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Length: 4hrs 54 mins
Discs: 2
The tagline was ‘making history’ and that is exactly what UFC 100 did. The June 11th 2009 show drew a rabid 10,871 to the Mandalay Bay events centre and has gone down in the record books as the most successful UFC event in the promotions history. The show itself was littered with highlights and memorable scenes, such as the absolute dominance of George St. Pierre, the stunning knockout of Michael Bisping and the downright terrifying mauling Frank Mir received at the hands of former WWE champ Brock Lesnar.
The Fights
Main Card
- Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alan Belcher
- Jon Fitch vs. Paulo Thiago
- Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping
- Welterweight Championship bout
Georges St-Pierre vs. Thiago Alves - Heavyweight Championship unification bout
Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir
Preliminary Card
- Mark Coleman vs. Stephan Bonnar
- Mac Danzig vs. Jim Miller
- Jon Jones vs. Jake O’Brien
- Dong Hyun Kim vs. TJ Grant
- C.B. Dollaway vs. Tom Lawlor
- Matt Grice vs. Shannon Gugerty
Bonus Features
• Countdown to UFC 100
• Behind the Scenes
The show opened with the debut of Yoshihiro Akiyama, the controversial Japanese star who would defeat Alan Belcher via split decision in a great back and forth contest. Between a swelled up eye, visible damage from an abundance of solid leg kicks and a lethal errant kick that struck the plums early in round one it is safe to say that Akiyama left the show feeling rather sore and not quite up to his ‘Sexyama’ nickname. While the decision was not as controversial as the past transgressions of Mr Akiyama (illegally greasing his legs before a fight) it was enough of a bad decision to prompt Joe Rogan to cry that Belcher was robbed.
John Fitch’s decision win over Paulo Thiago was a tactical exhibition of grappling and ground control that was good for what it was, but was hardly an exciting affair to the casual observer and in light of what was on offer throughout the rest of the card came across as a largely dull and uneventful contest.
The first ‘main event’ of the evening delivered the first major talking point of the night and featured a highlight reel finish. The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 developed to the point that Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping had legitimate heat going into this fight and why the stunning knockout of Bisping must have been an extra sweet reward for Henderson. The win surprisingly turned out to be his last for the UFC after a lengthy post-fight contract dispute. As for the fight itself we had a round of striking exchanges that served only to highlight a severe tactical error on Bisping’s part as he would routinely circle right in line with Henderson’s big right hand. It would catch up to him in the second as Dan put him down with a brutal punch and even nastier follow up to the already unconscious Brit. It was a superstar making performance from Henderson and served as a rare example of poor planning from the UFC as it was well known to be the last fight on his contract and such a high profile victory would, and did, give him some major leeway to renegotiate a better deal, albeit eventually with rival group Strikeforce.
If any further proof was needed of his absolute dominance of the welterweight division then this victory for George St. Pierre over Thiago Alves was it. The popular French-Canadian champion completely shut down the highly regarded Alves over all 5 rounds with his vastly superior wrestling and conditioning. The story of the fight would be St. Pierre’s unrelenting takedowns. Once a unanimous decision was reached there was little doubt in the mind of anyone who did bare witness to the display that St. Pierre was virtually untouchable. He completed 11 of an attempted 12 takedowns in most cases with ease and was equally dominant on the ground and his feet. He also completed the championship rounds of the fight with a torn abductor tendon that he completely no-sold. To work through the pain of a groin tear alone must be excruciating, but to continue to handily win the fight was nothing short of remarkable.
The show culminated in spectacular fashion with arguably the most anticipated and discussed fight in UFC history. Heavyweight champ and all round scary man Brock Lesnar would clash with his outspoken and always entertaining rival, and current interim heavyweight champ, Frank Mir. While the loaded under card and the general buzz surrounding this show being the 100th event (although technically it wasn’t) it was inevitable that UFC 100 would do some major business. However there is absolutely no doubt that a large percentage of the show’s reported 1,600,000 PPV buys can be attributed entirely to the huge interest in this main event fight. Speaking of huge, enter Brock Lesnar.
The fight was as close as you could get in professional sports to seeing one man being eating alive by a bear. While Lesnar dominated on the ground in frightening fashion, tying Mir’s arm behind his head and pounding him repeatedly, the first round wasn’t exactly all fireworks. However the electric atmosphere and physical impressiveness of Brock carried the aura of it being a ‘really big deal’ throughout the fight. Ultimately the night would belong to the man who had been described as ‘that fake wrestler guy’ as he would continue to pound Mir into a bloody pulp until the one sided contest was called off early in the second round.
The destructive victory for Lesnar should have been the main talking point coming out of the show however it was Brock’s post fight antics that would claim most of the headlines. They were the subject of endless debate and added much fuel to the pro-wrestling vs. MMA purist argument. My thought is that Brock’s post fight reaction and promo ensured that his subsequent fights will all do massive business, that is of course if Lesnar actually returns to action following his recent health woes. Perhaps the only unwise part of the interview (where Lesnar humorously criticised UFC sponsor Bud Lite) has been edited off the DVD.
Highlights from a packed under card included a quick submission victory for Tom Lawlor, a very impressive outing by young prospect Jonny ‘Bones’ Jones, an exciting and bloody 3 rounds from Mac Danzig and Jim Miller and finally a feel good decision victory for veteran Mark Coleman over Ultimate Fighter journeyman
Stephan Bonnar.
The behind the scenes features and countdown special certainly add to the overall feeling that this was a big event and as such should be part of every UFC fan’s collection.
In retrospect UFC 100 was everything it billed itself being, and then some. The show stands as the most successful UFC event of all time. Realistically until Lesnar and Mir fight again (which if Lesnar gets healthy is inevitable) it will hold this title unchallenged. UFC 100 is an essential purchase.
Points: 10/10
Andy Jefferson
Buy It:
UK: DVD
USA: DVD