Review of Cage Rage: 18 - Battleground

Introduction

Held on 30th September 2006 at Wembley Arena, Cage Rage 18 was the largest mixed martial arts (MMA) event ever held in Europe. Perhaps fittingly, it also played host to one of the most inspiring cards in Cage Rage`s short history.

Continuing Cage Rage`s association with the Japanese PRIDE organisation, Brazilian star Murilo "Ninja" Rua jetted in to face UFC veteran, and British Middleweight Champion Mark Weir. Another UFC veteran, Kimo, was also in town to face actor/fighter Dave Legeno.

The main event featured one of Britain`s best MMA exports, Ian Freeman, as he challenged for the British Light-Heavyweight Championship, facing Mark Epstein.

Featuring a mammoth twelve bouts - the entire evening`s proceedings - this single-disc DVD promised an incredible amount of action, packed into just under three hours.

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL, and is good for a DVD of this genre. As you might expect, the event itself lacks the production-value thrills of UFC and PRIDE, but the actual video capture and transfer is good, looking much like it did on its digital television airing.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and is reasonable for a DVD of this genre. Commentary - which is provided by Stephen Quadros and two others, none of whom are ever introduced - is generally good, especially as Quadros takes the role of lead announcer.

There are two audio issues of note, neither of which fatally flaw this DVD, but which would be nice to see rectified on future releases.

Firstly, the original audio during the fighter entrances has been completely removed, replaced by dubbed-in music. This takes away from the live crowd`s reaction to each fighter, and also takes away the live feel of the event.

The second issue also relates to the crowd, who during the bouts are much too low in the mix, meaning that they are only significantly heard during the show`s big moments. The lack of crowd noise makes it difficult for the armchair viewer to get into the action, and thus some of the bouts do not come across as spectacularly as they did on the day.

Features

There are no extras on this disc.

Conclusion

The first fight of the evening features James E-Nicolle taking on Zelg Galesic, and is a great way to start this DVD. The bout is short, but features a spectacular finish, and sets the mood for the other matches to capitalise on. The next bout, Xavier Foupa-Pokam vs Alex Cook, is much slower-paced, but does feature another good finish.

The two proceeding bouts, Brad Pickett vs Robbie Olivier and Sol Gilbert vs Paul Daley, may be the two standout contests of the show, for differing reasons. The Pickett vs Olivier bout is a great exhibition of busy ground-work, and Gilbert vs Daley features some great stand-up exchanges, and a great finish.

After two lighter-weight contests, the pace is unsurprisingly slower for the next bout, in which Alexandru Lungu battles Mark Bucannon. This is an average bout between two huge men, although they had little chance in following Gilbert vs Daley. Average is also a good term to describe Mustapha Al Turk vs Henry Miller, which is fought stand-up style, although rather uncompetitively.

Alex Reid, Cage Rage`s practical joker, appears in the next bout, battling Tony Frykland in a quick, brutal contest, with both fighters displaying quite the attacking verve. That same mindset is not, apparently, prevalent in the next contest, as Abdul Mohammed vs Vitor Ribeiro is rather unspectacular, although does feature a great finish.

In another heavyweight bout, Rob Broughton faces Robert Berry in a good brawl, before the first of the three marquee matches, in which UFC veteran Kimo goes up against actor-turned-fighter Dave Legeno. This match is not quite the brawl that I had expected, but is quite satisfying in its conclusion nonetheless.

In the semi-main event, Mark Weir faces PRIDE star Murilo "Ninja" Rua in a very good back-and-forth encounter. Weir acquits himself well, and Rua displays the technique that makes him not only a star in PRIDE, but in any 83kg division.

In the final bout of the evening, Ian Freeman and Mark Epstein battle for the latter`s Cage Rage Light Heavyweight Championship. While possibly the biggest match on the card, this contest will not be to everyone`s taste, as it more of an attritional war than a knock-down, drag-out fight. Still, it is a battle of two of the best-known fighters in Cage Rage, and is worth watching.

At an RRP of £12.99 (and available for much less if you shop around), Cage Rage 18 provides an interesting alternative to the mega-bucks of UFC and PRIDE. Furthermore, this title is more recent (live date: 30th September 2006) than some of its more illustrious counterparts. Never mind that, it also features several very good bouts, and any other promotion would have been proud to have held Pickett vs Olivier, Gilbert vs Daley, and Rua vs Weir on their show.

Unlike the majority of MMA events, too, there was nothing on this show that dragged the event down. Obviously, the likes of Abdul Mohammed vs Vitor Ribeiro, or even Kimo vs Dave Legeno, were far from classics, but at no point did I opt for the fast-forward button, rather than watch.

In 2006, there may have been better MMA events, but there have also been a lot, lot worse. This is another encouraging release for Europe`s premier MMA promotion.