Search - Ultimate Fighting Championship, Vol. 59 on DVD

UFC 59: Reality Check

Matt | NJ | 06/22/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"UFC 59: Reality Check
04/15/2006
Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, CA

I was really looking forward to this UFC event. Reality Check would pit Forrest Griffin against Tito Ortiz in his UFC return. Andrei Arlovski fighting Tim Sylvia was also a highly anticipated bout, but I knew it wouldn't have the excitement factor that a Griffin/Ortiz battle would produce. Arlovski and Sylvia are knockout fighters, so I knew that fight would end in the first. In any event, here is how it broke down:

Jeff "The Snowman" Monson v. Marcio "Pe De Pano" Cruz:
Marcio Cruz had just beaten Frank Mir, which brought some attention to his place in the heavyweight division. Monson had come back in UFC 57 to defeat Brandon Lee Hinkle, his first fight in the UFC since losing to Ricco Rodriguezs in UFC 35. This is a decent fight. The fighters almost seem to cancel each other out. They're both so good, that they can't really do anything to each other. Either one explodes and either one really does much damage. They both look unharmed afterwards. This one goes to a split decision.

Evan Tanner v. Justin Levens:
Tanner was supposed to fight Jeremy Horn, but Justin Levens steps up in his place to take this fight on short notice. This one is not all that exciting and it ends with a submission.

Forrest Griffin v. Tito Ortiz:
Forrest Griffin has been quickly gaining popularity since his win over Stephan Bonner in the Ultimate Fighter season 1 finale. After wins over 2 less-than-stellar opponents, he is thrown into the mix with a UFC icon, albeit somewhat past his prime. We would see if Forrest deserves to be in there with the top dogs, which most of us were hoping he would... He's just such a likeable character and his fighting style and personality make for some extremely entertaining fights.
Tito dominates the first round and things are not looking good for Forrest. He gets grounded and pounded for most of the 1st round. The 2nd round, however, is a different story. Forrest stuffs all of Tito's takedown attempts and starts landing some good shots of his own. After this round, Forrest's intensity triples and the crowd feeds off of it and gets fired up for the 3rd. He continues stuffing Tito's takedown attempts until the end of the 3rd. They trade shots, Ortiz finally gets a takedown, Forrest escapes and lands some final shots... and it is all left in the hands of the judges. After the fight, Forrest says he wishes it was a 5 round fight and the crowd goes crazy. This fight had me pumped, I have to be honest. Hopefully these two can fight again after Ortiz gets his grudge match with Ken Shamrock out of the way.

Sean Sherk v. Nick Diaz:
Coming off of the high that was the Ortiz/Griffin fight, this one seemed tame in comparison. Sherk looks strong in the 1st round, the 2nd and 3rd are close - and this one also goes to a decision.

Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski v. Tim "The Maine-Iac" Sylvia:
With 2 of 3 fights ending with decisions, the crowd was ready for a knockout. The main event would cap the night with 2 of the heaviest hitters in the UFC throwing leather in the octagon. WITHOUT SPOILING the outcome, I will say that each fighter lands a huge punch in the first round before it is stopped. It came down to whose punch was more precisely placed and who was more well-prepared to recover from a crushing blow that determined the winner in this bout. These 2 heavyweights will have their rubber match at UFC 61: Bitter Rivals, where Tito Ortiz will have his grudge match with Ken Shamrock (in what is hopefully his retirement fight).

Royce Gracie and Matt Hughes are interviewed in the ring after the main event to hype the coming of UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie.

This was another great UFC event. I can't wait to see more from Forrest Griffin and I am also excited for the rubber match between Sylvia and Arlovski. Both Arlovski/Sylvia fights have ended quickly... hopefully the 3rd will be more of a slugfest."

Great card for UFC (but Pride still rules MMA)

JJP4MMA | Long Island, NY USA | 07/13/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This was the best card that the UFC has had in quite awhile and I have seen the last 20 or so cards. The first reviewer was a little harsh in his review. Sure, Pride is a better org. with a lot more talented fighters than the UFC. That is a no brainer. The talent level is not even close. Pride is vastly superior. However, there are a lot of talented fighters on this card so it is definitely worth purchasing. A REAL mma fan will enjoy this dvd. UFC 60 & 61 is another matter. Two real weak shows."

3 1/2 Stars

Ron | Jersey | 02/12/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I think a few weak fights bring this event down. You have a few knockouts, and a bunch of nice submissions. But a few fights just drag. Overall though, there is enough to keep you interested. As with the latest UFC event dvd's, they have cut out everything but the meat of the event. Basically it is the fights only with no interviews save for the double main event fights. A plus is the extras which show the weigh ins and the fighters cutting weight. Certainly not the best UFC event, but it is not a bad one either."