Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
UK Certification E | UK RRP £17.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 305 minutes
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the States a week after its German excursion to take the fights to Detroit for the first time, surprisingly, since UFC 9 all the way back in pre-MMA boom 1996, and the Motor City invasion did not disappoint, taking the promotion out of its recent quality slump and putting on plenty of adrenaline-filled battles with decisive conclusions. 
The then-unbeaten Aussie Sotiropoulos continued his streak with an impressive submission victory over Lauzon in the opening fight of UFC 123's main card. Choosing to begin with a trade-off of fists, Lauzon capitalised on his superior striking ability, prompting Sotiropoulos to change tactics and try and put the fight to the ground instead in the second half of the round. He succeeded in taking the American down to the mat and quickly managed to secure his opponent beneath him with a full mount, before failing a rather sloppy attempt at an armbar in the final few seconds. He made the very same mistake in the second round after he immediately pressed on for the takedown, but made sure not to lose control of the groundwork, almost instinctively switching over and trying to lock in a Kimura on the right arm, before finally managing to hook in the hold on the left arm for an instant submission. Lauzon's defense in the second was like a wall that had crumbled, having exhausted himself in only the first five minutes, coming out like a firecracker and seemingly trying to recreate his one-round win over Gabe Ruediger at UFC 118, but it was not to be. He was simply torn apart by the stunning grappling work of the Aussie.
Light Heavyweight Bout: Phil Davis vs. Tim Boetsch
The physical specimen Phil Davis took his pay-per-view debut to shining heights by capturing his fourth victory in the UFC to build his MMA record to a perfect 8-0. Boetsch struggled to do any damage with his reserved strikes as the fight got underway, instead being battered by a vicious array of strong head kicks before the action went to the canvas, where Davis absolutely smothered Boetsch for the remainder of the first round. The ground game would continue to work in Davis' favour in the second round as his escape from a Guillotine choke applied by Boetsch from standing resulted in a very interesting variation of a Kimura that Joe Rogan dubbed “The Mr. Wonderful”. One quick crank and a cry of pain from his opponent and that was all she wrote. Davis really is one to watch.
Middleweight Bout: Gerald Harris vs. Maiquel Falcao
Undefeated UFC debutant Miquel Falcao entered his 26th professional MMA fight with 21 knockouts under his belt, so his intentions for his bout against Harris, his very first non-Brazilian opponent, were clear, as were the American's. But did either man live up to their words? No, they didn't. The crowd started getting restless early on as both combatants seemed to be feeling each other out for an extended amount of time, but things speedily picked up when Falcao saw an opening and struck out like a viper, unloading with a lightning-fast burst of lefts and rights, before landing a huge knee and taking Harris down. He followed up with a very tight rear naked choke and Harris looked like he was about to tap, only for the timekeeper to signal the end of the opening round. The only problem was that he ended it six seconds early, most likely costing Falcao a first-round submission victory, but unfortunately this outright controversy was only acknowledged after the event.
The Brazilian began the second round impressively once again, solidifying his control over the fight at the time and yet again locking in a choke, which Harris just managed to escape from. It was crystal clear that Falcao had the bout in the bag and for the entire third round he just looked completely relaxed. Too relaxed. Harris on the other hand was far too cautious and barely did anything, causing the fans to heavily boo the action or lack thereof as it came to a close in extremely boring fashion. Falcao remained undefeated with an initially exciting performance in what certainly wasn't the surprise of the night, while the American was handed his walking papers.
Welterweight Bout: Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn
What a fantastic finish to a long-running rivalry. This was the highly anticipated rubber match and it did not disappoint. Six years in the making, Penn drove the nail in the coffin of the feud with a scintillating right hand to send the Hall of Famer down hard, before pummelling him until referee Dan Miragliotta stopped it just 21 seconds in. Both fighters had everything to lose in this contest with Hughes riding high atop a wave of momentum and Penn in desperate need of a comeback victory. What a knockout, and the first that Hughes had ever fallen victim to.
Light Heavyweight Bout: Rampage Jackson vs. Lyoto Machida
Machida's controversial split-decision loss to Rampage Jackson in the main event prompted a split response from viewers with regards to who truly won the fight. After three rounds of intense action, Jackson himself was very surprised that he took home the victory and even admitted that he felt that he was second best on the night, even going as far as to offer an immediate rematch in the interest of fairness, which was subsequently denied, unfortunately, by UFC President Dana White.
Both fighters kicked the bout off with two cautious rounds as they engaged in a feeling out process and scoured each other's movements for the slightest of openings to take advantage of. The first ten minutes built to an utterly explosive finale as the former division champions went back-and-forth, unloading on each other and grappling on the ground in what was a highly exciting conclusion to the main event, and one that showed off the technical flare of Machida and even a little of the monstrous Rampage of old that put him on the map.
As well as including the main fights of UFC 123, the first disc of this set contains the entire six-fight preliminary card:
Lightweight Bout: Tyson Griffin vs. Nik Lentz
Lightweight Bout: Paul Kelly vs. T.J. O'Brien
Lightweight Bout: Mike Lullo vs. Edson Barboza
Welterweight Bout: Karo Parisyan vs. Dennis Hallman
Middleweight Bout: Aaron Simpson vs. Mark Munoz
Welterweight Bout: Matt Brown vs. Brian Foster
EXTRAS ??? The near two hours of supplementary material on this release are comprised of the weigh-ins; a behind the scenes feature; fighter interviews; and the countdown show.