Release date: August 11th 2003

Price: £12.99 (VHS) & £17.99 (DVD)

This week I have been busy casting my eyes over the UFC new releases the one put under the microscope now will be UFC Ultimate Knockouts. The title speaks a bit for itself and will leave many people wanting to buy it to see the ultimate knockouts in UFC history and there have been some classics and this release has them all.

This release has kept the UFC archive people busy like in Ultimate Submissions footage from UFC’s inception to the modern is used to show you the best UFC has had to offer over the year thus really living it up to the titles name of Ultimate Knockouts. The title features knockout masters including Tank Abbott, Tito Ortiz, Vitro Belfort and Pedro Rizzo showing you how it’s done in some of their big confrontations.

Highs and Lows

The action is fast and furious including 23 top knockouts from the last 8 years. My personal favourite is the very controversial knockout of Carlos Newton by Matt Hughes which has been one of the biggest talking points of UFC over the last year. The DVD/VHS shows you not all knockouts are that simple or all the same as you may believe. The variations of punches, kicks and knees show you there is more than way one to knock someone out.

The amount of extra bonus footage on the DVD version is a huge plus with lots of rare unseen footage. Some of the footage although not maybe 100% related to the theme of the DVD/VHS is brilliant and will get your hardcore UFC fans buying it for the bonus footage alone.

The things I found missing in this DVD/VHS were the introduction and commentary that kept the programme fluidity of Ultimate Submissions. The menu is set out differently on the DVD compared to “UFC: Ultimate Submissions” where it has it set out in different moves this DVD has it set out in numerical list order of knockouts and not punches kicks and knees.

I think the amount of footage they show of each knock out is brilliant as they don’t show you too much leading up to it, this saves the programme losing its pace so you do not get bored, it gives you enough to get into that specific match. I would though personally like to see more replays maybe different angles, and frame by frame looks of how it all went down but they can only work with the footage that they have as like I say some of the matches stretch back to the beginning days of UFC.

Overall

I thought this release was a brilliant example of what UFC is about, adrenaline packed action. It doesn’t seem like an hour has past by the time it rolled to an end. This is definitely one for your big action fan with thrills and spills all the way with no time to draw breath. You will find yourselves watching your favourite knock outs over and over again.

DVD Extras

• Interview with Fred Durst
• In Tito’s Corner at UFC 30
• UFC 30 post fight press conference
• Shonie Carter cuts weight at UFC 31
• UFC 32 BJ Penn feature
• Robbie Lawler feature
• Dana White interview
• Lorenzo Fertitta interview

There are possibilities for future releases along the same lines as with every event that goes by there are guaranteed to be some more brutal knockouts in the octagon. Some of the Knockouts we see on the DVD/VHS are as a result of bitter UFC feuds so it would be good to see the history behind the knockouts and the feuds leading up to them this though is a no talk more action release.

Points: 6.5 / 10

Adam Sibley

Buy It:

UK: £17.99 (DVD)