Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
UK Certification E | UK RRP £17.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 309 minutes
The Ultimate Fighting Championship closed out 2010 with not only the last event of the year on December 11, but with an all-time attendance record for the company of 23,152. Held at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the UFC returned to the country for the fifth time on pay-per-view to present a card that had its fair share of thrills, spills and surprises, and one that certainly delivered in many respects, despite not being one of the most impressive line-ups of the year on paper.
The main card opened with a much-anticipated slugfest between two knockout specialists who were both on losing streaks. It wasn't quite a do-or-die situation for either man, but the bout was still very important for the direction of their futures in the UFC. Alves bounced back and looked incredibly good against Howard – on another level entirely in fact – and proved his dominance with a unanimous decision victory after three full rounds of hard-hitting, predominantly strike-based action. Howard put in a good fighting effort but was continually swarmed by Alves' amazing Muay Thai abilities.
Lightweight Bout: Joe Stevenson vs. Mac Danzig
For only the fourth time in UFC history, two winners of The Ultimate Fighter collided inside the Octagon. Stevenson (season 2) and Danzig (season 6) traded shots for a minute-and-a-half before Danzig pulled out a knockout shot to the jaw from absolutely nowhere, countering a Stevenson flurry and dropping him face-first to the mat. From the live camera angle, it looked as if Stevenson just stumbled over unconscious, but the replays showed just how amazingly subtle Danzig's final blow was. He actually moved back when he threw his fist as his opponent was powering towards him. A very impressive victory for the fighter, who had also been on a losing streak. It must have been an incredible relief to know that he prolonged his UFC career in quite literally a heartbeat.
Lightweight Bout: Jim Miller vs. Charles Oliveira
Earning his sixth straight victory in the UFC, Jim Miller ran through Brazil's Oliveira, submitting him near the two-minute mark in the opening round with a knee-bar. Oliveira was first locked in a spinning toe hold but quickly found his entire leg caught up in the arms of Miller, as he cranked the pressure and forced the fast tap-out. Despite his streak, Miller's career so far has been very quiet indeed, and perhaps this lead to Oliveira underestimating him – he certainly fell short of matching up to his opponent's Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu, anyway – but there's no way that Miller will have such a low-key reputation after this stunning, lightning-fast win.
Heavyweight Bout: Stefan Struve vs. Sean McCorkle
Wow, the third fight in a row to provide a first-round finish. The then-undefeated McCorkle was forced to eat up his words through defeat to the Skyscraper after running his mouth and talking trash during the build-up to the battle. These two heavyweights made light work of any critics who questioned their spot in the co-main event of the evening, working to a quick pace and taking the fight down to the ground just seconds in. At one point it looked as though McCorkle was about to take home the victory in Montreal after attempting a kimura, but it was soon reversed and the towering Dutchman Struve managed to cinch in an armbar with his lanky legs trying to find their way around the neck of his opponent, yet McCorkle was able to escape the hold. The two wrestled back-and-forth, jockeying for position until Struve twisted from his back with absolutely beautiful technique and rolled his foe over, immediately getting into a full mount and landing the fists that made referee Yves Lavigne put a stop to the action.
UFC Welterweight Championship: Georges St-Pierre (c) vs. Josh Koscheck
The time had arrived for the titular main event of UFC 124: the second fight contested between GSP and Koscheck, with UFC 74: Respect being their previous battleground. The fans in attendance in St-Pierre's hometown of Montreal were absolutely electric, providing one of the best fight atmospheres I've ever witnessed. They were naturally on their feet for GSP, while Koscheck's reaction was a 20,000-strong chorus of boos. He did a great job playing to their dislike for him live and the same goes for the run-up to the bout itself. The UFC is ultimately a business – no pun intended – and characters are what the fans like to see, so Koscheck was a very smart man in creating his own villainous persona especially for this fight to rally up the anticipation.
Down to the five-round match-up itself, GSP retained his undisputed gold by dominating the challenger for 20 of the 25 minutes that made up the fight. The first round was a balanced affair, but as soon as the combatants entered the second, it was St-Pierre all the way, taking control and dictating exactly where the championship fight was going with some nice takedowns and an incredibly impressive boxing game as he continuously jabbed at the face of his opponent, which from the first round onwards gave Koscheck a hideously swollen eye.
While the main card is featured in its entirety on the first disc, the second includes, in addition to the extras, all six preliminary fights:
Lightweight Bout: Pat Audinwood vs. John Makdessi
Welterweight Bout: TJ Grant vs. Ricardo Almeida
Welterweight Bout: Matt Riddle vs. Sean Pierson
Middleweight Bout: Jesse Bongfeldt vs. Rafael Natal
Lightweight Bout: Mark Bocek vs. Dustin Hazelett
Middleweight Bout: Joe Doerksen vs. Dan Miller
EXTRAS ??? The usual array of special features for a UFC pay-per-view release on DVD: the countdown show; weigh-ins; fighter interviews; and a behind the scenes feature.