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It was one of the most anticipated fights of the year as Cain Velasquez challenged Brock Lesnar for the Heavyweight title at UFC 121, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN here in Britain.

The broadcast began with the preliminary fights as Patrick Cote faced Tom Lawlor in the middleweight division.

This was a great way to open the show. Lawlor dominated as soon as the fight went to the ground in the first. Cote just didn’t seem to have any answer to Lawlor’s ground game, and he would probably have succumbed to Lawlor’s arm triangle had he not used the cage to escape.

All three judges gave everything to Lawlor, just reward for his outstanding efforts.

The middleweight action continued as Court McGee faced Ryan Jensen.

The proverbial game of two halves saw Jensen take control early on with some crisp striking, but as the fight progressed McGee took control, first in the striking department and then on the ground from the end of the second.

The end came in the third round. After McGee took the visibly tiring Jensen down he unleashed with the ground and pound before locking in an arm triangle for the impressive submission win.

Filler material in the form of the welterweight clash between Mike Guymon and Daniel Roberts followed.

Lasting just over a minute, Roberts went for a standing guillotine after a flurry of punches. He quickly modified the hold into an anaconda choke, with Guymon having no choice but to tap.

The main show began with heavyweight action as Brendan Schaub took on Gabriel Gonzaga.

Gonzaga looked the shadow of the man who took Cro Cop out a few years ago. Schaub had the beating of him early on with his superior striking, and the Brazilian just didn’t seem to have the answer to Schaub’s game plan.

All three judges gave the fight to Schaub. No surprises there, although you have to wonder what’s left for Gonzaga.

Then it was down to the light heavyweight division as Tito Ortiz went up against Matt Hammill.

Ortiz came into this fight needing to make a big statement after his loss to Forest Griffin and his recent health issues, and even though he came forward with punches and kicks early it wasn’t long before Hammill took control.

It was an impressive display from Hammill as he beat Ortiz in the striking department and on the ground, the fight ending with Hammill unleashing with the ground and pound as the horn sounded.

Once again the judges were called into action, with Hammill getting the unanimous decision. An excellent display, but I find myself asking that question again. What’s left for Ortiz?

Welterweight action in the form of Diego Sanchez against Paulo Thiago followed.

Sanchez was another fighter looking to make a big statement. He succeeded.

Thiago looked good early on as he went for a d’arce choke in the first round. But the big moment came in the second when Sanchez lifted Thiago into the air and roared as loud as he could when he slammed him to the mat.

From there it was all Sanchez as he put on a great display of ground work. Thiago went for another d’arce choke, but by that time he was exhausted, and easy prey to Sanchez’s ground and pound as the fight came to an end.

Yet more work for the judges, who once again gave a unanimous decision, this time in favour of the highly impressive Sanchez.

Yet more welterweight action followed as the debuting Jake Shields faced off against Martin Kampmann.

Everyone thought that the former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion would have an easy time here. Kampmann obviously hadn’t read the script.

Shields put in some excellent ground work in the early stages, and although he looked on top Kampmann was able to keep up with him.

But as the third round began Shields looked spent, with Kampmann taking control, until Shields managed to reassert himself as the fight came to an end.

There was even more work for the judges as Shields took the split decision. His performance may have been enough to get him the win but he may be in the wrong weight division here.

The main event saw Brock Lesnar defending the Heavyweight title against Cain Velasquez.

This definitely lived up to all the hype, and then some. Lesnar took Velasquez down a couple of times, but the challenger was able to easily get to his feet. It was then that Velasquez took control, and when he managed to take Lesnar’s back it was the beginning of the end.

Velasquez’s striking was top notch, and as Lesnar’s energy levels went down to zero Velasquez unleashed with a torrent of blows which the champion had no answer to, and as the first round entered it’s final minute the referee wisely stepped in to give Velasquez the title winning TKO win.

With some time to kill more filler material followed, beginning with more heavyweight action between Jon Madsen and Gilbert Yvel.

A lengthy feeling out period at the beginning of this one before Madsen suddenly exploded into action with a massive take down. Seconds later he had the win, with Yvel unable to respond to his ground and pound.

The broadcast rounded out with another showing of the Guymon/Roberts fight.

In conclusion – having been slightly disappointed with last week’s effort, UFC 121 more than made up for that.

Every fight delivered, especially the main event, although I’m left to wonder what’s left in the career of a couple of the fighters, especially Tito Ortiz. The man is a true legend, and a definite Hall of Fame candidate, but the MMA world seems to be passing him by.

As for Jake Shields, I have to admit I was surprised that he was fighting in the welterweight division. He may have earned a shot at either Josh Koscheck or Georges St-Pierre, but he may be in the wrong weight class.

In all this was a good show, which means that Dana White and his crew have regained the full thumbs up from this particular writer.

UFC 110 was a landmark for the Zuffa brand, busting through to a new territory – Australia. Interestingly the Sydney card featured many non-American fighters, including Croatians, Kiwis, Auzzies, Brazilians and Brits, giving the event a truly international feel.

Money-matches featured here are heavyweight contenders Antonio Minotauro Nogueira and Cain Velasquez colliding, along with international middleweight clash – Brazilian Wanderlei ‘The Axe Murderer’ Silva facing Britain’s own Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping.

So let’s see what you get for your money on this 2 disc release from FightDVD.

Our number one Brit middleweight contender Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping, has his hands full facing Brazilian Wanderlei ‘Axe Murderer’ Silva. Pride FC legend Wand doesn’t like Bisping’s apparent cockiness, he seemed to have rubbed him up the wrong way.

The heat heading towards the octagon showdown gave this bout high expectations. The 3 round battle doesn’t fail to entertain, a shame the close fight goes in favour of the Brazilian on the score cards. It would have been brilliant to have witnessed Bisping KO Silva, like Wolfslair team-mate Rampage wanted, thus elevating him closer to a title shot at another man named Silva – Anderson Silva.

Heavyweight contenders collide: Antonio Nogueira versus Cain Valesquez. Another former Pride warrior in action in Australia, Big Nog looks to climb back to the top of the division, against young gun Cain.

A superb opportunity to see why Cain is tipped to become future heavyweight champion, KO’ing Big Nog, in this one sided affair. Judging from this performance, Velasquez is the man to place a bet on at  winning the UFC heavyweight crown.

Joe ‘Daddy’ Stevenson against Auzzie – George Sotiropoulos is THE must see match-up.  Home-town hero ‘Wizard of Oz’ Sotiropoulos earns a name for himself locking horns with the American Joe-Daddy. You can feel the energy of the Auzzie audience, backing their fighter.

George’s impressive performance must put the great grappler on the map. Wicked match-up between 2 lightweight warriors.

Stacking up UFC 110, sees K1 and Pride superstar Mirko Cro Cop in action, Keith Jardine, TUF icon Stephan Bonnar and Chris ‘Lights Out’ Lyltle.

Disc 2 rounds off the package nicely, giving you UFC 110 Countdown, Fighter Interviews, Weigh Ins, plus Behind The Scenes is a hidden gem, showing us the pre-fight promotion ‘down-under’. Brilliant how accessible the UFC fighters are to the fans. See Bisping chillax on Bondi Beach, then follow Big Nog around Sydney Zoo.

Overall a worthy addition to your MMA DVD collection.

UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez 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

Brock Lesnar is in extremely bad shape and it will be some time as to when he will fight again.

Lesnar, 32, went to Canada last week to try to get some rest, collapsed, and was rushed to the hospital. He has mono and also something else that he has requested confidentiality with the UFC as to what it is. Dana White said tonight that he promised Lesnar to keep the disease private, and said he doesn’t have cancer or AIDS. It is, however, extremely serious and there are at least two things wrong and there may be more.

Dana White is heading to Minnesota and will be working to get Lesnar to the Mayo Clinic or equivalent medical facility for treatment.

Also, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has a very serious staph infection and his fight with Cain Velasquez at UFC 108 is off. Nogueira will need an IV to hopefully get the infection out.

With Lesnar out indefinitely, Shane Carwin has undergone knee surgery, so he will not be available to face Velasquez at UFC 108.

We can also report that Shane McMahon had a meeting at the UFC offices recently. Dana White, when asked for more information, responded, “No comment.”

Source: The Observer.

That’s hope we hear some positive news on Lesnar’s health situation soon and hope he is getting the best health care available.

The meeting between Dana White and Shane McMahon formerly of the WWE sounds intriguing. We’ll have to wait to hear more on that one.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

It’s time to step into the world of mixed martial arts again, with two Brazilian greats in the former of Lyoto “Dragon” Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua battling out for the UFC Light Heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 104: Machida v Shogun, shown live here in Britain on ESPN, and featuring Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan on commentary.

As is the custom, ESPN joined Spike in America for the free preliminary bouts, beginning with a heavyweight battle between Antoni Hardonk and Pat Barry. This proved to be a good way of beginning the evening’s proceedings. Barry got accidentally poked in the eye in the first round, which somewhat worried him a little as the round went on, although these worries seemed to have been put aside as the fight progressed. By the end of the first he was on top, and in the second he looked great, knocking Hardonk down with a right. The referee stepped in when Barry went for the ground and pound, giving him the TKO win. Nice work by Barry, although Hardonk must take some credit for his bright start. But then again, perhaps Barry’s inadvertent eye injury worried him a little as well.

ESPN, in their infinite wisdom, came back from the first commercial break late, missing the beginning of the Stefan Struve/Chase Gormley fight, so the next full fight they showed was Ryan Bader versus Red Schafer at light heavyweight. This developed into a nice back and forth battle, with both fighters putting in a good performance, and the second eye poke of the evening when Bader took one in the face. This didn’t inhibit Bader in any way though, although Shafer also had his share of punishment, sustaining a cut over his eye after an accidental clash of heads while on the ground. This didn’t stop them from putting on a good fight, with Bader winning the unanimous decision, and rightfully so, although the judges’ decision making abilities would be questioned later in the evening.

On to the main show, with Anthony Johnson taking on Yoshiyuki Yoshida in the welterweight division. Well, it was meant to be at welterweight, but Johnson had problems making the weight. He still put in a hell of a performance, showing fast hand speed, putting Yoshida on the back foot, and knocking him down with a big right. Thankfully the referee quickly stepped in to save Yoshida from further punishment. This was a good outing from Johnson, and when our esteemed commentators said that Johnson’s walking around weight was normally around 220, I began to think that middleweight would be a better division for him.

Joe “Daddy” Stevenson against Spencer “King” Fisher at lightweight was up next. Both fighters started well here, although it wasn’t long before Fisher sustained a cut over his right eye. Both men looked good in all aspects, until that critical moment in the second round when Stevenson took side control on the ground and trapped both of Fisher’s arms. From there he was able to deliver a sustained ground and pound attack, and with Fisher unable to defend himself, he soon tapped out. A very good performance from Stevenson here. If he keeps this up he’ll soon get a shot at the lightweight title.

Then it was up to the middleweight division, with Yushin Okami facing Chael Sonnen. The second fight of the evening to go the three round distance found Sonnen in dominating form, outfighting the Japanese star in almost every aspect. Sonnen looked tremendous here, although Okami did manage a kimura attempt in the third, although he soon released that particular hold when Sonnen let loose with a series of punches to the body. It really came as no surprise when Sonnen got the unanimous decision, concluding a nice evening’s work for the middleweight contender.

There were more weight problems in the next fight between Josh Neer and Gleison Tibau. This one should have been contested at lightweight, but with both fighters failing to make the weight, they decided to go ahead with it anyway. This fight followed a particular pattern – Tibau would score with a big take down, and, more often than not, Neer would get straight back up. It certainly looked spectacular to begin with, but after a while it began to look a bit repetitive. But in the end these take downs earned Tibau the unanimous judges decision. The fight may have been over a little sooner though had Tibau done a bit more work on the ground.

The co-main event saw heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez taking on fancied contender Ben Rothwell. Well, he was a fancied contender going into this fight. Cain put in a devastating and dominating performance, and no matter what Rothwell did, he just didn’t seem to have any answer for the new rising star of the heavyweight division, so it came as no surprise that Cain got the win here, although the manner in which he got it was a little controversial. As Cain unloaded with a barrage of blows against the fence, Rothwell began to get to his feet. It was then that the referee stepped in, putting a stop to the fight and giving Cain the TKO win. Rothwell was none too happy, and although he had a point about the timing of the stoppage, it was pretty obvious that Cain had the beating of him.

Then it was on to the main event, with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua challenging Lyoto Machida for the UFC Light Heavyweight title. To say that this fight was a tad controversial would be a slight understatement. Shogun put in a tremendous performance here, working over Machida time and time again with a series of leg kicks, bruising up his ribs and both of his legs, and although Machida himself got in some good kicks, it looked like Shogun had the beating of him. It was a hard fought, five round battle, and by the end Machida had the look of a beaten champion. However, the judges saw it differently, as they gave Machida the unanimous decision. Needless to say that I wasn’t the only one who wondered just what fight the judges had been watching. Shogun looked unbeatable in this fight, and Machida looked the shadow of his usual self.

The show finished with the aforementioned heavyweight battle between Stefan Struve and Chase Gormley. This proved to be a nice little battle that looked like it could go either way, until Struve applied an arm triangle for the submission win. At least we fans here in Britain got to see this one in full!

In conclusion – while UFC 104 will go down as another excellent show, it will always be remembered for the controversial decision in the main event. Shogun proved that he was back to his best after his recent injury problems, and he clearly should have won the fight and the UFC Light Heavyweight title. Kudos to Dana White though, for ordering an immediate re-match. Let’s just hope that they get some judges who actually watch the fight next time!

Review by Julian Radbourne, courtesy http://www.twoshedsreview.com.