UFC 79: Nemesis

Introduction

What with the record-setting Chuck Liddell vs Tito Ortiz bout from December 2006, the UFC end-of-year show has become probably the most eagerly anticipated of the entire year.

2007's version, "UFC 79: Nemesis" was certainly a late Christmas present for fans, who here got the chance to witness Matt Hughes square off against Georges St. Pierre for the interim Welterweight title, after champion Matt Serra - due to defend against St. Pierre - was injured in training). If that wasn't enough, Chuck Liddell also came up against Wanderlei Silva in a Light-Heavyweight contest, one which UFC President Dana White claimed had been six years in the making.

Elsewhere on the card, one of the major stars of the PRIDE promotion, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou - who made his name with incredible surprise wins over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona - had his first bout in the UFC, as he faced the formidable challenge of Lyoto Machida.

UFC 79: Nemesis took place on 29th December 2007, from the Mandalay Bay Events Centre in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL, and is very good for a DVD of this genre. Production values are high, but not distracting from the fights themselves. The camerawork is excellent, meaning that none of the in-Octagon action is missed.

In terms of the transfer to DVD, this is near-spotless, with no noticeable digital artefacts.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and is also very good for a DVD of this genre. Everything is clear in the mix, so that in-Octagon action, crowd noise, and commentary are all well represented, and easily audible alongside each other. Speaking of commentary, it is provided very ably by regular hosts Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan.

There is a further 2.0 track available in French.

Extras

As is standard on UFC event DVDs, the evening's title main event is profiled in the bonus features, though we also get a long look at the build-up to Chuck Liddell vs Wanderlei Silva. And, in fact, it is within the latter bout that we see the most remarkable footage, as Dana White greets Silva in the dressing room following his bout. Silva's humbleness following what was a tremendous fight should serve to embarrass fighters who have illusions of grandeur, yet have not had half of the career of the Brazilian fighter. It's a real heart-in-mouth moment.

In any case, the overall feature is excellent, providing a superb build up to each fight, including a look at the weigh-ins. The interview footage is extensive, but always an interesting listen.

Main feature

UFC 79 opens up with a Lightweight bout between Canadian Mark Bocek and American Doug Evans, which was a relatively busy, hard-fought contest. It was fought mostly on the ground, however, which won't be to most fans' taste.

Tony DeSouza vs Roan Carneiro was next in a Welterweight contest, and was even more of a chess match, though some big strikes finished off the contest. Then, Dean Lister faced Jordan Radev in a Middleweight bout, which featured lots of stand-up jabbing and some wrestling, but really little else.

The penultimate of the preliminary bouts was certainly the most exciting of the lot, as Manny Gamburyan faced Nate Mohr in another Lightweight contest, Gamburyan was highly unfortunate to injure a shoulder in a recent Ultimate Fighter finale, and showed his true ability here. Then, before the pay-per-view proper, an unfortunate disqualification marred the Light-Heavyweight encounter between Luiz Cane and James Irvin.

Television viewers were treated to a huge grudge match to open up UFC 79, as Melvin Guillard squared off against Rich Clementi. There was some seriously heavy striking here to back up the fury on both sides, though a slick submission ultimately ended the contest.

Lyoto Machida and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou was unfortunately fought to the frustrating stylings of Machida, before Eddie Sanchez and Sol Palelei displayed some of the worst boxing technique I have ever seen in the Octagon. You could argue that it was a fun brawl, but this resembled a bar fight more than it did an MMA contest.

As an antidote to that, next up was the dream match-up between Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva. Few matches of this kind truly live up to their hype, but this was a remarkable bout, between two legends of the sport. A sure-fire contender for 2007 Fight of the Year honours, this was a stand-up war that saw both men come out of the bout with even greater legacies.

The main event of Georges St. Pierre vs Matt Hughes, for the Interim Welterweight title, couldn't possibly live up to the previous encounter, but did its level best to do so. A fitting main event, this was quite the wrestling contest, with some good striking thrown in too.

Overall

Watching the undercard of UFC 79 didn't exactly fill me with positivity when it came to the main event matches, but thankfully, Liddell vs Silva and St.Pierre vs Hughes both lived up to their extensive hype, to make forgetting about Lister vs Radev rather easy.

As aforementioned, Liddell vs Silva is a must-see bout for any fan of UFC, and as such, UFC 79 is very much worth picking up.