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It was the battle of the unbeaten streaks as Jake Shields challenged Georges St-Pierre for the Welterweight title in the main event of UFC 129, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN here in Britain.

The broadcast began with the preliminaries, starting with Sean Pierson against Jake Ellenberger in the welterweight division.

Ellenberger tested the waters early with some strikes, and after Pierson escaped from a take down Ellenberger soon opened up a cut above his man’s right eye.

Seconds later and it was all over, another left sending the Canadian crashing to the mat. Pierson was out before he hit the ground as Ellenberger took the impressive knockout win.

It was down to bantamweight for the next fight as Ivan Menjivar faced Charlie Valencia.

Another quick fight began with a few kicks before both men jockeyed for position in a clinch. Menjivar then connected with a left elbow to Valencia’s nose. The cracking sound was sickening, and moments later the referee stepped in to give Menjivar the TKO win.

Then it was back up to welterweight as Nate Diaz faced Rory MacDonald.

This proved to be a very intriguing three rounder. For the first two periods the fight looked pretty even. Both men had their moments but neither could take overall control.

That was until the third round. MacDonald really upped his game, taking the fight to Diaz and taking him down with three suplexes, adding some crisp strikes and nice grappling to the equation.

All three judges gave the fight to MacDonald, and rightfully so. But I’m left to wonder what happened to the brash and cocky nature the Diaz boys normally display.

Middleweight action followed as Jason MacDonald went up against Ryan Jensen.

This fight went to the ground straight away, with Jensen going for an early guillotine. MacDonald soon escaped and put on a great display of grappling, locking in a triangle choke for the submission win.

The main show began in the lightweight division as Mark Bocek took on Ben Henderson.

This was the first time I’d seen Henderson in action, and he put inv a pretty good performance, especially with his striking.

Bocek had a few good moments, especially on the ground in the second, going for an anaconda choke before switching to a guillotine attempt.

But it wasn’t enough as all three judges gave the fight to Henderson. You know, I think I’m going to have to dig out those old WEC shows I recorded from Extreme Sports so I can take another look at this Henderson guy.

Then it was up to the light heavyweight division as Vladimir Matyushenko took on Jason Brilz.

The blink and you’ll miss it affair of the show. Matyushenko came forward early, a left/right combination sending Brilz down. Matyushenko followed him down for a few more blows before the referee wisely stepped in to give Vladimir the knockout win after just 20 seconds.

Featherweight action in the form of Yves Jabouin against Pablo Garza followed.

Garza looked to use his size advantage early, but it wasn’t long before Jabouin began to hack away with leg kicks, knocking Garza down several times.

But then, from out of nowhere, Garza came back with a flying4 triangle. Jabouin tried to fight it for as long as he could but eventually it was too much as he tapped out to give Garza the great submission win.

More light heavyweight action followed, the battle of the former champions as Randy Couture faced Lyoto Machida.

I think you know who I wanted to win this one. Sadly it didn’t happen. Couture tried to impose his will on the fight, but Machida’s superior striking meant that he couldn’t get a clinch going. Machida kept the momentum going, controlling the remainder of the round.

The end came in the second round. Machida feigned a left but connected with a jumping right kick that sent Couture down. And that was it, Machida had the knockout win, with Couture immediately announcing his retirement, bringing an end to a glittering career.

After another showing of the Menjivar/Valencia fight it was on to the first title fight of the evening as Mark Hominick challenged Jose Aldo for the Featherweight title.

Aldo was another of those guys I’d heard a lot about but never seen before, and everything I’d heard was true.

What we had here were two great performance as Hominick’s display of kickboxing was top notch as he had Aldo on the defensive on more than one occasion.

Aldo put in some good ground work, and it was his ground and pound in the forth that swelled Hominick’s forehead like a balloon.

But despite the swelling and possible problems with his eyes Hominick took it to the champion in the final round, taking the fight down and unleashing with the ground and pound.

But it was too little too late for the hometown challenger, with all three judges scoring in favour of Aldo.

The main event saw Jake Shields challenging Georges St-Pierre for the Welterweight title.

Once again GSP proved that he is just so far above everyone else in the division.

For the majority of the fight GSP was able to beat Shields in the striking game, and whenever Shields went for a take down the champion easily defended.

However, a jab to GSP’s left eye affected his vision, and more jabs from Shields opened up a cut underneath, so by the time the fifth round started GSP couldn’t see out of that eye. But despite this handicap he did enough to negate Shields once again.

The judges’ decision, not surprisingly, went to GSP, another worthy win for an outstanding champion.

And then, because the show was over-running by 20 minutes, ESPN called it a day, cutting out the remaining filler material.

In conclusion – in front of 55,000 rabid fans (and that’s a term I’ve used to describe Canadians before), the UFC’s biggest show ever certainly delivered.

From the opening match in the preliminaries right up to the main event we were treated to some great performances from the likes of Aldo and Henderson. But the event was also tinged with sadness as we saw Randy Couture fight for the last time.

As for Georges St-Pierre, once again I’m left to wonder who will be able to beat this man. I have a feeling that answer could lie in the middleweight division.

So in all UFC 129 gets the thumbs up from this particular writer, although ESPN gets the thumbs down for the way they abruptly ended their coverage. I guess they couldn’t do without showing the latest episode of The Ultimate Fighter for the umpteenth time, could they?

With thanks to big brother Mark for lending me his copy after my Sky box decided to turn itself off two hours into the show. Check out his blog at http://playingtoanaudienceof.blogspot.com/.

FIVER are airng UFC 83: Main Event at 11pm. A brilliant opportunity to watch Welterweight sluggers Matt ‘The Terror’ Sera and Georges ‘Rush’ St Pierre do battle for FREE!

If you miss it at 11pm catch it an hour later on +1.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

It was the final MMA pay-per-view of the year, and the re-match of The Ultimate Fighter coaches in the main event of UFC 124: St-Pierre vs. Koscheck  2, shown live on ESPN in the early hours of this past Sunday morning here in Britain.

The broadcast began in the welterweight division as Thiago Alves went up against John Howard.

Alves looked in top form here, particularly in the striking department as he slammed his right leg over and over again into Howard’s left pin.

It clearly had an effect on Howard, who looked more than a step behind the Brazilian. But it wasn’t just the kicks Alves excelled at. His punches caught Howard a number of ties, and his ground work was also top notch.

No surprises with the decision, with all three scoring in favour of Alves’ terrific performance.

Then it was down to the lightweight division as Joe Stevenson took on Mac Danzig.

The great striking continued into this fight. As both fighters tested the waters, trying to gauge the distance, Danzig connected with a big left as Stevenson came forward. Stevenson was out before he hit the ground, and Danzig had the impressive KO win.

The lightweight action continued as Jim Miller faced Charles Oliveira.

Another quick fight saw Miller get the early take down, but while Oliveira attacked from his back Miller worked into a position where he could apply a knee bar. Oliveira tried to punch his way free but quickly tapped out.

The first filler material saw welterweight action as Matt Riddle took on Sean Pierson, and once again ESPN came back late from a commercial break, which meant that we missed the first twenty seconds or so.

But apart from the channel’s shortcomings this proved to be a entertaining three round affair. While Pierson clearly controlled the first round, dropping Riddle with a right after a half-hearted high knee attempt Riddle began to work his way back into the fight, with both men putting on a good showing in the third round with their exchanges.

The judges were called into action here, with all three scoring in favour of Pierson, although I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed for Riddle.

Normal service resumed in the heavyweight division as Stefan Struve took on Sean McCorkle.

This battle of the big boys began with McCorkle getting the big take down, looking for an early win with a kimura, and although he failed with that attempt he continued to control the fight, until the Dutchman suddenly sprang to life and reversed the positions, securing the TKO win with some well placed ground and pound.

The second filler material saw Mark Bocek taking on Dustin Hazelett in the lightweight division.

Bocek got the take down within seconds of the start, and although Hazelett tried his best to defend it wasn’t long before Bocek locked in a triangle choke for the submission win.

The main event saw Josh Koscheck challenging Georges St-Pierre for the Welterweight title.

Once again GSP showed why he is way above the rest of the division, and that the recent training sessions with Freddie Roach have really paid off.

From the opening round GSP used that rarely seen weapon in MMA, the jab, peppering Koscheck’s right eye to the point where it was almost closed at the end of the first round.

It was a sound tactic that GSP used throughout the fight. There were brief forays to the ground and occasional clinches against the cage, but the left jab to Koscheck’s right eye kept coming and coming, to the point where Koscheck couldn’t see anything out of that eye, and some suspected that he’d suffered a broken orbital bone.

With the fight going the distance the judges were called into action, with all three giving everything to the champion, and rightfully so. Koscheck was simply outclassed throughout.

In conclusion – UFC 124 certainly lived up to the hype.

An outstanding undercard was topped off nicely by another dominating performance by Georges St-Pierre. You just can’t fault his performance, although you have to wonder what’s left for him in the welterweight division.

So in all Dana White and his crew have certainly ended the year on a massive high with a tremendous show.

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

We have 3 copies up for grabs of Death Warrior, featuring Rampage Jackson, Georges St Pierre, Rashad Evans and Keith Jardine, released by E1 Entertainment, exclusively on DVD today.

For your chance to bag a copy all you have to do is answer the following question:

Death Warrior features American UFC fighter Rampage Jackson, name the team he trains with here in the UK?

Email your answers to:

duane@bluraymma.com

Closing date Thursday 29 July.

Death Warrior, released exclusively on DVD through E1 Entertainment, Monday 26th July 2010.

Ahead of Rampage Jackson’s big screen debut in the UK starring in                  The A-Team movie, you can grab a copy of Death Warrior on DVD. Quinton features in this  cage-fight-flick alongside UFC contemporaries Georges St Pierre, Suga -- Rashad Evans and ‘Dean of Mean’ Keith Jardine.

Keep ‘em peeled for a full review of the MMA-movie DVD release right here at BluRayMMA.com.

UFC & MMA blog 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

There’s been quite a few Brits who have plied their trade in the octagon, guys like Ian Freeman, Mark Weir, Paul Daley, Ross Pearson and, of course, Michael Bisping. Dan Hardy has eclipsed them all, the first Brit to earn a shot at a UFC title, taking on Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre in the main event of UFC 111, shown live here in Britain on ESPN in the early hours of this past Sunday morning, with Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan handling commentary duties.

The show began with the prelims, as Ricardo Almeida faced Matt Brown in the welterweight division. This proved to be a very good fight. Both guys put on some good work against the cage in the first, Almeida on the offensive, Brown on the defensive. Almeida really upped his game in the second, showing some great jiu-jitsu as he worked into position to apply the rear naked choke for the submission win. A very good performance by Almeida in his welterweight debut.

It was up to the middleweight division for the next fight, as Rory Markham took on Nate Diaz. This was actually meant to be a welterweight fight, but was moved up to middleweight when Markham couldn’t make 170. Markham, at 177, looked a whole weight division more than Diaz, but the extra weight didn’t do much for him as Diaz dominated the fight, eventually getting the fight to the ground so he could lock in a body triangle for some ground and pound. Markham had no answer to the attack, with the referee stepping in to call time, giving Diaz the first round TKO win with a tremendous performance.

Filler material followed, and more middleweight action as Rousimar Palhares faced Tomasz Drwal. The blink and you’ll miss it affair of the evening. Drwal slipped, and Palhares pounced immediately, locking in a heel hook for the quick tap out. A little controversy followed though as Palhares kept the hold on after Drwal tapped. The time – just forty five second. Nice work by Palhares, but a slightly tainted win in my opinion.

On to the main show, which began with lightweight action as Jim Miller went up against Mark Bocek. This was the kind of fight that makes you proud to be an MMA fan, a great back and forth encounter with some excellent ground work by both men. Bocek controlled things early in the first, until Miller reversed and almost got the submission win with a kimura. Bocek controlled the second, using a body triangle to completely control Miller until Miller managed to escape. The third round looked far more even, and in a fight that could have gone either way Miller took the unanimous decision. Two really impressive performances here, an outstanding fight.

Then it was up to the welterweight division as Jon Fitch took on Ben Saunders. To say that Fitch dominated this fight would be an understatement. Fitch controlled every aspect of this three rounder, and even though those in attendance didn’t appreciate the effort or style it clearly worked for Fitch. Saunders only moment of note came with a kimura attempt which Fitch easily escaped from. In the end it really wasn’t a surprise when Fitch got the unanimous decision.

More lightweight action followed, with Kurt Pellegrino and Fabricio Camoes. This one was fought at a frantic pace. Camoes looked like he was going to get the win in the first with a standing rear naked choke, until Pellegrino escaped by slamming him down on his head. Pellegrino controlled the action from there, before he took Camoes’ back and got the submission win with a rear naked choke of his own. A really good fight here, and a great win for Pellegrino.

Then it was on to the big boys as Frank Mir faced Shane Carwin for the Interim Heavyweight title. The longest fight of Carwin’s career was also his best. After negating Mir in a clinch against the cage, a succession of lefts saw Mir drop to his knees. Carwin was all over him with the ground and pound, and it wasn’t long before the referee stopped the fight, giving Carwin the title and the knockout win. An awesome performance from Carwin here, and I guess that Mir’s Brock Lesnar obsession will have to go on a bit longer.

After a second showing of the Palhares/Drwal fight it was on to the main event, as my fellow Brit Dan Hardy challenged Georges St-Pierre for the Welterweight title. Sadly, the Outlaw couldn’t get the job done. GSP dominated from start to finish, outclassing Hardy in every aspect, able to take his man down at will, and dominating him on the ground, almost getting the submission win with an arm bar in the first and a kimura in the fourth. GSP was world class here, and no surprises here as every judge gave him every round. I have to wonder though just what’s left for him in this division.

So following that great fight it was on to light heavyweight action as Rodney Wallace took on Jared Hamman. This certainly proved to be an interesting encounter. Wallace came out all guns blazing at the start of the fight, and rocked Hamman with some good shots, but he looked absolutely exhausted by the end of the first. As the fight progressed Wallace kept trying, but he just didn’t seem to have the energy as Hamman began to assert control. Hamman emerged as the winner, with all three judges giving him the decision. While Wallace may look like a million dollars he clearly has a conditioning problem.

In conclusion – an exceptional show from Dana White and his crew here. Each fight delivered, with Georges St-Pierre’s performance the highlight of the night for me. So with two good shows in the space of a few days we’re now looking forward to Wednesday’s potential classic between Kenny Florian and Takanori Gori.

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.

This is the first episode, can’t wait to see more.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com