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It was a show of main event changes as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson faced Matt “The Hammer” Hamill in the main event of UFC 130, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN here in Britain.

No review of the preliminaries this month as ESPN had technical problems (again), so it’s on to the main show, beginning with middleweight action as Brian Stann faced Jorge Santiago.

The All-American is really starting to come into his own. After a somewhat cagey start from both men Stann connected with a left that sent Santiago down. Stann followed him down for the ground and pound but couldn’t quite get the job done.

Stann continued his great work in the second, and a big right to the temple sent Santiago down again. A brief period of ground and pound followed before the referee stepped in to give Stann the impressive TKO win.

It was down to welterweight for the next fight as Thiago Alves faced Rick Story.

This was a very good encounter. Story put on a great display of grappling for the first two rounds, neutralizing Alves’ superior striking ability. Alves got in some good strikes, but Story was able to respond in kind.

We saw more striking from Alves in the third, as well as some exciting exchanges, with Alves rocking his man a number of times, the fight ending with both men swinging for the fences.

So with the fight going the distance it went down to the judges, with Story getting the unanimous decision.

The big boys of the heavyweight division were up next as Stefan Struve faced Travis Browne.

This battle of the big men began with both fighters connecting with a series of kicks. A clinch against the cage was followed by a brief foray to the ground before they returned to the striking game.

Seconds later and it was all over. Browne connected with a Superman punch that sent Struve crashing, the referee quickly stepping in to give Browne the great knockout win.

The heavyweight action continued as Frank Mir went up against Roy Nelson.

This battle of home town boys proved to be a highly entertaining affair. We also got a lesson about conditioning.

Mir dominated the majority of the fight, putting on a performance that was far superior than his effort against Mirko Cro Cop.

Big Country had his moments, but as time went on Nelson’s lack of physical conditioning showed, and as he sat on his stool between the second and third rounds he had the look of a beaten and exhausted man, with Mir once again dominating with his grapping and his ground and pound.

No surprise with the judges decision as all three gave the fight to Mir. A great performance from the former champion, and an example of how Nelson really needs to go back to the drawing board.

The main event saw Quinton Jackson taking on Matt Hamill in the light heavyweight division.

Rampage seemed to have Hamill worked out from the start. Whenever Hamill went for a take down Jackson was able to defend easily. It was the same whenever Hamill went for a clinch.

As for the striking Rampage had that department covered as well, out striking his opponent and connecting with some hard knees and shots to the body.

So with another fight going the distance it went to the judges again, with all three giving the fight to Rampage. It may not have been pretty but it was effective.

The show rounded out with filler material in the form of the lightweight encounter between Gleison Tibau and Rafaello Oliveira.

This all Brazilian affair was a nice way to end the show. Things looked pretty even in the first as both men got off some crisp strikes and showed some good work during the brief trip to the ground.

It was pretty much the same in the second until Tibau connected with a big left that sent Oliveira down. Moments later Tibau took his man’s back and synched in a rear naked choke for the submission win.

In conclusion – they’ve done it again.

Even though this was devoid of a title fight after both Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar pulled out injured it was still a very good show, and although a couple of the performances were a little disappointing that didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment . So in all UFC 130 gets the thumbs up from me.

Let’s hope ESPN don’t screw up any more shows though!

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs Team Mir

The Ultimate Fighter 8 is a season some UK fans may have missed, since the UFC had departed then Virgin Media channel – Bravo for Setanta. TUF 9 – UK vs USA gained further exposure for MMA airing on freeview channel FIVE USA. If like me you missed it, you are now fortunate enough to be able to purchase the 5 DVD box set.

This eighth series of the mixed martial arts reality TV show will be remembered aside from the bouts for the crazy out-of-control actions of wild southern-boy Junie Browning. It’s astounding his antics never got him thrown off the programme. You’ll see why he got kept in towards the end of the series.

Unlike many seasons of TUF, TUF 8 doesn’t feature much tension between the opposing coaches. Big Nog is a real gent, likewise here his opposite Frank Mir.

Both coaches known as world class grapplers, you get the impression Dana White and co purposely picked contestants boasting a great ground game. Look out for season stand-outs Krzysztof  Soszynski (former pro wrestler), Ryan Bader, Phillipe Nover and Efrain Escudero.

5 disc set contains 12 episodes over discs 1-3, Finale show on the fourth. DVD 5 rounds off the package jam-full of bonus footage, including fighter profiles, deleted and a peek behind the scenes.

The Ultimate Fighter Finale is loaded with fights featured during the series. “Crazy Cuban” Rolando Delgrado has an impressive outing, tapping out former Team Nog team-mate John Palakowski. A total one-sided affair.

Team Mir members collide – Shane Nelson against George Roop. This bout is a good back close fought contest, between 2 young lions.

Light-heavyweights Kyle Kingsbury and Tom Lawlor’s match-up lacks the excitement seen with the lighter fighters, it’s more a battle of wills, brawn versus brawn.

Eliot Marshall puts on a clinic, demolishing Jules Bruchez. Fantastic official debut, tapping out Bruchez in the first. Very impressive.

Next we see one of the season favourites, Krzysztof Soszynski paired up with Shane Primm. Krzysztof – former pro-wrestler, was taught the Kimura and Arm-bar submissions by Bad News Brown on a wrestling training camp in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. A persistent “Polish Experiment” sticks to what he knows best, snatching victory using his patented Kimura, finishing the fight.

Wanna be Ultimate Fighter Junie Browning, a TUF entrant who got himself noticed for all the wrong reasons puts in a very good performance in the octagon with David Kaplan. Browning looks great in the stand-up, outclassing Kaplan on the ground too, taking the win via Arm-bar, forcing his opponent to give up.

2 non TUF 8 bouts are included. Canadian Jason McDonald versus Wilson Gouveia. The Brazilian destroys the Canadian, decking him, then pounding from top position, raining down elbow strikes, causing the referee to the end it.

Second non TUF fight features hotly tipped rising welter-weight Anthony “Rumble” Johnson in a rematch with another fighter progressing the ladder Kevin Burns. Stylistically you have Rumble the wrestler vs grappler Burns. It’s pretty much even until round 3, when Johnson pulls out of nowhere a Cro Cop style KO head kick.

If you don’t want to know which fighters reach the finals then don’t read any further!

Light-heavyweight Ultimate Fighter decider sees Ryan “Darth” Bader collide in the cage with Vinicus Magalhaes. Ironically Nogueira’s man in the final is All American wrestler Bader facing American Mir’s Brazilian 4 time world BJJ champ Magalhaes. In theory this should be a clash of those 2 styles, but the difference maker unpredictably comes from Bader’s fists, knocking out his rival in round 1. Amazing performance.

Lightweight final: Phillpe Nover and Efrain Escudero, both from Big Nog’s team. Both exciting top rate competitors here, both very worthy of reaching the final. Efrain featured in both grudge matches in the series – Nelson and later Browning. Relentless wrestler Efrain puts on a great performance, gaining the prestigious title of The Ultimate Fighter, winning the final, however it’s not completely one-sided, Nover puts in a valiant effort attempting to submit Efrain from underneath.

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir 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

UFC 119 - Mir vs Cro Cop

No championship contests included on UFC 119, however this recent offering features 2 world class marquee match-ups, including a UFC vs PRIDE FC themed fight for the fans.

Countdown show (disc 2) features wicked footage of Mirko – Cro Cop dominating former UFC Heavyweight champ Josh Barnett in Pride, winning the Open Weight Grand Prix. Frank Mir – former UFC title holder declares he’s representing UFC honour in fighting Croatian Cro Cop.

Aside from the UFC vs Pride angle the featurette tells the story of Mir restrategising, following losses to hugely powerful wrestlers Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin.

We learn more about Ultimate Fighter winner Ryan ‘Darth’ Bader, who trains with former wrestling team-mates CB Dollaway and the reigning Heavyweight king Cain Velasquez. Countdown show clearly illustrates why Bader is a force to be reckoned with in the UFC Light-heavyweight division, Little Nog has his work cut out against the young fast-rising MMA star.

“Young lion” Evan Dunham vs Sean Sherk is hyped up here also, Dunham is clearly getting noticed as he climbs the lightweight rankings.

Having got hyped for those 3 fights you might want to make use of the menus, skipping forward to the top tier of the card.

Dunham vs Sherk: an exciting, close fought contest, won by Sherk, stalling Evan’s climb to the top. Sherk’s wrestling dominance in the clinch coupled with amazing submission defence pipped for the veteran.

Little Nog – Antonio Rogerio Nogueira against Ryan Bader is a fight where the action and suspense doesn’t pick up until round 3. Mostly neither fighter takes advantage throughout the bout. Less experienced Bader edges out the decision win, thanks to a take-down in the final round.

Main event – Pride FC vs UFC match-up pitting Crop Cop against Frank Mir is a much hyped cage-clash that disappoints, the fighters respecting each others abilities just don’t get stuck in. However if you’re prepared to sit through the dullness of the majority of the bout you’ll see Mir amaze, KO’ing the Croatian striker at 4:02 of round 3.

Former TUF coach Matt Serra makes an appearance at UFC 119, versus Chris ‘Lights Out’ Lyttle. You’ll enjoy this if you like a stand-up battle or a Lyttle fan, Serra fans won’t be so joyous. Serra disappoints not utilising his wicked Jiu- Jitsu skills, choosing to fight one dimensional, thus losing to Lytle.

The main card is lacking somewhat, disc 2 with prelims plus bonus features helps make for it. Prelims include fun squash match-ups: Mark Hunt tapped out by ‘Big Sexy’ Sean McCorkle, Thiago Tavares makes the debuting Pat Audinwood tap via guillotine choke plus CB Dolloway impresses on the mat submitting Joe Doerksen within the 1st round.

Matt Mitrione against Joey Beltran is a good scrap, Meat-head always entertains.

Bonus feature Behind The Scenes follows UFC commentator Mike Goldberg’s preparations pre fight night. Home-town hero Chris Lyttle treats us to a tour of the fire station he’s based at, giving us an insight to his life as a fire-fighter and cage-fighter. Charismatic Matt Serra is featured too, doing a video diary.

Not the best fight card match-up-wise but overall a great package.

UFC 119 Mir vs. Cro Cop 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

UFC Ultimate Submissions

Being a pro wrestling to mixed martial arts convert this UFC showcase of submissions is right up my street. When the Ultimate Fighting Championships first caught my attention the submissions and grappling element is what drew me in.

The submission and ground game are key elements of a mixed martial artist’s skill set. Boxing is known as the “sweet science”, however Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a scientific chess-game in it’s own right. Within octagon competition the key to victory is to knock-out your opponent by kicking or punching your opponent or to force him to tap-out in submission. UFC Ultimate Submissions DVD is loaded with masters of the tap-out.

Let’s see what you get: Highlights here include many stars of the octagon, you’ll see submission master BJ Penn winning Lightweight gold from Joe ‘Daddy’ Stevenson via rear-naked-choke at UFC 80, Newcastle.

TUF generation bad-ass Nate Diaz versus Kurt Pellegrino. Caesar Gracie trained Diaz is a human highlight reel of tap-out victories. Witness Pellegrino tap, constricted by a world class triangle-choke, complete with a Diaz biscep flex, adding insult to injury, accompanied by a double display of the middle finger, I told you he’s a bad-ass!

Former UFC World Heavyweight champ Frank Mir, possibly THE best heavyweight submission artist shows us how to break a giant’s arm, bringing the pain to Tim Sylvia via Armbar.

So what else do you want? Damian Maia? Yes, he’s here too, putting Ed Herman to sleep in a nasty Triangle Choke.

Anderson ‘Spider’ Silva – Middleweight champ and arguably THE best pound for pound fighter on the planet shows you just why he’s called that, making 2 tap-out career highlights.

Georges ‘Rush’ St Pierre the other best pound for pounder, exhibits superb submission skills, submitting world class wrestler Matt Hughes in their  third encounter.

The finale of the main feature sees Frank Mir make another appearance, highlighting his leg-lock submission win over the debuting Brock Lesnar. A perfect example of technique overcoming power.

As well as the icons of the octagon, look out for Rousimar Palhares, Evan Dunham, Cole Miller and Dan Miller – true grappling wizards.

Bonus features: Along with the current fighters showcased, this special collector’s DVD boasts 10 classic submissions from the Zuffa vaults, featuring legends of the cage.

A must-see is Japanese MMA icon Kazushi Sakuraba, a submission wrestler and king of the Kimura, submits Brazilian Marcus Silveira at Ultimate Japan 1.

Going way back to UFC 1, pioneering BJJ master Royce Gracie shows us all how it’s supposed to be done, tapping-out ‘The Baddest Man On The Planet’ Ken Shamrock, himself a submission specialist.

Other legends featured are Marcus Ruas, Tank Abbott, Marc Coleman and ‘The Natural’ Randy Couture.

10 more bonus classic submissions are also included from the likes of Hughes, Penn, Mir and GSP.

Third added extra is a highlight reel of combatants such as our very on Dan Hardy – who just won’t tap!

It’s got to be said this collection is further enhanced by the commentating of Joe Rogan, a BJJ practitioner who’s knowledge comes to the fore explaining the holds and positions to the uninitiated. It’s too easy to take Joe’s knowledge for granted.

Make space for UFC Ultimate Submissions on your DVD shelf, a must have for all MMA fanatics.

UFC Ultimate Submissions 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

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 119 - live on ESPN

Coming to ESPN, Saturday September 25 is UFC 119, a card topped by Frank Mir against Mirko Cro Cop headlining.

This question was posed on a forum regarding the outcome of the marquee match-up:

Considering Mir’s performance against Kongo, does anyone seriously see Cro Cop winning?

Here’s the detailed reply from old school Pride FC fanatic – wandshogun09, Cage Warriors and UKFF forum contributor, he puts forward some valid points in favour of Mirko, see if you agree:

I absolutely 100% see Cro Cop winning this. He’s a bad style match for Mir and I don’t care what anyone says he has a very good chance at beating Frank Mir.

Let’s look at the fight:

Striking

Cro Cop – Whatever anyone says about Mir’s striking against Big Nog, I’m not sold. Nog gave pretty much zero offense in that fight, I could have f***ing out-strike him that night. It was like Mir vs a punching bag, of course he’d look good.

I’ll give Mir his due for the Kongo knockdown. Kongo’s a good striker and rarely gets knocked down with strikes so fair play but can that one strike mean he’s a better striker than a K-1 veteran with tons of KO’s? I don’t think so.

KO Power

Cro Cop – Not even debatable IMO. Cro Cop has finished people with his hands and feet in K-1 and MMA. Mir’s got 2 TKO wins, one over Big Nog and one over Wes Sims. No comparison here.

Sure Cro Cop’s not finishing people like he was in his prime but it can’t seriously be argued that Mir has more knockout power than Cro Cop surely?

Threat with Submissions

Mir – Again not in any way up for debate. Mir’s record speaks for itself, he’s one of the best BJJ practitioners in the HW division and is perhaps the most aggressive BJJ fighter in MMA. If this fight hits the ground I’m under no illusions that Mir will likely finish Cro Cop at some point.

Cro Cop holds only 2 submission victories in his career. He has 2 other wins listed as submissions, both were against Josh Barnett. One was to strikes and the other a freak injury so I’m not gonna count them. Of the actual submission wins using submission moves I’ll admit they’re not that impressive, one was Kevin Randleman, the other Pat Barry. Not exactly Jacare and Maia but still it shows he has some ability there.

Speed

Tie – Not easy to call at this stage. Cro Cop’s obviously nowhere near the speed he was 6/7 years ago but he can still turn it on when he wants to. There were glimpses of his hand speed even in the Pat Barry fight towards the end. His striking combinations are still way ahead of Mir’s IMO.

Mir’s got decent speed himself for a HW and if we count speed in his grappling he’s obviously very slick there.

Wrestling

Obviously neither guy is known for their wrestling. Mir has never shown a great ability with takedowns. While Cro Cop’s never showed takedown ability either he has shown very good defensive wrestling over the years. His sprawl is one of the most well known in the sport, he’s notoriously hard to takedown. Cro Cop has the advantage here for me just because he’s got better defensive wrestling than Mir’s offensive wrestling.

Stamina

Cro Cop again.Again neither guy is known for being cardio machines but Mirko has gone the distance many times including in Pride with the 10 minute first round. Cro Cop’s also proved dangerous late in fights whereas Mir is always dangerous early but often fades as the fight wears on. Mir’s cardio has been shite his whole career and him f***ing around with his weight the last couple of years won’t have done him any favours.

Cro Cop has taken this fight on short notice though so maybe his stamina won’t be up to much either.

Jiu-Jitsu

Again Mir easy. There’s no comparison, he’s leagues ahead of Cro Cop on the ground.

Chin/Recovery

Cro Cop – Sure he’s been KO’d a few times but look at the shots that did it. That Gonzaga headkick would’ve KO’d a f***ing Hippo. Mir on the other hand gets dropped fairly regularly and has been stopped by Marcio Cruz with strikes who’s not exactly a striker.

Heart

Slightly Cro Cop – I can see where people could question both guys here.     Cro Cop did give up against Dos Santos but against Pat Barry he showed a lot of guts to fight through after a disaster of a first round. People can say whatever about Barry letting him off the hook and while I agree he should have went for the finish it still says something that Mirko hung in there and pulled out a win. He’s also survived a 20 minute ground and pound demolition from Fedor and never quit.

Mir has quit in nearly ALL of his losses in MMA. Go back and watch the fights he lost and pretty much each time you’ll see him get tagged drop to the ground, turtle up and hold on for dear life offering no resistance just praying the ref will step in and stop it. Saying that he did come back from that motorcycle crash so all credit to him for that, that shows heart in itself but in actual fights he seems to wilt under pressure as soon as things get rough.

I’ve set myself up for embarrassment there if Mir does pull off an early sub haven’t I?

Although I’ve favoured Cro Cop in almost all categories I’m not completely writing off Mir’s chances. He’s a dangerous fighter (especially early) and I’m not even totally discounting his chances of doing well on the feet. I’m just offering a counter to what seems to be the general feeling that Mir is gonna smoke Cro Cop. I just don’t see it.

I think people are overrating Mir way too much to be honest.

Prediction: Cro Cop by KO/TKO, Round 2.

There we have it, do you agree or disagree? Who are you betting on? Mir or Mirko?

I recommend Paddy Power to bet on UFC fights online, there’s also Bet365 and William Hill are worth a look.

Advertised fight card:

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Frank Mir

Ryan Bader vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Chris Lytle vs. Matt Serra

Evan Dunham vs. Sean Sherk

PRELIMS:

C.B. Dollaway vs. Joe Doerksen

Joey Beltran vs. Matt Mitrione

Pat Audinwood vs. Thiago Tavares

Steve Lopez vs. Waylon Lowe

T.J. Grant vs. Julio Paulino

Mark Hunt vs. Sean McCorkle

Watch UFC 119 exclusively on ESPN in the UK.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

A jubilant Michael Bisping at UFC 105, Manchester.

UFC 105, another action packed DVD release from the Ultimate Fighting Championship and FightDVD.  This fight card was the most recent UFC event on British soil, held in Manchester.

Legendary hall of famer Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture fought in the top spot versus Brandon ‘The Truth’ Vera. Vera formerly a hotly tipped future champ who beat former heavyweight title-holder Frank Mir. At UFC 105 Vera aimed to return to that same form. For Couture this match-up was his first octagon outing following the recent decision to drop a weight bracket back down to light-heavyweight.

The main event billed contest, in all honesty wasn’t the most exciting bout. The Natural did enough to edge out a tick in the ‘W’ column, using his patented clinch game, trapping Vera against the fence coupled with dirty boxing.

Value for money is evident however from the British contingent representing their homeland.

Co-main event position on the fight card goes to English Dan ‘The Outlaw’ Hardy, taking on American Ultimate Fighter veteran Mike ‘Quick’ Swick. On the line for this one was a shot at Georges St Pierre’s coveted welterweight strap.  So stakes were high. Hardy the Mohicanned-Midlander, impressed earning his shot for GSP’s gold at UFC 111. A points win , getting the job done to earn a place in history, as the first ever mixed martial artist to challenge a UFC champion.

Next on the bill saw Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping return to winning ways, following the brutally devastating knock-out loss to Dan Henderson back at the monumental UFC 100 on July 11th 2009. The TUF 3 winner Bisping clashed with French born, former Pride FC competitor Denis Kang , giving the Brit MMA superstar the opportunity to shine.  Despite a rocky start getting floored by his opposition Kang, Bisping defied the odds.

The Count overwhelmed Kang, utilising a ground and pound attack, repeatedly taking his opponent to the canvas, until gaining the TKO win.

Elsewhere you’ll witness another British Ultimate Fighter put in a fantastic performance, as Ross Pearson brutalises American Aaron Riley.

Look out for Nick Osipaczak and Terry in their respective preliminary bouts, 2 Brit battlers who do not fail to entertain.

UFC 105 – a DVD you must have in your collection, as a supporter of home-grown world calibre MMA talent, however it’s a shame some cage entrance music is missing, including Blur’s song used by Bisping and post fight interviews plus The Count’s celebration exhibition match with his son. Notably Andre Winner vs Roli Delgado got the chop from the FightDVD release.

Despite taking a little away you do receive bonus material included in the 2 disc package.

UFC 105 – COUTURE vs. VERA is out now on DVD, available direct from www.fightdvd.co.uk, HMV and all good retailers.

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

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz.

Wait no longer, The Ultimate Fighter season 11 kicks off tonight, see it on FIVE USA, 11pm. The highly anticipated MMA reality TV series is back. Personally I can’t wait to see season 11 coaches Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell back on our screens, they are icons of the octagon.

Not only are the UFC giving us MMA fanatics TUF 11 on free-view but they are also chucking in a brand new programme full of classic moments from the 8-sided cage – UFC Wired, following straight after The Ultimate Fighter premier episode.

So you don’t have ESPN and missed UFC 111? Have no fear your favourite free-view channel FIVE is too the rescue! Catch Dan Hardy in action against Georges St Pierre on  Sunday, April 11th at 11.55pm. The Interim Heavyweight bout between Shane Carwin and Frank Mir gets another airing in the same slot.

More good news for UK UFC viewers, UFC 112 will air at the socialable time of 6pm. Even if you are a non ESPN subscriber you should be able watch the Abu Dabai event live at a bar.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

Day 3 of Dana White’s UFC 111 video blog.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

If you missed the Countdown, don’t worry here is part of the episode. A little Mir, Carwin, Fitch, and Alves all rolled into one.