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UFC 118 : Edgar vs Penn 2

UFC & FightDVD are spoiling us, yet another double DVD release boasting a championship showdown. Frankie ‘The Answer’ Edgar defends his lightweight title, giving former champ BJ ‘The Prodigy’ Penn a chance of redemption.

Penn v Edgar is for the purists, co-main eventing is the huge drawing freak-show fight of boxer versus wrestler, pitting former Heavyweight and Light-heavyweight Champion Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture against James ‘Lights Out’ Toney – former IBA and NABO Heavyweight boxing Champion.

As always I suggest watching the Countdown Show first (disc 2) , gotta be done to get yourself hyped up to view the main fights! This featurette superbly tells the story behind Penn v Edgar 2, complete with words from challenger and champ.

Talking of words heavyweight boxer James Toney is a man who talked his way into co-main eventing at UFC 118, selling himself to head honcho Dana White. Witness Toney transition to MMA, preparing to face legendary Hall of Famer – Couture. The question posed here is will Toney KO Couture or will Randy take-down the heavyweight slugger and tap him out?

Lightweight contenders Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard also receive the countdown treatment, indicating the importance of their match-up for a shot at the owner of the lightweight strap.

Popping in disc 1, skipping forward to the hotly anticipated freak show marquee match – boxer James Toney stepping into the octagon to face wrestler (and elite mixed martial artist) Randy Couture, demonstrates why a wrestler can beat a boxer. Couture immediately takes down the slugger, applying pressure on top, tapping out Toney via Arm-triangle within the first round. Not a long drawn out affair like Antonio Inoki’s tangle against the legendary boxer heavyweight Muhammed Ali decades earlier but still a freak show attraction none-the-less. Listen out for UFC chants.

Rubber match – BJ Penn v Frankie Edgar, for lightweight strap sees Edgar prove he’s the rightful wearer of the gold. You get a full 5 rounds of championship action, valiant warrior Penn doesn’t have the answer for Jersey Boy – Edgar.

Nate Diaz – a personal favourite fighter features in welterweight competition against Marcus ‘Irish Hand Grenade’ Davis. Street-tough Diaz, rarely in a unexciting bout delivers. The bad-ass Californian out boxes the boxer Davis, splitting his face open. Nate finishes the fight on the mat, putting the Boston native to sleep.

Lightweight number 1 contender decider – Kenny Florian facing Gray ‘The Bully’ Maynard, sees undefeated Maynard (excluding loss to Nate Diaz on The Ultimate Fighter) live up to his moniker, bullying his way to challenge Frankie Edgar.

You’ll find all the preliminary contests over on disc 2, including 2 Brits in octagon action: Andre Winner and Nick Osipczak.

Boston home-town favourite Joe Lauzon puts on a clinic, defeating Gabe Ruediger via Arm-bar submission. Lauzon never gives Ruediger a single inch. Total domination in the words of Mike Goldberg.

As to be expected from UFC DVD releases UFC 118 comes loaded with additional material on disc 2: Weigh In Show, Behind The Scenes plus Fighter Interviews. Another high quality value for money addition to your MMA DVD collection.

UFC 118 Edgar vs. Penn 2 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 & Blu-ray releases.

UFC DVD review by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

12: one prize... 12 fighters... only one will survive...!

9 times out of 10 when asked to review a DVD, I’m not blessed with a shop retail release version. On this occasion I’ve been spoilt, having in my hands Twelve in all it’s glossy covered goodness.

Past the glossy cover, Twelve is all about grittiness. A British martial arts action flick, pitting 12 fighters of different fighting skills and backgrounds, in bouts organised by high-rollers. £500,000 is up for the taking, it’s a submission or knock-out to win each bout, other than that it’s no-holds-barred.

Having recently reviewed American made MMA-movies, the raw, rough, grittiness of this British made fight-flick is very refreshing. 12 doesn’t boast a huge line-up of UFC names, accompanied by a big budget, however the smaller budget works as an advantage, picturing a realistic rawness, leaving the required impact on the viewer.

Fight venues the 12 tournament contestants battle it out in include warehouses, nightclubs, scrap yard and even the back of a lorry, whilst being filmed on CCTV, viewed by the room of high-rollers, betting on the outcome, each backing a chosen fighter.

Brutal, blood-thirsty fantastically choreographed kick-ass scenes aplenty here, throughout the 88 minutes.

The story is told via a narrator, although we are introduced to the competitors individually, being made aware of their backgrounds and martial skills there isn’t one lead hero focussed on, unlike a traditional Kung-Fu flick with Bruce Lee or Jet Li. Twelve presents a unique style,  it’s very much a 21st century post-modern British picture.  What we get here is a grittier, grimey film, which feels very realistic.

Brit-MMA fans will recognise the Cage Warriors logo, when the final showdown happens in a cage. This final scene is Brit UFC competitor Ross Pearson’s  favourite fight of the entire film by the way. Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping comments his favourite fight scene is The Triad vs The Soldier.

Left to right - Martial Arts Legend Joe Lewis, Chee Keong Cheung, Mark Strange. Photo copyright www.fightshop.com

Look out for some recognisable faces in Twelve, including Danny John Jules AKA The Cat in Red Dwarf, amazing record breaking female martial arts expert Zara Pythian, Gary Webster from Minder plus see Eastenders Dr Legg actor playing one of the fighter money-backers.

Director Chee Keong Cheung has done a brilliant job conjuring up a very realistic scene-scape of an underground no-holds-barred illegal fight world.

Seni 2010: Chee & Mark signing at the 12 stand. Photo copyright www.fightshop.com

The DVD comes with many special features, including biogs of the actors, a look behind the scenes plus an exclusive fight between Leon Walters vs Guy  Golden from Pain & Glory kick-boxing event.

My home-town  Bournemouth & local ultimate fighting gym – Bulldog is featured in a mini documentary, following Twelve actor and fighter Mark Strange prepare for a special cross-promotion bout on a Pain & Glory card. The special features round off the package brilliantly.

Twelve is out now on DVD, available from all good retailers.

Visit www.intenseproductions.co.uk and the official Twelve DVD website www.12dvd.co.uk for further information.

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

DVD review by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

Death Warrior - fight or die.

Timed well with the cinematic release of The A-Team in the UK, sees the DVD release of Death Warrior, featuring UFC star – Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, who also plays BA Baracus in the big screen nostalgia action flick.

As you can imagine by the title, Death Warrior is not for the faint-hearted, this film is aimed at those who like their action 100% hard hitting. Rampage plays ‘Wolf Jackson’, basically the Jackson we know already, a bad-ass, howling, body-slamming, cage-fighter.

The action kicks off with Jackson doing what he does best, slamming his way to victory. Lead character – Rainerio Isandro, played by the screen writer Hector Echavarria challenges Jackson post-fight, wanting one more big fight before quitting the fight game.

Just like the UFC but with but perhaps a little more dramatic so far, until the gangsters turn up, forcing Rain and Wolf to fight to the death or face the consequences imposed on their loved ones. Echavarria being the writer and starring actor unsurprisingly survives the no-holds-barred fight to the death against the former UFC light-heavyweight champion.

It transpires Rain and Wolf aren’t the only fighters manipulated by sinister gangsters. Rashad Evans, Georges St Pierre and Keith Jardine’s characters are all tricked to compete to the death or face the consequences, forced to fight on web-cast pay per views, being bet on for big bucks by bloodthirsty punters.

The MMA-movie follows Rain’s attempts to break free from the grasp of the crooks, to save his wife’s life.

A tale of heroic cage-fighters, gangsters, fights to the death, loyalty and betrayal. As to be expected from an Echavarria film, along with hard-hitting  graphic fight scenes, gratuitous female nudity and sex scenes are thrown in for good measure, perks of the job eh? Well you can’t blame him.

Admittedly Echavarria’s latest offering isn’t up to the previous standard set by Unrivaled, but if gangsters, suspense, bare-knuckle-fight action featuring UFC icons battling to the death is your thing you are sure to enjoy this latest release from E1 Entertainment.

Death Warrior is out now on DVD, available from all good retailers.

Play.com are currently offering the brand new DVD for an amazing £7.99.

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

DVD review by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

UFC Ultimate 100 Greatest Fight Moments

The essential Ultimate 100 as voted for by the UFC fans online at UFC.com and presented by the voice of the UFC Mike Goldberg. This near 4 hour offering of octagon action is a fantastic starting point for all MMA converts.

Packaged up here are highlights of the 16 year history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Sit back, crack open a Budweiser, relax and enjoy the journey following MMA evolve out of the no holds barred ‘Gracie Rules era’, to present day mainstream exposed Ultimate Fighter era of reality TV.

Many pioneering cage battlers feature on this release, including Tank Abbott, Don Frye, Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Mark Coleman, Randy Couture, plus all the UFC champs and fan favourites such as Georges St Pierre, BJ Penn, Anderson Silva, Rich Franklin and Forrest Griffin.

Not only will you witness some classic match-up highlights, you’ll witness some amazing upsets in the form of Gabriel Gonzaga KO’ing K1 knock-out king Cro Cop and Matt Sera nailing GSP. These upsets are perfect examples demonstrating the unpredictability of MMA, making it the most exciting sport to watch in the world today.

Voted by the fans at the number 5 spot is Lesnar vs Mir 1, from UFC 81. A classic clash and a recent memorable moment for current UFC fanatics. I’m sure if the vote took place post UFC 100, Lesnar vs Mir 2 would have been right up there.

On a collector’s  compilation DVD in this format you don’t see the complete bouts but this acts to help you choose the UFC releases to add to your personal collection next.

Another fantastically presented DVD release from the UFC. However the DVD isn’t actually a history of the UFC, hence the missing fighters who played their part shaping the sport, most notably Frank Shamrock, Kazushi Sakuraba and Bas Rutten. Here’s hoping the UFC will eventually create a docu-movie of the UFC and mixed martial arts drawing on the video library at hand from the UFC, Pride FC and WEC.

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

UFC DVD review by Duane Farr
duane@bluraymma.com

UFC 100 - now available on DVD

Back on July 11th 2009 took place the Zuffa brand’s monumental hundredth numbered event. I remember the weekend well having timed my Sky + installation so I had no fear of missing this epic card. The biggest bonus of all the UFC treated those with Sky to the PPV card for free, on an obscure horse racing channel, despite all the Setanta debacle plus hours of extra UFC viewing thrown to boot.

UFC 100 was truly something special, drawing in the punters via a hat-trick of marquee match-ups. Making up that trifecta were all highly anticipated fights 2 of which were contesting over championship title ownership.

Team USA coach Dan ‘Hendo’ Henderson versus rival TUF 9 rival, our very own Mike ‘The Count’ Bisping was a fight the fans on both sides of the pond were eager to see, having followed the middleweight contenders coach their nation’s team each week on the MMA reality TV show – The Ultimate Fighter: US vs UK. The outcome of their middleweight showdown was not what I and most British fans hoped for, Bisping was not the best man on the night. Despite the loss for Bisping the bigger disappointment was the way Henderson dived in fist first when his opponent was clearly out of it. It was a brutal move, not good for the sport of MMA, neither was his reaction post fight. If Brit Bisping acted in the same manner smirking, acting all cocky the American crowd would have reacted in a far different way but hey, Mike is the British villain.

The second reason for buying this collectors DVD is Georges ‘Rush’ St Pierre successfully defending his welterweight crown versus Thiago Alves, in gruelling 5 round battle of wills.

The hugest history making moment, making up the third part of the triple main event at the top of the card was the most highly anticipated heavyweight title clash between former pro wrestler Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir. Lesnar solidified his thrown, sitting at the top of the UFC heavyweight division, dominating Mir in brutal style, thus avenging his only MMA loss. In the process he shut up Mir and all the doubters.

Disc 2 includes 6 preliminary fights, including UFC hall of famer Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman in action against The Ultimate Fighter 1 light-heavyweight finalist Stephan Bonnar. 44 year old Coleman proves he can still do it versus a man 12 years his junior in this bonus bout.  Further bonus material includes Countdown to UFC 100 plus UFC 100: Behind The Scenes.

UFC 100: Making History is a must have DVD, however it is just a shame they chose to edit some of the post fight interviews and octagon entrances from the live recording. Plus a hall of fame induction ceremony, announcing the new inductees would have completed the package. In the world of pro wrestling the WWE make a huge deal of their Hall of Fame inductions annually at the weekend of Wrestlemania, the UFC would do well to do similar, I’m sure the fight fans would love it.

John Cena starring in 12 Rounds.

As the Christmas shopping season makes the usual early start many DVD and  Blu Ray movies are getting a timely release. One such release this week is action-packed thriller 12 Rounds.

WWE wrestling superstar John Cena faces his toughest challenge yet in 12 Rounds. Cena’s second Hollywood outing, following debut The Marine is seen by many as an improvement  on his first forray into the world Hollywood stardom, which is no bad thing.

Cena is a huge name in the WWE wrestling world but the question being asked is can he cut as a big time movie star?

Helped by the World Wrestling Entertainment hype machine Cena is a big recognised crowd drawing name, much like Hulk Hogan and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson who helped pave the way.  I don’t feel Cena quite has the ability to charm viewers in the same way as the aforementioned heroes of the squared-circle turned actors but never-the-less Cena plays a classic and convincing hero, playing the role to his best strengths as New Orleans detective Danny Fisher.

Constantly keeping you on the edge of your seat, Fisher  plays a thrilling game of 12 rounds, set by the villain Irish arms dealer, who attempts to out wit him with his trail of clues and many timed explosives. The action packed film moves along at an amazingly fast pace, packed full of awesome stunts following Danny striving to rescue the love of his life and save the day.

I won’t spoil the ending for you but who wants to see the bad guy win? That’s right, no one. The film creators who worked on Die Hard 2 and Speed give us thrill seekers what we want.

So will pro wrestler John Cena leave the ring full-time for Hollywood? Perhaps not right now but like retired WWE superstar Steve Austin he has that opportunity following retirement playing an action hero on the big screen instead of in the ring.

Bonus DVD features include optional commentary by lead star John Cena and writer Daniel Kunka and 2 alternative endings plus Cena gag reel.

The Blu-Ray disc release features all that and a whole lot more extras going behind the scenes plus much, much more.

Out now, rated 15.

DVD review by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com