Cert: 18

Length: 147 mins

Thanks to those splendid people down at FightDVD I managed to catch up on some missed UFC action this week as UFC 50 winged its way through my letterbox. Being a big UFC fan I was excited to get this into my DVD player and seeing how the UFC was developing after not seeing a few of the last events. The card was headlined by Tito Ortiz going up against Patrick Cote and Matt Hughes trying to once again become UFC welterweight champion against Georges St Pierre.

This was an important event for the UFC as looking at the card they seemed to be having a little bit of a rocky time. The same could be said for the once unshakable Tito Ortiz who was going in to the event off the back of some very disappointing performances. Could the UFC fight back and could Tito re-establish himself I was anxious to find out.

Matches

• Tito Ortiz vs Patrick Cote
• Rich Franklin vs Jorge Rivera
• UFC Welterweight Title:
  Matt Hughes vs Georges St Pierre
• Frank Trigg vs Renato Verissimo
• Evan Tanner vs Robbie Lawler
• Ivan Salaverry vs Tony Fryklund
• Travis Lutter vs Marvin Eastman

Highs and Lows

If you buy DVD’s based on the name value of the card then this may not be for you. If the people who are on the card are more important to you than the quality of the fights then you may want to look at other UFC releases. Me on the other hand I base my judgments on reviews matches get to whether or not I make a purchase because if you stick two hungry fighters in the octagon anything can happen so looking at the card and not recognising some of the names didn’t put me off.

The event is only two hours which is perfect for getting the mates round with a couple of cans in the evening. If you are like me when watching one of the longer events you have to watch it in bits because you have other things to do so this event is brilliant as you can do it in one sitting and you lose none of the feel for the event.

As part of the February fight month on Bravo I recently watched UFC 51 and have since been getting into Evan Tanner after his performance against David Terrell. I really enjoyed his fight again this time round against a seasoned performer in Robbie Lawler and was rewarded by Evan getting the decision through a triangle choke in the first round. Evan in my opinion is one of the franchise guys in UFC and any card with him on is well worth watching, not sure what he is thinking with the hair mind you.

Matt Hughes created a historic end to the first round in his Welterweight title match against Georges St Pierre. The title was vacant for this match and Matt desperately wanted it back but Georges was determined to make his dream come of true of winning the belt for the first time, something had to give. After an impressive round and with time running out Georges looked to have the upper hand with a spinning sidekick to the midsection with troubled Hughes. Showing the heart of a champion Hughes took him down and started the ground and pound. With time running out Georges went for the kimura but out of no where Hughes managed to reverse it in to an arm bar of his own and made Georges tap out with one second in the round to go.

When it was time for the main event the recent months looked to have taken its toll on Tito as he wasn’t his usual confident self which was met by a fall from grace as the fan favourite as he was greeted by choruses of boo’s during his match. To add to this Tito had to go in their against a UFC debutant who he was expected to beat easily in Patrick Cote, he was in a no win situation.

Scared of making it three defeats in a row Tito made this the only match on the main card to go the distance with his ever so cautious approach. He won by a convincing points decision which was never in question as he dominated his opponent but his lack of confidence to go for the kill meant this match never came alight. Tito though made it through the match and got what he needed a win to stop the current rot. This was the most subdued I have ever seen Tito but hopefully this was to the low before he came back better than ever.

The only thing that disappointed me about the DVD was because I am a big pro wrestling fan I love the competitors entrances which you didn’t get to see much of on this DVD which I thought was a shame. Seeing them come down to the octagon in my eyes builds the anticipation for the fight and helps build the atmosphere but like I say only a small point.

DVD Extras

• Behind the Scenes
• Exclusive Interviews
• and more...

Overall

The UFC made the best they could with what they had to offer for this event. Ok it won’t go down in the history books as one of the greatest UFC events of all time but it was a night of intriguing matches with a host of good fighters which meant it was a joy to watch. If you just want some light UFC action for two hours this DVD is for you.

Points: 5.5/10

Adam Sibley

Buy It:

UK: £13.99

USA: $17.99