UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 7 Blu-ray delivers great video and solid audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
Get ready for some skull-cracking smack-downs with this anthology of classic Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts that ended in devastating knockouts delivered by UFC stars such as Lyoto Machida and Shane Carwin. More hard hitters proving their prowess in the octagon include Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Josh Koscheck, Frank Mir, Matt Hamill, and friends-turned-rivals Wanderlei Silva and Anderson Silva.
Ultimate Fighting Championship's Octagon enclosure is one of the most rewarding yet most
dangerous places on the face
of the Earth. Modern day warriors battle within its fenced confines not only for money and stature
but for pride, to prove themselves the best of the best, to show their dedication in their ability to
out-train, outwork, out-maneuver, and outlast their equally-hungry and decidedly deadly opponent.
While fans attend and watch the fights to cheer on their favorite fighters and revel in the multiple
styles that lead a diverse collection of warriors to victory, there's something special about the primal
draw towards the end of the fight as marked not by judges' decision or a submission tap-out, but
the ultimate fight-stopper, the knockout blow. With one punch, a fighter proves himself -- for one
fight at least -- not only the better combatant but a man capable of sending an opponent to the
ground for
the show-stopping and heart-racing moment that every fight fan lives for.
Mamma said 'knock you out.'
UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 7 begins with a brief history lesson in UFC fighting techniques.
The open recalls the influence of UFC 1 champion and Hall-of-Famer Royce Gracie and his
signature Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu style that was seemingly capable of defeating any opponent of any
size. As a counter to Gracie's unbeatable technique, the
piece then examines the sport's evolution as it turned to a foundation of boxing and Muay Thai --
headlined by the emergence of superstar Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell -- that led to the current
state of the sport where "striking" rather than "grappling" is the preferred method of UFC
combatants. Hosted by UFC play-by-play man Mike Goldberg, UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 7
showcases the best of the best knockouts that are a direct result of the sport's
hard-hitting striking style. The video introduces each of the 32 fights, cuts to mere moments
before each knockout blow, and stays with the fight through several replays, making for a fun
rapid-fire compilation of the sport's best knockouts.
UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 7 is a collection better suited to veteran UFC fans. Although
the video does a fantastic job of cutting to the chase and delivering a series of entertaining
knockout blows, it doesn't capture the heart and soul of what UFC is all about. That doesn't
make this a bad video; on the contrary, it's an excellent production that hardcore fans will love,
but for viewers eager to see what UFC is all about, UFC: Ultimate 100 Greatest
Fights is far and away the better choice. That collection spans the sport's entire
history, shows each fight in its entirety, and allows audiences to truly soak in not only the history
of the sport but its very essence as the best fights -- and the best fighters -- not only battle in
the Octagon but often demonstrate the utmost in sportsmanship through their respect for their
sport and for one another. UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 7 is a far more detached collection
that focuses on only one -- albeit mesmerizing -- facet of the sport, and one that doesn't even
define
the outcome of every fight. Still, Ultimate Knockouts 7 delivers exactly what it promises,
an hour of fast-moving and hard-hitting UFC action. In addition, the collection offers a nice cross
section of UFC talent; not every fighter in the set is a household name or even prominent fighter
within the UFC ranks, but it does feature several fan favorites including Forrest Griffin, Rashad
Evans, Frank Mir, and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.
Knockouts from the following 32 match-ups are included:
1. Herman vs. Doerkson
2. Mandaloniz vs. Hightower
3. Rivera vs. Grove
4. Gouveia vs. Lambert
5. Davis vs. Liaudin
6. Koscheck vs. Hazelett
7. Okami vs. Tanner
8. Johnson vs. Speer
9. Irvin vs. Alexander
10. Goulet vs. Hironaka
11. Carwin vs. Wellisch
12. Silva vs. Jardine
13. Guillard vs. Siver
14. Credeur vs. Yarbrough
15. Markham vs. Farber
16. Silva vs. Irvin
17. Emerson vs. Gamburyan
18. Liddell vs. Evans
19. Sakara vs. Vedepo
20. Dos Santos vs. Werdum
21. Stephens vs. Dos Anjos
22. Gonzaga vs. Hendricks
23. Koscheck vs. Yoshida
24. Johnson vs. Burns
25. Nogueira vs. Mir
26. Machida vs. Silva
27. Dunham vs. Eklund
28. Hardy vs. Markham
29. Grove vs. Day
30. Hamill vs. Muñoz
31. Gonzaga vs. Carwin
32. Jackson vs. Silva
UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 7 hits the mat with a strong 1080i, 1.78:1-framed transfer.
Unlike UFC: Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights, there is no 4:3 material here, and each
segment
delivers a consistently clear, sharp, and pleasing high definition experience. Once again, fine
detail
is excellent throughout; whether the tattoos adorning the fighters' arms, legs, chest, or back; the
clearly-readable advertisements and sharp accompanying text on their shorts; or the blood,
sweat,
seams, and stains as seen on the mat during every fight; the Blu-ray disc delivers impeccable
detail that
brings both the Octagon and its combatants to vivid life. Color reproduction is fantastic as well.
From the various advertisements on the mat to the many bright colors seen on the fighters'
shorts,
there is neither a lack of color nor an absence of brilliance to any shade. The transfer is
consistently
sharp, deep, and crystal-clear from the middle of the Octagon to the furthest reaches of fans
fading
into the blackened background. UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 7 makes for another
impressive visual
outing from Starz and UFC. Please note that the screenshots accompanying this review were
necessarily downgraded to 720p due to the 1080i nature of the source material; they are not
wholly representative of the quality of the high definition presentations.
UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 7 features a very basic but ultimately satisfactory Dolby Digital
2.0 soundtrack. Such tracks are seemingly critique-proof provided they accomplish all they set out
to accomplish, and this one does just that. Dialogue -- both that that sets the stage for the fight
and the play-by-play calls -- is crystal-clear and distortion-free. The spoken word makes
up the bulk of the presentation, and it never disappoints. The track's music, too, enjoys fine clarity
and a decent sense of space across the front half of the soundstage. Ambient crowd noise spreads
out nicely across the front three speakers, too, and the "oohs" and "aahs" heard over the replays
that see the knockouts in slow motion add a nice touch and sense of realism to the experience.
There's not much to this audio presentation, but seeing as that the material's meager and basic
needs are met
with flying colors, there's little reason to lament the lack of a multi-channel or even lossless
presentation.
Unfortunately, this Blu-ray release of UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 7 comes with only a few
brief extras. TKO Montage (1080i, 0:56) is a collection of knockouts cobbled together in
rapid succession. Chuck Liddell Montage (1080i, 1:14) is a brief look at the career of the
superstar and his influence on the sport. Promos (1080i, 3:05) is a collection of
advertisements for UFC.com, UFC: Best of 2008, UFC: Ultimate
Comebacks and additional UFC DVDs. This disc also features BDTouch functionality.
However, attempts to connect with an iPod Touch resulted in a "Timed out" error by the
BDTouch software as displayed on the iPod Touch.
UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 7 is an excellent video, but it's better suited as a companion piece
in the collection of a die-hard UFC fan rather than as an introduction to the world of Mixed Martial
Arts and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The video delivers everything as-promised,
showcasing 32 of the hardest-hitting and awe-inspiring knockouts from around the world of UFC,
and for fans that want to cut to the chase and relive not the nuts-and bolts of each fight but rather
revel in the power of some of its best fighters as they deliver the ultimate fight-stopping blow, it's
impossible to go wrong with this collection. This
Blu-ray release from Starz and Zuffa delivers a high quality 1080i video presentation, a minimal but
effective and clear audio track, and a couple of short extras. Recommended to hardcore UFC fans.
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