguing encounter. Dunham looked like he was going to get the win a couple of times in the first with a guillotine, but the Muscle Shark managed to escape both times and opened up a nasty cut above Dunham’s right eye with a left elbow from the ground.

The back and forth action continued as the fight progressed with Dunham going for more guillotines, and as the fight entered it’s final few moments Dunham began to tee off at will, rocking Sherk a number of times.

Once again the judges were called into action as they gave Sherk the split decision, a decision that clearly didn’t sit too well with those in attendance.

It was up to the welterweight division for the next fight as Matt Serra faced Chris Lytle.

No ground work to speak of here, and hardly any kicks as well as these two began to swing for the fences as soon as the fight began, and that was how the fight played out for the entire three rounds, with each rocking the other with big shots, and Lytle’s repeated rights busting Serra open above his left eye.

There was more work for the judges and all three scored the fight in favour of Lytle.

The co-main event saw Antonio Rogerio Nogueira taking on Ryan Bader in the light heavyweight division.

An interesting battle saw some great action early on as Bader went to work with the ground and pound, with one vicious right bouncing Little Nog’s head off the canvas.

The rest of the fight was mainly a striking battle with occasional visits to the ground. Both men had their moments, with the fight ending with Bader looking for some more ground and pound.

The judges were certainly earning their pay as they gave Bader the unanimous decision, probably edging it with his ground and pound work.

The main event saw Frank Mir taking on Mirko Cro Cop in the heavyweight division.

Let’s be honest here. This was the worst main event I’ve seen since the Anderson Silva debacle in Dubai.

For fourteen minutes we had a fight between two men who just didn’t want to commit to anything. It felt more like a sparring session, and given the pedigree of these two that was inexcusable.

Then Mir connected with a big right knee that sent Cro Cop crashing. The referee quickly stepped in, giving Mir the barely deserved knockout win.

In conclusion – for once I’m not going to say that everything about a UFC show was great.

Don’t get me wrong, there were some good performances here, but there were also some lacklustre ones as well, and the main event was shockingly poor. It was as if Frank Mir and Mirko Cro Cop just couldn’t be bothered.

So in all an okay show, let down considerably by the two world class fighters in the main event.

UFC President Dana White talks UFC 119, Chael Sonnen, Steroids, Todd Duffee and takes a shot at former UFC Heavyweight champion -- Josh Barnett.

Ariel Helwani has got be one of the best current MMA interviewers.

See UFC 119 live on ESPN (PPV -- North America), in the wee small hours of Sunday morning.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

A departure from the norm, the voice of the UFC Joe Rogan & best buddy Jiu Jitsu genius Eddie Bravo guest on controversial The Alex Jones Show. Recorded in Austin, Texas ahead of UFC Ultimate Fight Night 22.

Subjects covered inlcude Brock Lesnar’s dietary requirements and illness, the nature of reality, chem-trails, swarms of bees talking to each other, oh and gay bombs!

Fascinating stuff. And who said MMA guys were all meat-heads?

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

Alex Reid’s big fight tomorrow, versus Tom ‘Kong’ Watson, live on Bravo, 10pm. I’m staying completely neutral on this one, Reid is from my old manor and Watson is from Southampton just down the road from me.

Weighing it up both fighters have things going against them. Alex Reid: ring rust. Tom ‘Kong’ Watson: coming off a loss.

Reid has the experience advantage I believe, but does he have the stamina required for a 5 round championship contest? All will be answered inside the cage at BAMMA 4, Birmingham NIA, Saturday night.

If you are still undecided which cage-fighter to back, have a shot on The Reidernator’s missus – Jordan walloping Watson herself, according to the Daily Star bookies William Hill are offering odds of 50-1!

Who do they think she is, Scary Sherri? This isn’t WWF pro wrestling!

Don’t forget, later on in the small hours of Sunday morning, UFC 119 live on ESPN. Wow, what a weekend for fight fans.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

It’s time to take our monthly trip to The Troxy in London for the latest offering from Dave O’Donnell’s Ultimate Challenge promotion, and their latest offering, Showdown, shown on a three day delay on Sky Sports this past Wednesday night here in Britain.

The show began with light heavyweight action as Andrius Juska faced Nick Chapman.

A very quick affair saw Juska connect with the big right hand early on. Chapman countered immediately with a big slam, quickly transitioning to an arm triangle. Juska had no choice but to tap, giving Chapman the impressive win in only his second outing.

UK1 kickboxing action followed as Elijah Grinnell challenged Djo Lema for the Lightweight title.

This fight began with one minute of not much happening until Lema connected with a right, which set up the big knee that dropped Grinnell like the proverbial sack of spuds. The referee stopped the fight immediately as Grinnell’s eye began to swell, with Lema taking the victory and continuing his impressive run.

A highlights package of some of the other fights followed before we returned to MMA action with Lola Bamgbala taking on Jack Mason in the middleweight division.

This was a great fight. Lola scored with a take down early on, looking for the submission. Mason managed to get back to his feet, and as Lola connected with a kick to the body Mason connected with a right that sent Lola crashing. The Nigerian was out of it as Mason secured the knockout win.

The Welterweight title was on the line next as Henrique Santana went up against John Maguire.

There was a bit of bad blood in this one. Santana began strongly, catching Maguire’s kick and taking him down. But after Maguire scrambled to his feet Santana earned a referee’s warning for some of his questionable tactics, including holding on to Maguire’s shorts.

This served to fire Maguire up, and as the fight progressed Santana tried to goad his opponent. Maguire was having none of it though.

Santana began the second with a take down attempt. Maguire countered with a knee that opened up a cut above Santana’s eye that sent blood streaming down his face. By this time the referee had seen enough and stopped the fight, giving Maguire the title winning technical knockout.

The big boys of came out to play for the main event as Kiane Sabet faced Ben Smith in the heavyweight division.

These guys really unloaded with the big blows. It was fought at a frantic pace as Kiane connected with a couple of big knees that would have probably knocked anyone else out.

Smith managed to recover though, and his ground game came to fore as he worked Kiane over. Smith took his back, flattened him out and synched in a rear naked choke for the submission win. A great fight, but given the pace it was probably a good thing it finished when it did.

In conclusion – another good show from Dave O’Donnell and his crew with a ton of enjoyable MMA action, even though I’m still not entirely sure about the UK1 kickboxing fights.

There was one thing that kind of irked me though. Normally with these shows there’s a big on screen graphic as the MC makes his final introductions, giving us the vital statistics on the fighters, but for some reason this was missing from some of the fights. It’s not a big thing, but for someone who’s watching Ultimate Challenge for the first time it could probably be a bit confusing. It’s also kind of inexcusable considering it was shown on Sky Sports.

But apart from that I have no other complaints, and with BAMMA’s next show this weekend it will again be interesting to compare these two British MMA promotions.

When I review UFC DVDs my aim is to show the positives but be fair, admittedly having seen the UFC 112 live card from ESPN and the let down it was, I’m hoping the bonus material makes up for the live event.

When the Abu Dhabi royal family bought a stake in the UFC, on paper for the inaugural Middle Eastern fight card they got what they wanted: 3 fights that should feature some world class grapple action. Unfortunately the Arab royalty did not get what they’d paid for, as all 3 top tier bouts were near void of mat action.

In reverse order, starting off on disc 2: the Countdown show does a fantastic job building up to the marquee match-ups. You’ll receive an insight into the life of New Jersey lad Frankie Edgar. A competitor with great wrestling, who chose MMA over the family plumbing business.

For those less familiar with Renzo Gracie this is a great introduction to Royce’s cousin, touching on family pride.

Post event conference will be appreciated for the honesty of UFC President – Dana White, who was disappointed with Anderson Silva’s performance, not engaging and general show-boating, defending the middleweight strap against fellow Brazilian Damian Maia.

We get Silva thoughts here too, although I’m sure many viewers will not be satisfied with the middleweight champion’s response.

Behind The Scenes profiles Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva, what makes him so great, plus we see the champs fun side, entertaining us with impersonations of Bruce Lee.

UFC legends Matt Hughes and BJ Penn also receive the fighter profile treatment, great introductions for newer fans.

Due to both title bouts going the full 25 minutes at UFC 112, the prelims can be found on disc 2, 3 of which feature UK based fighters: Jon Madsen vs Mostapha Al Turk, Nick Osipczak vs Rick and Paul ‘Tellys’ Kelly against Matt Veach.

Kelly’s skirmish against Veach is the must-see match-up, giving a warm sense of pride. Paul impresses, putting in an awesome performance, dominating hotly tipped wrestler Veach, pounding on him, then taking the win via guillotine choke.

Demarques Johnson and Brad Blackburn treat us to a good thrilling scrap.

Disc 1:

Kendall Grove versus Mark Munoz, is a fight loaded with grapple action plus a surprise comeback.

Next is Liverpool lad Terry Etim versus Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt Dos Anjos.

So far bouts featuring excellent world-class ground, especially from Dos Anjos, submitting Etim. Joe Silva booked the correct match-ups, but the following 3 marquee bouts sway from the script, veering off what should in theory feature great grappling.

Battle of legends: Matt Hughes against Renzo Gracie is a let down ,  I recommend digging out Pride FC events featuring Renzo and classic UFC DVDs to witness Hughes in his prime.

First of the title contests BJ Penn defending the strap against challenger Frankie Edgar again is all stand-up. Penn even ignores his corner’s advice in taking Edgar down. To be fair Penn had a sinus infection, affecting stamina. We see a title change but not an exciting scrap.

Finally the fight that garnered the most bad press – middleweight champ – Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva, challenged  by fellow Brazilian Damian Maia. You’ll enjoy the first 2 rounds, but round 3 onwards Anderson loses respect and fan admiration, making a mockery of his opponent, dancing around. It’s as if he chooses not to finish the fight.

This 2 disc offering from FightDVD features some high points thanks to the mid and lower card bouts along with the bonus material, but what should be highlights aren’t. Kelly versus Veach is a bigger reason to buy UFC 112 than Silva against Maia.

UFC 112 – Invincible is out now on DVD, available direct from www.fightdvd.co.uk and all good retailers.

Keep visiting BluRayMMA.com for more reviews of brand new UFC, related combat sport and martial arts DVD releases.

UFC DVD review by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

Week 2

Hear Alex Reid’s reactions to the news that his opponent Tom “Kong” Watson has lost his bout between Jesse Taylor.

Week 3

Final words from Alex Reid before the title tilt with Tom Watson, at Birmingham NIA on September 25 2010.

Both videos courtesy of WhoaTV. Subscribe to WhoaTV on youtube and follow on Twitter.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

It’s time to step into the world of the Ultimate Fighting Championship again as we take a look back at Ultimate Fight Night 22, shown in the early hours of this past Thursday here in Britain.

The show began with lightweight action as my fellow Brit Ross Pearson went up against Cole Miller.

Miller’s initial plan was obvious from the outset as he went for the take down, but Pearson did a good job of defending and countering with strikes.

However, it was Miller’s strikes that turned the tables in round two as a left hook rocked Pearson and sent him down. Miller quickly took his back and synched in a rear naked choke for the highly impressive submission win.

The lightweight action continued as Jim Miller faced Gleison Tibau.

A very entertaining back and forth affair saw both men put in good performances, particularly in the striking department.

It was so close that it really could have gone either way, but it was Miller who took home the unanimous judges decision.

The next fight was a catchweight bout as Efrain Escudero faced Charles Oliveira. This was originally meant to be a lightweight encounter, but Escudero failed to make the weight limit by four pounds.

This was one of those fights that went along nicely until it suddenly exploded into life. For two rounds both fighters teed off against each other, with occasional visits to the ground.

But after two low blows from both fighters, with Oliveira getting the worst of the two, Oliveira turned things up a notch, and it wasn’t long before he took Escudero’s back. As the former Ultimate Fighter got to his feet Oliveira synched in a rear naked choke, with Escudero tapping while he was still on his feet, ending a very good match-up.

The main event saw Nate Marquardt taking on Rousimar Palhares in the middleweight division.

The only fight not to make it out of the first round took a while to get going until Palhares took the fight to the ground. Marquardt showed some good take down defence, until Palhares went for an ankle lock which Marquardt easily escaped from.

It was then that Palhares paused, pointing at Marquardt’s legs, claiming they were greased up. Marquardt pounced with the ground and pound, and seconds later the referee stopped the fight, giving Marquardt the TKO win.

Palhares continued to complain though, until the officials checked and cleared Marquardt of any wrong doing. A shame that the fight had to end this way, as Palhares’ complaints overshadowed what was a good performance from Marquardt.

In conclusion – Dana White and his boys have done it again, putting on a great show with all four fights delivering what they set out to do. It’s hard to pick out a fight of the night, because they were all equally as good as each other.

So once again a UFC gets the big thumbs up from this particular writer.

Ahead of UCMMA 15: Showdown, taking place at London’s Troxy, this Saturday – September 18, we were fortunate to grab a few words with match-maker extraordinaire and ever popular face of Ultimate Challenge Dave O’Donnell.

The interview works well as an introduction to those less familiar with UCMMA, plus in an incite into the world of the larger than life cage-fighting promoter.

What’s your current favourite song?

WE NO SPEAK AMERICANO

YOLANDA BE COOL VS D CUP

How do you relax in your spare time?

- As always I spent the whole weekend in my magical garden, watering plants and working out new ideas – it just really chills me out.

For MMA fans new to Ultimate Challenge, can you tell us who are your current champions and which upcoming competitors to look out for?

Current champions are:

Neil Grove – HW

Jimi Manuwa – LH

Mark Weir – MW

WW – (Maguire V Santana – to be decided this Sat at UCMMA 15)

LW – Michael Pastou

FW – Dave Lee

Look out for Nick ‘Head Hunter’ Chapman, who’s a great ambassador for the sport plus Djo Lema.

UCMMA 15: Showdown is loaded with 4 title fights, can you tell us a little about each one, so the readers know what to expect?

Smith V Sabet: This Superfight Title is a question of honour rematch. Kiane is seeking revenge, as last time he fought injured but this time he’s 100 per cent animal and ready for what Ben has to throw at him. Ben has said it’s just another day in the office for him and that the only reason he took the rematch is to set the record straight – Ben’s saying injury or no injury, it’s going be the same outcome. These are two big guys with honour at stake and only one of them is going to leave that cage with their head held high.

Pastou V Olivier – Olivier has been around since the beginning of time, he first fought on Cage Rage 1 and was the former undisputed FW champ at Cage Rage. He is now stepping up a weight to prove that he’s back bigger and stronger – the only thing that will be the deciding factor is that Pastou (who walks around at 84 kilos and cuts to an amazing 70) will be far too big and strong for the likes of poor little Robbie.

Maguire V Santana – Alberto Mina, our former WW champ has relinquished his title, as another one of our champs has moved to Bellator in the US (it seems that all our UCMMA champs do well – is it luck or is it the fact that we can pick a winner?) This will be a battle of BJJ and stamina – they are so evenly matched the one with the biggest heart will take this title.

Djo Lema V Elijah Grinell – these guys have sick striking and magical skills – but let’s see if they can pull it out of the bag on the night because Djo Lema is the real deal and you’ll need more than magic to beat him.

UCMMA cards feature UK1 kick-boxing bouts, I’m a big fan of these fast-paced exciting fights, it offers variety. Do you feel this makes UCMMA unique?

It’s not just the UK-1 fights that make UCMMA unique – it’s the whole show. It’s the production values, the atmosphere, the fighters – the entire experience which makes it a night to remember. We continue to have sell out shows that start on time and run smoothly – for pure fan entertainment. With dancing girls, fighter promos, entertainment and celebrities – not forgetting the amazing fights – UCMMA is unstoppable.

Something else unique about UCMMA 15 is for the first time ever fellow journalist – Mark Amor-Carling is to compete inside the cage. From what I hear Mark is a very brave man entering into MMA combat with just 12 weeks training. How has he got on in that time?

Mark has done extremely well – his attitude to pain and hard training is ‘the more the merrier’ – I’ve never known a guy to be more dedicated and make more MMA friends in such a short time. Will he win – who knows – but one things’ for sure – it’ll be the fight of his life.

Can you tell us the charity the fight is aid of ?

Carling’s raising money for the Kiyan Prince foundation - http://www.kiyan.org/ which was set up by former boxing champ Mark Prince.

Which match-up are you predicting to steal the show on September 18?

A really hard question – as every fight we put on has a lot of meaning. I don’t think one fight will steal the show but at least 4 will. If you’re unlucky enough not to get a ticket – tune into Sky Sports on Wednesday 22nd September to watch the drama unfold.

Former UCMMA fighters Alex Reid and Tom ‘Kong’ Watson are fighting this month for a different promotion, who do you predict winning?

A lot of people write off Alex but I’ve known him for years and have put him up against the toughest fighters the world has seen – everyone close to him knows that he’s been training for this fight – but it’s the first time that Alex will have gone 5 x 5 mins so that could be the deciding factor. I never like to sit on the fence, but this time I’m perched very high.

Do you see either fighter returning to compete for Ultimate Challenge in the near future?

I’ve spoken to both camps but who knows – this is the fight game. I’ve learnt one thing in my time, fighters come and go but the promotion will stay strong.

A-Team or The Expendables?

I’m proper old school so I liked The Expendables – but for entertainment value the A-Team just nicked it. But I will say one thing – it’s fantastic to see MMA fighters headline in both films- you couldn’t ask for more, MMA is mainstream!

Bisping or Akiyama?

Bisping – you’ve always got to go with your home boys.

Lesnar or Velasquez?

Lesnar – I like his style.

Where can our site visitors find out more about UCMMA?

www.ucmma.com

Interview by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

Alex Reid: Fights Back -- brand new series following The Reidernater in the build to his BAMMA 4 showdown with Tom ‘Kong’ Watson, kicks off tonight on Bravo, 9pm.

Bravo are also advertising a special one off programme -- Alex Reid: One Hell Of A Year, on September 25, to be followed by the live fight with Watson.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com