Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
UK Certification E | UK RRP £17.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 327 minutes
The fight started with first round domination by Grove, really pounding on his opponent, let alone applying two strong Guillotine chokes, one of which was beautifully executed off a back roll. The second round is where it all changed, despite Munoz walking straight into a huge right hand and hitting the ground, getting himself locked into the workings of a rear naked choke, but Grove couldn't get it entirely cinched in and Munoz managed to escape. This is where Munoz got his wits back and absolutely unloaded on Kendall, beating the holy hell out of him with incredible ground and pound. Such a colossal comeback to claim the victory.
Lightweight Bout: Terry Etim vs. Rafael Dos Anjos ??
Obtaining his third straight victory inside the Octagon was Rafael Dos Anjos, defeating Terry Etim in a fairly decent showing that was spent mostly on the ground. As Joe Rogan alludes to in his commentary, the Brit Etim's groundwork is good, but Anjos' is better, and it certainly showed in this bout, which was capped off with a nice armbar application on Terry for the submission win, despite a good effort to roll out of it. Close but no cigar, Etim.
Welterweight Bout: Matt Hughes vs. Renzo Gracie ???
In this match it was UFC icon vs. UFC debutant, Hughes facing off against a man who has made waves outside of the Octagon in promotions like PRIDE, but never before stepped foot inside MMA's most prestigious caged walls. What an exciting pairing this was, which lead to an equally as exciting fight, one that was contested mainly on the combatants' feet, which was surprising given the usual technique of Gracie. This was a match-up bursting with respect, featuring numerous high-fives between the two during the rounds, and even towards the end, Renzo insisted that Hughes help him up after knocking him down with a kick, which was a pretty funny moment. Gracie's left leg was beet-red in the third round, not to mention he was totally gassed, and even the lightest of kicks could have him hitting the mat, but Hughes consistently let him back to his feet. Even though the crowd booed at the respect shown from Matt when his opponent went down, for me it was refreshing to see and added a lot to the battle.
Lightweight Championship Bout: BJ Penn vs. Frank Edgar ???
The co-main event of the evening, Penn vs. Edgar was surprising to say the least. The previously dominant champion Penn, knee brace and all, was way off his game at UFC 112, succumbing to a challenger who was as fast and furious as he was hungry for the undisputed gold. Penn barely got a look in with his offense, which is something we've never seen before. While each round broke BJ down, Edgar was still dancing around the Octagon, as light on his feet as when the fight opened, scoring strikes and even takedowns. The fight went the five-round distance but it was fairly obvious that we had a new champion crowned when it was all said and done, something I don't think anyone expected prior to the contest.
Middleweight Championship Bout: Anderson Silva vs. Demian Maia ?
Silva's sixth title defense of the Middleweight Championship was a complete and utter farce. A combatant who has received much love from fans all over the world suddenly became hated all in the space of 25 minutes, when his main event fight with Maia went the distance. Silva began with the showboating that has become a staple of who he is, getting a few laughs from the live crowd, but his arrogance soon degenerated into a sickening display of disrespect that lasted for the rest of the fight. Ducking, diving, sticking his chin out, shouting, dancing, it was all on display and the fans quickly turned on him when it became clear that Anderson Silva is in fact a piece of garbage. It got the point where the crowd, who started the fight by chanting for Silva, began booing him and instead rooting for the challenger, who took a beating, having his nose busted open badly and his left eye completely swollen shut. Even Dana White had enough, giving the championship belt to Anderson's team and storming off backstage, obviously fuming at the outrageous performance. There is no point in anyone watching this fight other than to admire Maia's heart and determination. Silva should have been suspended and stripped off his title, and I think it's an absolute outrage that he wasn't. I wouldn't have blamed Maia if he just decided to leave the Octagon mid-fight in protest. A sorry, sour way to end a lackluster event.
EXTRAS ★★★ The two-disc set contains the usual array of bonus material for a UFC pay-per-view release, including a behind the scenes feature, fighter interviews, the countdown show and the post-fight press conference. It also has the five-bout preliminary card, which is usually the opening feature on the first disc as part of the main show, like how it went down live:
Heavyweight Bout: Jon Madsen vs. Mostapha Al Turk
Lightweight Bout: Paul Kelly vs. Matt Veach
Welterweight Bout: Damarques Johnson vs. Brad Blackburn
Welterweight Bout: Nick Osipczak vs. Rick Story
Light Heavyweight Bout: Alexander Gustafsson vs. Phil Davis