Review of UFC: 33 & 34

Introduction

UFC 33, the first event in this two-disc set from FightDVD, was a landmark show in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Having been banned in several states, and thrown off pay-per-view after its initial success, this was the first show which was sanctioned by the influential Nevada State Athletic Commission. There is no coincidence then, that this was also UFC`s return to pay-per-view.

UFC 33 had been scheduled to be headlined by Tito Ortiz` defence of the Light-Heavyweight Title, against Vitor Belfort. However, Belfort suffered a serious arm injury in training, and had to forfeit his title match to Vladimir Matyushenko. In the same division, Chuck Liddell faced Murilo Bustamante on the undercard.

UFC 34 was headlined by two championship bouts, the first being Randy Couture`s Heavyweight Title defence against Pedro Rizzo. These men had the consensus Match of the Year for 2001 at UFC 31, seven months previously. The other feature attraction was Carlos Newton`s defence of the Welterweight Title, as he faced Matt Hughes.

UFC 33 was held on 28th September 2001, from the Mandalay Bay Events Centre in Nevada. UFC 34 was held on 2nd November 2001, from the MGM Grand, again in Nevada.

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL, and is very good for a DVD of this genre. The image is clean, and although it appears a little dated six years later, it remains a very good live-to-tape sports recording, which is aided by good production values, particularly inside the Octagon, which is always very well lit.

There are no noticeable digital artefacts present, nor any other transfer issues.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and is also very good. All sounds are mixed well, so that there is a nice balance, in particular, between in-Octagon happenings and commentary.

Speaking of which, words are provided on UFC 33 by the team of Mike Goldberg, Jeff Osbourne, and Elvis Sinosic, the latter of whom does sound a little out of place with his thick Australian accent. On UFC 34, Sinosic is replaced by Jens Pulver, who is a much better fit.

Features

There are no extras to accompany this set.

Conclusion

UFC 33 began with a bang, with the new Middleweight Title was on the line, as Gil Castillo faced Dave Menne. The match really didn`t begin until the third round, but it was a tremendous effort once it got there.

Lightweights Yves Edwards and Matt Serra battled in a contest that was fought almost all ju-jitsu style. It was a busy fight, with lots of submission attempts, but it won`t be to everyone`s liking. Next, Fabiano Iha and Din Thomas clashed in a good match, which slowed down in its second half, from a tremendous early pace. In the Welterweight division, Tony DeSouza`s bout with Jutaro Nakao was rather uninspiring until an excellent finish.

Ricardo Almeida and Eugene Jackson then engaged in a very combative affair, before Chuck Liddell took on Brazilian Murilo Bustamante in a Light-Heavyweight contest. This was a terribly disappointing encounter, between two men whose abilities seemed to cancel the other`s out. Thankfully, Liddell`s matches were much more entertaining in future years.

Since its inception, if there was one weight division in which you could lay faith in for quality match-ups, it would be the Lightweight division. Generally, the speed and agility of those fighters shine, but not so in the case of Jens Pulver and Dennis Hallman here, battling for the former`s UFC title. Instead, what was on offer was an overly-tactical, cautious bout, that was fought mostly on the ground. There was nowhere near enough action throughout, an accusation which could particularly be thrown at Hallman.

"Not enough action" is a phrase, sadly, that is exemplified in the main event, too. Vladimir Matyushenko may have been a late replacement for Vitor Belfort, but his performance against Tito Ortiz didn`t warrant the opportunity that the UFC handed to him.

On to UFC 34, then, which began with a bout which, although it was hardly a classic, far out-shone the main event from the prior show. In a Heavyweight contest, Josh Barnett and Bobby Hoffman fought an aggressive, if wrestling-orientated, bout which featured some heavy striking towards the end.

After BJ Penn and Caol Uno produced one of the most incredible finishes in UFC history, Carlos Newton defended his newly-one won Welterweight title against Matt Hughes. This was was a superb match, with some great grappling exchanges, and a fantastically brutal finish.

The Heavyweights were out in the proceeding two bouts, as Ricco Rodriguez and Pete Williams fought a busy, punishing fight, and Randy Couture re-matched with Pedro Rizzo. Though not as fine as their excellent contest several months previously, this was a reasonable fight, with a big finish.

Finishing off the show, as there was a little time left after the main event, were Phil Baroni and Matt Lindland, who would go on to have quite the rivalry in later years. Here, they engaged in a busy, hard-fought bout, which featured a very interesting contrast of styles.


If you want to compare UFC 33 and 34, in terms of fight quality, it`s a no-brainer. In fact, you could argue that in this double-disc set, you get the good (UFC 34) and bad (UFC 33) all in one package.

Notwithstanding the fact that the bouts at UFC 33 featured few conclusive winners, the marquee bouts of Pulver vs Hallman and Ortiz vs Matyushenko were awful, and I doubt that even a big UFC fan would ever be pushed to watch them again, after a first viewing.

Thankfully, Menne vs Castillo, Thomas vs Iha, and Jackson vs Almeida provided something of interest, because had they not delivered, UFC 33 could have been one of the very worst shows in company history.

UFC 34, however, offered a complete turnout, which may have been a company reaction to the previous show. The pick of the bouts was Newton against Hughes, which was proof that a ground fight can be tremendously entertaining as long as it is fought with an aggressive verve. There were no poor bouts through the show, and Newton vs Hughes just pipped the event`s other great match in Baroni vs Lindland.

Overall, then, there`s good and bad on this two-disc set. But if you are a UFC fan, or someone interested in older events, this is worth picking up.