February 5, 2005 - The fight many Ultimate Fighting Championship® fans have waited more than three years to see, "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz stepped into the Octagon at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino Events... more » Center to fight Brazilian star Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort in the main event of UFC® 51: Super Saturday. The undercard features: Tim Sylvia vs. Andre Arlovski, Evan Tanner vs. David Terrell, Phil Baroni vs. Pete Sell, David Loiseau vs. Joe Riggs, James Irvin vs. Mike Kyle, Justin Eilers vs. Paul Buentello, Nick Diaz vs. Drew Fickett , Karo Parisyan vs. Chris Lytle« less
"In 51, the UFC continued it's tradition of great shows. Matchmaker Joe Silva deserves kudos for this show. It had a little of everything, KOs, Submissions and a couple of hard fought bouts that went to a decision.
We saw the UFC debut of 5 fighter. 2 champions were also crowned, something that was long overdue. We now have champions in 4 weight classes after being down to just 2 a short while ago.We are also treated to what may have very well been Tito Ortiz's final fight in the UFC, as he takes on The Phenom Vitor Belfort. -Nick Diaz(9-3) vs. Drew Fickett(21-2) Nick is coming off a very close split decision loss to Karo Parisyan.Drew Fickett is making his UFC debut. -Karo Parisyan(12-3) vs. Chris Lytle(16-10-5) Karo comes into this fight looking to establish a claim for a Welterweight title shot. His only loses are to Georges St.Pierre and Sean Sherk, 2 top 10 fighters. Chris Lytle is far better than his record suggests, he is 8-2 in his last 10 fights coming into this. -David Loiseau(11-4) vs. Joe Riggs did not take place. Joe Riggs had to drop out and was replaced by Gideon Ray(8-1-1). This is Loiseau's first UFC fight in 1 & 1/2 years and Gideon is making his UFC debut. -Mike Kyle(7-3) vs. James Irwin(7-0) Kyle is coming off a brutal KO at the hands of Justin Eilers, while Irwin is looking to make a impact in his UFC debut. -Paul Buentello(16-7) vs. Justin Eilers(9-2-1) This heavyweight bout sees Paul in his first UFC fight against a very hard hitting Eiler. 2 very serious sluggers. -Evan Tanner(28-3) vs. Dave Terrell(5-1) for Middleweight championship. Tanner always seems to be the underdog, but is 3-0 since dropping to the Middleweight class. Terrell is fighting for the title in only his second UFC match, thanks to an amazing KO of superstar Matt Lindland. -Andrei Arlovski(6-3) vs. Tim Sylvia(16-1) for interim Heavyweight title. Heavyweight champ Frank Mir is out after being seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. So Arlovski and Sylvia are fighting to be the interim champ. Mir will have to fight the interim champ when he returns to unify the 2 belts. Alovksi is undeated in the last 2 years while Sylvia is coming off his only defeat, which was at the hands of Frank Mir. -Pete Sell(4-0) vs. Phil Baroni(5-4). Was supposed to be Robbie Lawler/Baroni but Lawler suffered an injury training. This is Sell's first time in the octogon while Baroni has lost 3 in a row and is in dire need of a win. -Tito Ortiz(11-4) vs. Vitor Belfort(12-4). Both of these guys are at the end of their UFC contract and certainly want an impressive win to better their position with the UFC. For those of you that watched the card live, I will say that the post main event confrontations are here, unedited.
The extras on the DVD are these: -Tim Sylvia makes weight -UFC 51 weigh-in -The Ultimate Fighter autograph session -Fighter medical exams -Fighters weigh-in -Post weigh-in -Terrell and Tanner make weight again -Evan Tanner weighs in for second time -David Terrell weighs in for second time -Buentello and Eilers prepare to fight -Buentello and Eilers post-fight -Terrell and Tanner prepare to fight -Evan Tanner post-fight -Arlovski and Sylvia perpare to fight -Arlovski and Sylvia post-fight -UFC 51 highlights montage
All in all, a dvd that is worth the money."
Great Event With 9 fights!!!!
Adam Owens | 03/10/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I went to this event and it was great. There was KO there was submissions and there was Action! I would recommend this DVD to anyone. There were 3 main events and 2 title fights! The fight between Tito and Vitor has been anticipated for years. You will love this UFC DVD!"
Super Saturday
Matt | NJ | 03/02/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Super Saturday was quite an event. To be honest, I was more interested in seeing some of the undercard fights than the Belfort/Ortiz fight. I've seen enough of both of them at this point, especially Tito Ortiz - and after the fight, you will see precisely why in how he carries on in the ring. He makes a practice of acting like a fool in the octagon that he speaks so highly of, making it difficult to respect him. He was already on his way out at this point.
In this UFC event, we see Arlovski continue his rise, Tanner surprise the crowd, Baroni continue to slip down the ladder and Buentelo make his opening statement for an eventual title shot. It was entertaining as hell and the standout star was most certainly Andrei Arlovski. He suffered a knockout at the hands of Pedro Rizzo a while back and he has yet to taste defeat since. He is truly an entertaining fighter, as he has the ability to end a match quickly in a variety of ways. I look forward to seeing more of him in the future."
One of the best UFC pay-per-views ever (SPOILERS)
Ae Huq | London, England, United Kingdom | 07/28/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Tito Ortiz and Vitor Belfort had an early match of the year contender. Great battle with Ortiz trying to implement his ground and pound whilst Belfort trying to implement his lightning fast hands. Ortiz weathered a flurry of punches in round 1 and a brutal ground and pound assault in round 2. However Belfort end of round 1 and 2 was on his back at the end of the round receiving vicious elbows. Round 3 Ortiz showed his superior cardio and ground and pounded Vitor the entire round. Ortiz got the split decision which some considered controversial.The aftermath altercation was as great as the fight itself. First involving one with Liddell and then a super heated one with Ken Shamrock.
Arlovski v Sylvia was shocking as it was a short fight, he was able to knock down Sylvia with a single punch and then submit him. People forget his got a background in Sambo.
Tanner v Terrell was great and edge of the seat stuff. Especially when Terell nearly choked Tanner out with a gilotine. Tanner remarkably came out and ground and pounded him into a referee stoppage. Terrell was extremely hyped up especially the fact he knocked out Matt Lindland very quicky in his UFC debut and his a Cesar Gracie product.
Kyle v Irwin was a simple case of Kyle being too big and too strong. Irwin really belongs in the light heavyweight division.
Eilers v Buentello was exciting as everyone was expecting big things for Eilers since he knocked out Mike Kyle in last fight. Buentello showed great stand up skills on verge to victory."
UFC 53=Awesome
Tyler | United States | 07/20/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"UFC 51 was a great PPV, and a great DVD. My personal favorite match is Paul Buentello's debut in the UFC facing Justin Eilers.
I would go into detail like the review below me, but since they already did that I don't see the point. From an MMA fan to an MMA fan, GREAT buy."