Review of UFC: 15 & 16

Introduction

No sport has evolved as quickly as mixed martial arts, as Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan are constantly reminding us - bless their cotton socks.

Now you, yes you, get to relive the early years, thanks to the growing amount of back catalogue events being released on DVD.

So jump back with FightDVD, if you will, for a double dose of brain-bashing and face-smashing, with UFC 15 & 16, titled "Collision Course" and "Battle In The Bayou". They remind us that there was a time when men were men, Big John was even bigger, and Tank Abbott didn`t spend 99% of his time inside The Octagon on his backside.

Video

The presentation... well, it`s nothing to write home about. Unless you want to tell the folks about low budget sporting events.

Broadcast quality visuals, with a TV transmission aspect ratio of 4:3.

UFC 15 takes place in a significantly smaller venue, and it shows. It`s a much darker presentation, with a slightly claustrophobic air. It`s entirely possible the lighting guy fell asleep - and who can blame him (see `Overall Opinion`)

UFC 16 benefits from being a stadium affair, and loses the murky visuals from the UFC 15 disc.

Audio

TV quality stereo. If you do write home about the bog-standard visuals, you might as well mention this.

Bruce Beck/Jeff Blatnick commentary for UFC 15, while Beck is replaced by the far superior Mike Goldberg for UFC 16 - with Goldberg delivering a more composed play-by-play.

It`s worth mentioning that Tank Abbott does a guest spot over the airwaves for a single fight at UFC 16. You might want to have the mute button at the ready.

Features

Nothing, nada, zip. As with the previous releases, you do have the option of selecting a particular bout from the menus... you lucky, lucky people.

Conclusion

UFC 15: Collision Course


**Heavyweight Tournament**

The undefeated Mark Kerr returns in a completely lackluster 4-man event.


**Vitor Belfort vs Randy Couture**

During an event that runs for over 2 hours, this semi-legendary bout is the only fight which is actually worth watching.


**Maurice Smith vs Tank Abbott**

Fresh from the supposed upset over Mark Coleman, Smith defends his Heavyweight title against ultimate fighter-turned-pro wrestler-turned-ultimate fighter David "Tank" Abbott. No surprises in this one. Not much entertainment value, either.

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UFC 16: Battle In The Bayou


**Lightweight Tournament**

A UFC first, with the little guys making a tournament appearance. A strong opening bout between Mikey Burnett and Eugenio Tadeu, but little else to glue you to your seat.


**Kimo vs. Tsuyoshi Koshaka**

The kinetic opening minutes soon give way to a sluggish Heavyweight bout.


**Frank Shamrock vs Igor Zinoviev**

The headliner, delivering one of the quickest fights and most impressive finishes in UFC history (which would be eerily echoed years later in a fight between Tito Ortiz and Evan Tanner). Could have been an entertaining fight, had it lasted longer than a school-boy`s wink.



So much truly has changed in the sport that it`s hard to imagine newcomers to MMA would find much of interest in this old UFC release.

With that, it`s hard to recommend this double bill for anything other than part of a enthusiast`s collection, or simply as a curiosity piece.