Review of Cage Rage: Knockouts

Introduction

Cage Rage, the UK equivalent of America`s UFC or Japan`s PRIDE, has now been active for four years, and in 2006, enjoyed its best year yet, with the Cage Rage 17 event now recognised as the biggest mixed martial arts (MMA) event ever held in Europe. Hopefully, with the UFC planning a UK event in April, Cage Rage will continue their momentum in 2007.

This DVD is a selection of the best knockouts from the promotion`s archives, from 2002-present, presented by the promotion`s co-promoters Andy Geer and Dave O`Donnell.

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL, and is reasonable to good for a DVD of this genre. The 2006 clips look the best of course, but some of the footage from previous years isn`t of such a high quality, and look more like VHS than DVD quality. This is down to the source material, rather than the transfer, but even though this footage is noticeably poorer, it did not particularly affect my enjoyment of this production.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 and is good for a DVD of this genre. Commentary - led by Stephen Quadros - is always well heard above the in-Octagon action, which is important considering that the DVD is made up almost entirely of fight clips. That said, the crowd is a little low in the mix, meaning that these clips don`t have the "live" feel that they should.

Features

There are several extra features on this DVD, a good thing since the main feature lasts only sixty minutes. The first is a trip to the London Shootfighters gym, to ask the various fighters what it is like to knock someone out. This is a nice feature, but the interviewees are often very difficult to hear. Unfortunately, there aren`t any subtitles available to give viewers a helping hand.

Next is a promo video for the December 2006 show "Fearless", before presenters Geer and O`Donnell warn us about the next piece of footage, entitled "When Things Go Bad". As soon as I heard the discretion warning, I knew exactly which clip this would be, a frightful leg break which even I found difficult to watch again.

Backstage at the Cage Rage 18 event, the participants are then - similarly to the "London Shootfighters" feature - asked what it is like to knock someone out, and to be knocked out yourself.

Lastly, we have the "Ultimate Challenge" music video by Mr Vice.

Conclusion

With "Knockout" discs from the UFC and PRIDE already on the market (the latter`s effort is particularly excellent), this was great time for the UK`s own MMA brand to release a best-of compilation, especially considering that 2007 is expected to be a big year for the company.

With an archive of material to choose from, this sixty-minute package is excellent, full of both devastating power and incredible technique, as evidenced in particular by the tremendous Anderson Silva, now the champion of the UFC`s 185lb division.

One thing I am pleased to note about this compilation is that it is not just five or ten seconds of action that is covered before the finish. For those fights that require it, there is significant build-up, and the finishing blows often mean so much more because the extra time has been allowed to tell the story of the fight.

Overall, aside from the aforementioned video issues, this is an excellent DVD, and a great introduction to the Cage Rage product. If you are a fan of MMA, you`ll enjoy sitting down with a few beers and a few mates to watch this one. If you are a new viewer, you`ll get the chance to see some of the most exciting bout conclusions in the history of the company.

MMA isn`t just about knockouts, or about the kind of violence that we see here. But for what this release is, it is very entertaining indeed.