Review of UFC: Ultimate Ultimate Knockouts

Introduction

Although the UFC already have four "Ultimate Knockouts" collections under their DVD belt, I must say that I`m a little dubious about the concept. Sure, for fans of the sport, such compilations are a lot of fun, but they neglect the submission aspect of the sport, and open it up to allegations of blood-thirst, which is something that the sport doesn`t exactly need.

This FightDVD release, then, is "Ultimate Ultimate Knockouts", which isn`t a typo, but a "Best Of" type compilation of all the best knockouts in company history. Since the first event in 1993 - which, looking back, bears almost no resemblance to today`s product - there have certainly been many memorable ones.

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL, and is generally very good for a DVD of this genre. Some clips hark back to the mid-1990s, when the UFC was in its infancy, and its televisual standards weren`t what they are today. That said, all of the footage used here looks good to excellent.

The transfer to DVD has been unproblematic, with little noticeable digital artefacts.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and is also very good. Much like the video, the audio quality depends on the year from which the clip is taken, but it is never of a below average standard.

For international viewers, there is also a 2.0 track available in French.

Features

There are no extras on this disc, unless you want to count an advertisement for the Ultimate Fighter DVD series.

Conclusion

Presented by Kerry Kasem, the creatively-named Ultimate Ultimate Knockouts showcases 36 separate knockout highlights, all of them deserving of their status here. There are famous matches and relatively-unseen matches alike.

Thankfully, each knockout does not just include the five or so seconds bordering the final bout-winning strike. Instead, each clip is afforded at least one minute each, unless the bout itself did not go that long. The extra highlights allow for some of the story of the contest to be told, which makes the knockout punch or kick all the more meaningful.

Of all the highlights available here, the most personally memorable are those between Tank Abbott & John Matua, BJ Penn & Caol Uno, Shonie Carter and Matt Serra, Carlos Newton and Matt Hughes and Pete Williams and Mark Coleman. It`s a treat to be able to relive them, all in one place.

Overall, if you are looking for a quick fix of hard-hitting mixed martial arts, you are not going to find many other DVDs as suitable as Ultimate Ultimate Knockouts. The DVD doesn`t tell anywhere near the full story of mixed martial arts contests, but for what it is, it`s tremendously entertaining. Serious fans will prefer to watch an unedited match - or even a full UFC card - to understand the significance of every match-up available here, but as an introduction to what the UFC product can be, this is an excellent effort.