Review of UFC 69: Shootout

Introduction

With "UFC 69: Shootout", the Ultimate Fighting Championship once again took itself into new territories, this time by holding a pay-per-view event in the state of Texas. That may not seem like such a feat, but holding an event in a new state means that the company has been accepted as a legitimate sport by that state`s Athletic Commission, something which can only be good for mixed martial arts (MMA) as a whole.

UFC 69 was headlined by a Welterweight contest, in which George "Rush" St. Pierre defended his newly won UFC crown against Matt "The Terror" Serra. Serra earned his shot after winning The Ultimate Fighter contest, but went into this bout as a huge underdog.

Elsewhere on the card, Diego Sanchez and Josh Koscheck renewed their rivalry from the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, and Roger Huerta looked to continue his ascent to the top of the Lightweight Division, as he took on Leonard Garcia.

UFC 69 took place on 7th April 2007, from the Toyota Centre in Houston, Texas.

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL, and is very good for a DVD of this genre. There are no distracting digital artefacts, nor flaws with the transfer. This looks as good as one could possibly expect for a live sports event.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and is also very good. All sounds are mixed well, so that in-Octagon action, commentary, and the audience are all easily decipherable. Speaking of commentary, it is provided very ably by Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan, and Hall of Famer Randy Couture pops in to comment on the main event.

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

Features

As has become standard, there is just the one extra on this DVD, a 26-minute build-up to St. Pierre vs Serra, and Sanchez vs Koscheck. Typically, this is an excellent supplement to the main feature, as we get a lot of interview time with the participants, including a look at how they prepare physically and mentally for their bouts. There is also footage from the weigh-ins, which in the instance of Sanchez vs Koscheck, proves quite interesting.

We also get a look backstage post-event, which is a real insight into the character of the fighters, and of the company itself.

Conclusion

A battle of Ultimate Fighter contestants began proceedings at UFC 69, as Luke Cummo faced Josh Haynes in a Welterweight bout. Having dropped a huge amount of weight to fight in this division, Haynes was almost unrecognisable, but that fact did not have a significant effect on the quality of this bout, which generally failed to excite.

Marcus Davis and Pete Spratt was of much the same ilk, though Thales Leites and Pete Sell notched things up a little in a contest which featured some great striking, even if it was a little one-sided.

The Heavyweight division was then on show for the only time of the evening, as Heath Herring looked to put his awful UFC debut fight behind him, here facing Brad Imes. Herring was much more aggressive here than in his previous showing, and indeed both men had heavy hands in what was a fantastic effort of a match.

Kendall Grove`s freakish height (6ft 6in) immediately allows him to stand out from the Middleweight pack, and should he continue to engage in quality bouts like the one here with Alan Belcher, he will have more than a good future in the sport. This bout was fought at a great pace, with an attacking verve, and included some superb striking.

Yushin Okami vs Mike Swick perhaps was not a good choice of bout to be held after Grove vs Belcher, as Okami`s style is generally a defensive one, which does not always make for the greatest of spectacles. This was far from a poor bout, however, but with so much of the fight taking place on the ground, it will not be to everyone`s palette.

What should be to everyone`s palette, however, was the proceeding bout between Roger Huerta and Leonard Garcia. This was a hugely action-packed affair, which showed some energetic (if not always technically brilliant) striking, and tremendous determination on both sides of the Octagon. This is certainly up there with the best MMA bouts of the last eighteen months.

A bizarre story unfolded in the days after the Sanchez vs Koscheck bout, as it was noted by UFC President Dana White that prior to this UFC 69 encounter, Sanchez was hours away from announcing his retirement due to contracting Hepatitis C. However, it turned out there were difficulties in the testing procedure, the results from which had baffled doctors. Perhaps all of this explains the dreadful bout that was thus put forth, which was so far away from in quality from its original hype, that it might just be the most disappointed I have ever been in an MMA contest.

The Welterweight Title bout between St. Pierre and Serra, though, was one that absolutely did not disappoint, and almost made up for the shockingly-awful Sanchez vs Koscheck. This one was a relatively short contest, but one that was explosive in its incredible finish. It was an excellent way to finish a mixed show.

Overall, UFC 69 was a fine show, dragged down immensely by the disappointment of the semi-final main event. On the flip side of the coin, no-one could have expected the Huerta vs Garcia bout to be quite so good - it is a definite candidate for 2007 Fight of the Year. With no Couture, Franklin, Hughes, Liddell, CroCop etc on this show, there was rather a lack of star-power, which may tend to skew customers into avoiding this title. But Huerta vs Garcia is a must-see bout both for UFC enthusiasts or detractors.