Review of UFC 65: Bad Intentions

Introduction

A double main-event headed UFC 65: Bad Intentions, as not only did Tim Sylvia put his Heavyweight Title on the line against Jeff Monson, but Matt Hughes also defended his Welterweight belt against Georges St. Pierre. With both champions training at the Miletich camp in Iowa, it was double jeopardy for that team.

Heavyweight challenger Jeff Monson is most recognisable for his pale skin (his nickname is "The Snowman") and incredible body tattoos. But he is also an accomplished fighter, who would be looking to exploit Sylvia`s apparent weakness in ground fighting. Sylvia, unpopular for defeating perennial favourite Andrei Arlovski to regain the belt, is a huge man at 6ft 8in and 265lbs, a fact which makes him tremendously awkward to handle.

Somewhat more technically accomplished is Hughes, the Welterweight title holder since defeating the very same St. Pierre for the vacant title in October 2004. St. Pierre, the French-Canadian, is an improved fighter since that time, however, and would look to put his devastating striking to good use.

UFC 65: Bad Intentions was held at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California on 18th November 2006.

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL, and is excellent for a DVD of this genre. When considering that this is a live-to-tape recording, this is superb, and with high production values, too. The transfer to DVD has also been smooth, with no compression artefacts noticeable whatsoever.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and is also very good for a DVD of this genre. Hosts for the evening are Mike Goldberg and Randy Couture, who make an excellent team in the absence of Joe Rogan. The commentary is always easily audible, as are all of the in-Octagon goings-on.

For international viewers, there are also 2.0 tracks in French, German, and Dutch.

Features

The usual main event previews comprise the extras on this release, but just because this is a format regularly used in UFC discs, that does not mean that their quality should be discounted. In fact, the previews maintain their high standard here, with St. Pierre in particular benefiting from the insight into his life. Of course, in particular we get to see how he prepares to face Hughes, a man he has such respect for.

Aside from simply previewing the fight, and looking at the fighters` preparation, we are also whisked backstage in the immediate aftermath of the event, to see the post-match reactions from the winners and losers. That alone is a fascinating insight into the psychology of a fighter, and is well worth paying attention to here.

Conclusion

A series of preliminary matches begin UFC 65, and given the nature of the opening contest here, it is probably quite important that that is pointed out. In a Heavyweight bout, Jake O`Brien and Josh Shockman tested the patience of the live crowd with a bout which relied far too much on whether Shockman could block O`Brien`s takedowns. It was not a start to the event that will have pleased UFC President Dana White, who recently admitted that having entertaining fights was probably more important than an impressive win/loss record.

Much better, however, was the contest of the training partners, James Irvin vs. Hector Ramirez. This was a very enjoyable encounter, even if many of the exchanges lacked the technique that you expect from high-level MMA. Still, both men showed a lot of determination, and this one concluded in memorable fashion.

Dutch kickboxer Antoni Hardonk then faced Sherman Pendergarst in a Heavyweight contest. The bout featured some brutal striking, and an excellent strategic ploy from the eventual winner. In a Welterweight contest, Nick Diaz then squared off with Gleison Tibau in a good battle of young fighters, where each man looked to have won the bout, but for a miraculous escape.

The first bout on the pay-per-view show of UFC 65 was the next one here, as Joe Stevenson faced the awkwardly-named Dokonjonosuke Mishima. This was a short, rather odd bout, which showed more for perseverance than anything else. Then, in an even quicker contest, Brandon Vera faced former Heavyweight champion Frank Mir. It is difficult not to feel sorry for Mir as he struggles to rebuild his career after a devastating motorcycle smash.

In what was a very entertaining fight, with lots of great striking and a somewhat odd finish, Drew McFedries engaged a Light-Heavyweight bout with Alessio Sakara, before the double main event kicked in, as Tim Sylvia firstly defended his Heavyweight Title (the belt of which he is said to carry everywhere) against Jeff Monson. This was somewhat of a frustrating contest, with Monson so keen to take Sylvia down, and the champion happy to contain Monson and merely throw jabs at him. With the crowd cheering Monson on, the bout seemed better than it actually was, but this one will certainly not be everyone`s cup of tea.

If there was any disappointment in that match, however, it was largely eroded by the wonderful bout between Welterweight champion Matt Hughes, and challenger Georges St. Pierre. This was a real edge-of-your-seat contest, and evidently the crowd felt the same way, with their vociferous reactions to every well placed strike or takedown attempt almost blowing the roof off the Arco Arena. This is one of the must-see contests of 2006.

Overall, UFC 65 is an above average show, made to seem much better by a fantastic main event, which was undoubtedly the match of the night. I also enjoyed Irvin vs. Ramirez and McFedries vs. Sakara, but was much less taken with O`Brien vs. Shockman and Stevenson vs. Mishima (which was really too short to complain about, anyway).

But I find it difficult to believe that many people will be buying UFC 65: Bad Intentions for anything other than the double main event, and while Sylvia vs. Monson was hardly a classic, Hughes vs. St. Pierre wasn`t far from that standard, making this DVD one that fans should want to add to their collection.