Review of Cage Rage: 14 - Punishment

Introduction

Continuing their efforts to promote mixed martial arts (MMA) in the UK, Cage Rage held their 14th show, subtitled "Punishment" on the 3rd December 2005 at the Wembley Conference Centre. Although the main event was a Cage Rage middleweight championship bout with holder Anderson Silva taking on Curtis Stout, many had come to see veteran Brazilian fighter Vitor Belfort, as well as British sensation Mark Weir.

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL and is quite good for a DVD of this genre. The appearance of Cage Rage on Sky Sports has undoubtedly bucked their ideas up about their production values, and thus this is a much better effort than their formative releases, which so often looked worse than 1980s VHS. This, on the other hand, is comparable to any British boxing event broadcast on BBC or SKY.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 and is solid if unspectacular. Commentary is very capably provided by "Fight Professor" Stephen Quadros, accompanied by various British fight analysts.

Features

Extras on this disc are limited by the length of the three-hour main feature. However, there is a nice gallery of photos, and an interview with the aforementioned Quadros, who provides an enthusiasm for the product that is refreshing to see.

Conclusion

As those of you who take an interest in MMA (or these reviews in general) will know, these fighting events can often be very hit and miss. And that is not limited to Cage Rage, but to the really big boys of UFC, Pride, and Hero`s. In this instance, then, I am glad to say that Cage Rage 14 delivered the goods.

Without question, the best fight of the evening was also possibly the most intriguing on paper, as Dave Legeno - famous for acting appearances in Batman Begins and Snatch - had his debut bout against Alan Murdock. This was a tremendous, energetic, stand-up war with both guys throwing some major punches at each other, and showing remarkable tenacity in taking them.

Also worth mentioning were the bouts between Anderson Silva and Curtis Stout and Dean Bray and Nigel Whitear, both of which displayed aggression and technique, in equal measure.

Highlighting these three bouts is not to say that there weren`t any other good contests. In fact, I will go as far as to say that there were no poor bouts on this card, except perhaps for one match, which unfortunately ended with a disqualification.

The one thing that is so enchanting about Cage Rage is that the combatants clearly are there to fight, and to win. You might think of that as an odd statement towards a fighting sport, but much of the international MMA is cursed by defensive tactics and, quite honestly, fighters who are too good for their opponents. Cage Rage is now perhaps the only promotion with a TV and DVD following, that is committed to an attacking style, and the longer that this is the case, the better it will be for Cage Rage and MMA in general.