UFC 78: Validation

Video:
Upon its announcement, there was some consternation about UFC 78: Validation, and the main event bout between England's Michael Bisping, and Rashad Evans. Both were winners of the Ultimate Fighter reality TV show, Bisping in the Light Heavyweight division, and Evans in the Heavyweights.

Now both at Light Heavyweight, however, it was felt that both still had a lot to learn, and weren't ready for the main event status that they would have here. Neither man was considered a threat, for example, to the champion of that division, Quinton Jackson, or his predecessor and top star Chuck Liddell. For both, there was a lot to prove, in and out of the Octagon.

UFC 78 was held on 17th November 2007, from the Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey.

Video:
Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL, and is very good for a DVD of this genre. It's a clean transfer, from a well-produced event. I'm always particularly pleased at how well lit UFC events are, and this is no exception.




Audio:
Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and is also very good. The mix is very clear, and allows room for in-Octagon action, crowd noise, and commentary, which is entertainingly provided by Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg.

There is a further 2.0 track available in French.




Extras:
Looking specifically at Bisping vs Evans and Houston Alexander vs Thiago Silva, the bonus featurette is unusually split into three parts here, instead of the usual 30min piece.

In the first instance, the fighters visit New York, with Bisping in particular showing a lot of charisma and humour, not to mention intelligence at the point where he and his team visit Ground Zero.

Much more fight talk occurs in the second section, encompassing the press conference, and training for the fight. Also included is a highly interesting look at the post-fight reactions to the bouts.

Finally, there's a more detailed look at Rashad Evans' training with Phil Nurse, a Muay Thai specialist who was actually born in Bolton.

All of the above are certainly worth viewing following the main feature.




Overall:
UFC 78 may begin with ring announcer Bruce Buffer making a complete mess of referee Dan Mirgliotta's surname, but following that, it was right down to business, as Tamdam McCrory faced off against Akihiro Gono in a welterweight bout. This was a nice way to open up the show, as the bout was fought at a furious pace in the opening minutes, only to settle into an interesting stand-up battle.

Marcus Aurelio vs Luke Caudillo was up next, and was another quick-paced bout, although you'd expect nothing less from the UFC's excellent Lightweight division. There was some real heavy-hitting in this contest, and some good positional technique on the ground.

There was a 15-year age differential between Ultimate Fighter competitor Joe Lauzon and Lightweight opponent Jason Reinhardt next, which was an excellent showcase of technique, before the final preliminary bout of the evening saw Thiago Alves face veteran Chris Lytle in a Welterweight bout. This was a very promising match given its excellent first round, but an extremely contentious stoppage by a ringside doctor ended proceedings, much to the chagrin of fighters, fans, and everyone else bar that one physician.

Spencer Fisher and Frankie Edgar opened up the main card of UFC 78, in a Lightweight bout which saw the victor dominate positionally, but not come particularly close to finishing the fight. Ultimate Fighter finalist Ed Herman then came up against Joe Doerksen, in a bout which only came to life at the very end of the second round. That time, and the opening of the third round, just about made this fight worth checking out.

Another Welterweight bout was up next, as Ryo Chonan made his UFC debut against Karo Parisyan. Chonan made his name in Japan for the PRIDE promotion, and he was the last man to defeat Anderson Silva, via submission. Parisyan, with his excellent judo, is generally an exciting fighter, but this was a very poor bout indeed.

The penultimate bout of the evening was the first of two Light Heavyweight bouts, as crowd favourite and knockout artist Houston Alexander faced Thiago Silva. Unfortunately, the bout didn't match Alexander's ferocious bouts with the likes of Keith Jardine or Alessio Sakara, providing another let-down for the live audience.

Unfortunately, England's Michael Bisping couldn't really turn up the heat either, in his main event match-up with Rashad Evans. The American wrestler is known for grinding out victories - though he did knock Sean Salmon out in the most spectacular manner in January 2007 - and this bout was unquestionably fought more at his pace, than it was Bisping's.




Overall, UFC 78: Validation was a very disappointing affair, which remarkably, actually shows up better on DVD than it did on the original live pay-per-view, due to the inclusion of the preliminary fights. I cannot ever remember the preliminary fights being more exciting than the main card, but this was certainly one of those rare occasions.

The main event of Bisping vs Evans was known to be a gamble from the moment it was announced that it would headline the show. By reputation, it was a bout between two strong up-and-comers, who were far from being the established stars that you expect from pay-per-view headliners. Unfortunately for UFC, the gamble did not pay off, as they could only summon an intriguing bout, rather than an exciting one.

When all was said and done, the two best bouts on the card were likely Akihiro Gono vs Tamdan McCrory, and Marcus Aurelio vs Luke Caudillo. Both were fine bouts, but are not enough to recommend UFC 78, for anyone but the hardcore fan.