The first edition of the Ultimate Fight Collection was released exclusively at Best Buy on November 8th, and it is jam packed with octagon action. The advertisements and box-art touts an impressive 50 hours of content (throughout 150+ fights) on 20 discs. The events packed inside the 20 disc set include fights from UFC 116-UFC 131, Ultimate Fight Night 22-24 and UFC Live 2-4.
Inside this review, I’ll take a look at everything from the packaging to the content, and even the quality of the video and audio. Join me as review the 2011 Edition of the Ultimate Fight Collection!
Packaging: Considering this boxed set contains 20 discs, it must have been a challenge for Anchor Bay and UFC to put it all in a package that someone would be proud to display with their DVD collection. The result was a success, as it is not bulky the least bit. It literally reads like a book, with each page containing 2 discs each. What caught me off guard was the fact that they didn’t put the events in chronological order. UFC 116-131 is in order, then put the Ultimate Fight Nights in order, and lastly the UFC Live events in order. It’s not that big of a deal, but if you are going to market something as the “Ultimate Collection of 2011″, it would make sense to have it in chronological order.
Menu Navigation: The main menu looks nice, but it’s pretty bare bone. The information for the UFC event pops up (location, date, event number) along with images of the main fighters on the card, then “Play” and “Chapters” appear. That’s it. Epic-feeling music plays on the main-menu but that’s about all the flash that’s on there. Seeing as this is fighting and not an actual movie, I guess the audio and video options aren’t that important but it would still be nice to have options. With my surround sound set, it simulates the surround sound very well so I can’t nitpick too much.
Full Details: It is currently only available on Region 1, which means it will only work on Blu Ray and DVD players from United States/Untied States Territories, Canada and Bermuda. The video is presented in 16:9 letterbox. This set is only available on DVD and not Blu-Ray, which is unfortunate, but it’s not that big of a deal. If you have an up-converting Blu-Ray player, it will still look great. I have it up-converting on a PlayStation 3 onto a 106″ projection display and it’s still crisp and clear.
Content: It may seem like the events are showcased in their entirety, but that is not necessarily the case. This collection was put together to promote the exciting brand the UFC is by including highlight reel prelim fights like Gerald Harris vs. Dave Branch from UFC 116. What they decided not to include were fights that either featured low-profile fighters or one-sided decisions. Bouts like Amir Sadollah vs. Peter Sobotta from UFC 122 and Melvin Guillard vs. Jeremy Stephens from UFC 119 are not on this set. While that is a bit unfortunate, it still includes the biggest moments of 2010-2011.
Along with there being plenty of fights, there are just as many bonuses to keep you entertained for a very long time. Cameras follow fighters behind the scenes as they prepare for their fight, and this is shown to you with a montage before every main-event (and some co-main events). It definitely adds a level of hype to the fights. There is also a separate bonus disc which features Best of UFC Fight School, Best of Rogan 1-On-1, Best of Unguarded and some more bonus fights.
The Final Verdict: This set is one of the coolest things Anchor Bay and UFC released, and I have to say it is must-own. If you are a diehard mixed martial arts fan, you can go out and buy this set right now exclusively at Best Buy for around $100. If you aren’t a diehard mixed martial arts fan and you’re only looking to dip your feet into the pool, ask for this set for the holidays. There are enough exciting fights and behind-the-scenes footage for every kind of fan that makes it easy to overlook the faults they have with video and audio options.
Note: ” * ” indicates it was a title bout
UFC 116: Dave Branch vs. Gerald Herris; Seth Petruzelli vs. Ricardo Romero; Brendan Schaub vs. Chris Tuchscherer; George Sotiropoulos vs. Kurt Pellegrino; Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Stephan Bonnar; Chris Lytle vs. Matt Brown; Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Chris Leben; Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin*
UFC 117: Stefan Struve vs. Christian Morecraft; Johny Hendricks vs. Charlie Brenneman; Dustin Hazelett vs. Rick Story; Roy Nelson vs. Junior dos Santos; Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida; Clay Guida vs. Rafael dos Anjos; Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves; Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen*
UFC 118: Mike Pierce vs. Amilcar Alves; Dan Miller vs. John Salter; Joe Lauzon vs. Gabe Ruediger; Nate Diaz vs. Marcus Davis; Kenny Florian vs. Gray Maynard; Randy Couture vs. James Toney; Frankie Edgar vs. BJ Penn*
UFC 119: Mark Hunt vs. Sean McCorkle; Thiago Tavares vs. Pat Audinwood; Matt Mitrione vs. Joey Beltran; CB Dolloway vs. Joe Doerksen; Sean Sherk vs. Evan Dunham; Matt Serra vs. Chris Lytle; Anthonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Ryan Bader; Frank Mir vs. Mirko Cro Cop
UFC 120: Paul Sass vs. Mark Holst; Cyrille Diabate vs. Alexander Gustafsson; Dan Hardy vs. Carlos Condit; Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
UFC 121: Jon Madsen vs. Gilbert Yvel; Mike Guymon vs. Daniel Roberts; Court McGee vs. Ryan Jensen; Brendan Schaub vs. Gabriel Gonzaga; Tito Ortiz vs. Matt Hamill; Diego Sanchez vs. Paulo Thiago; Jake Shields vs. Martin Kampmann; Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez*
UFC 122: Kris McCray vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha; Seth Petruzelli vs. Karlos Vemola; Pascal Krauss vs. Mark Scanlon; Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Alexandre Ferreira; Dennis Siver vs. Andre Winner; Nate Marquardt vs. Yushin Okami
UFC 123: Paul Kelly vs. TJ O’Brien; Mike Lullo vs. Edson Barboza; Karo Parisyan vs. Dennis Hallman; Aaron Simpson vs. Mark Munoz; Matt Brown vs. Brian Foster; George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Lauzon; Phil Davis vs. Tim Boetsch; Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn; Rampage Jackson vs. Lyoto Machida
UFC 124: Pat Audinwood vs. John Makdessi; Matt Riddle vs. Sean Pierson; Mark Bocek vs. Dustin Hazelett; Thiago Alves vs. John Howard; Joe Stevenson vs. Mac Danzig; Jim Miller vs. Charles Oliveira; Stefan Struve vs. Sean McCorkle; Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck*
UFC 125: Mike Brown vs. Diego Nunes; Phil Baroni vs. Brad Tavares; Marcus Davis vs. Jeremy Stephens; Clay Guida vs. Takanori Gomi; Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim; Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann; Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard*
UFC 126: Mike Pierce vs. Kenny Robertson; Kyle Kingsbury vs. Ricardo Romero; Paul Taylor vs. Gabe Ruediger; Kid Yamamoto vs. Demetrious Johnson; Donald Cerrone vs. Paul Kelly; Jake Ellenberger vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha; Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader; Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin; Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort*
UFC 127: Mark Hunt vs. Chris Tuchscherer; Tiequan Zhang vs. Jason Reinhardt; Anthony Perosh vs. Tom Blackledge; James Te Huna vs. Alexander Gustafsson; Ross Pearson vs. Spencer Fisher; Kyle Noke vs. Chris Camozzi; Chris Lytle vs. Brian Ebersole; George Sotiropoulos vs. Dennis Siver; Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera; BJ Penn vs. Jon Fitch
UFC 128: Raphael Assuncao vs. Erik Koch; Kurt Pellegrino vs. Gleison Tibau; Edson Barboza vs. Anthony Njokuani; Luiz Cane vs. Eliot Marshall; Mirko Cro Cop vs. Brendan Schaub; Jim Miller vs. Kamal Shalorus; Urijah Faber vs. Eddie Wineland; Shogun Rua vs. Jon Jones*
UFC 129: Yves Jabouin vs. Pablo Garza; John Makdessi vs. Kyle Watson; Jason MacDonald vs. Ryan Jensen; Ivan Menjivar vs. Charlie Valencia; Claude Patrick vs. Daniel Roberts; Sean Person vs. Jake Ellenberger; Nate Diaz vs. Rory MacDonald; Mark Bocek vs. Benson Henderson; Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Jason Brilz; Randy Couture vs. Lyoto Machida; Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick*; Georges St. Pierre vs. Jake Shields*
UFC 130: Michael MacDonald vs. Chris Cariaso; Gleison Tibau vs. Rafaello Oliveira; Miguel Angel Torres vs. Demetrious Johnson; Brian Stann vs. Jorge Santiago; Thiago Alves vs. Rick Story; Stefan Struve vs. Travis Browne; Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson; Rampage Jackson vs. Matt Hamill
UFC 131: Joey Beltran vs. Aaron Rosa; Dustin Poirier vs. Jason Young; Jesse Bongfeldt vs. Chris Weidman; Sam Stout vs. Yves Edwards; John Olav-Einemo vs. Dave Herman; Demian Maia vs. Mark Munoz; Kenny Florian vs. Diego Nunes; Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin
Ultimate Fight Night 22: Jared Hamman vs. Kyle Kingsbury; Ross Pearson vs. Cole Miller; Nate Marquardt vs. Rousimar Palhares
Ultimate Fight Night 23: Cody McKenzie vs. Yves Edwards; Mark Hominick vs. George Roop; Matt Mitrione vs. Tim Hague; Evan Dunham vs. Melvin Guillard
Ultimate Fight Night 24: Johny Hendricks vs. TJ Waldburger; Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung; Dan Hardy vs. Anthony Johnson; Antonio Rogerio Noguiera vs. Phil Davis
UFC Live 2: Darren Elkins vs. Charles Oliveira; Brian Stann vs. Mike Massenzio; Damarques Johnson vs. Matthew Riddle; Tyson Griffin vs. Takanori Gomi; Mark Munoz vs. Yushin Okami; Jon Jones vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
UFC Live 3: Igor Pokrajac vs. Todd Brown; Rousimar Palhares vs. David Branch; Thiago Tavares vs. Shane Roller; Brian Bowles vs. Damacio Page; CB Dollaway vs. Mark Munoz; Diego Sanchez vs. Martin Kampmann
UFC Live 4: Michael Johnson vs. Edward Faaloloto; Ricardo Lamas vs. Matt Grice; Nik Lentz vs. Charles Oliveira; Joe Lauzon vs. Curt Warburton; Joe Stevenson vs. Javier Vazquez; Tyson Griffin vs. Manny Gamburyan; Rick Story vs. Charlie Brenneman; Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry
Bonus Fights: James McSweeney vs. Fabio Maldonado; Kyle Noke vs. Rob Kimmons; Brian Foster vs. Forrest Petz; Efrain Escudero vs. Charles Oliveira; Pat Barry vs. Joe Beltran; Cole Miller vs. Matt Wiman; DaMarquez Johnson vs. Mike Guymon; Michael MacDonald vs. Edwin Figueroa; Amir Sadollah vs. DaMarquez Johnson; Alex Caceres vs. Mackens Semerzier
