Search - Ultimate Fighting Championships, Vol. 61: Bitter Rivals on DVD

Not Worth It

Ron | Jersey | 04/23/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Drew Fickett vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Gilbert Aldana vs. Cheick Kongo
Jeff Monson vs. Anthony Perosh
Hermes Franca vs. Joe Jordan
Yves Edwards vs. Joe Stevenson
Josh Burkman vs. Josh Neer
Dan Christison vs. Frank Mir
Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock
Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovoski

The Edwards/Stevenson fight and the Franca/Jordan fight are the highlights of this event. The main events are just terrible. If you sat through Sylvia/Arloveski III the first time, you won't be able to the second time around. Ortiz and Shamrock was a huge letdown and waste. The rest of the card just isn't that strong. A lot of new guys, a bunch off of the Ultimate Fighter, and a really out of shape Frank Mir. The dvd quality is just okay. They do include a few nice extras pre and post fight. Most of that stuff I caught on various UFC shows, but it was nice to include it on the dvd. This is for completionists only."

Not so good.

Terremoto | Portland, OR | 04/06/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Overall I have to give UFC 61 a big thumbs down. Sylvia v. Arlovski did have to happen, but it was a very, very boring fight. Sylvia fought as a counter-fighter - in other words he pretty much waited for Arlovski to throw something and then he would counter with his own strikes. Its tough for a fight to be exciting when one fighter is forced to initiate all of the action.

Tito v. Ken - I was really looking forward to seeing this - another big let down - very anti-climatic.

Frank Mir's comeback - oh man, that was rough to see. I know he was in a motorcycle accident but it was very hard for me to see him in the shape he was in.

Wait to see this on Spike TV or something or go to youtube or something - its not really worth your money."

Pre-lims > main card

Irish Kamikaze | oahu, hawaii | 08/22/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Very rarily will you see a main card event that is below the preliminary fights.

Fickett/Pellegrino was a very action packed fight, something you should always expect from Fickett. Pellegrino did move up to 170lbs for this fight, but luckily for those who enjoy his style, he has moved back down to the 155lbs division.

Cheick Kongo makes his UFC debut taking on Gilbert Aldana (RIP) in a display of strikes from the outside and a superb clinch game.

Jeff Monson/Anthony Perosh is a battle of 2 ground technicians who actually take it to their feet and display not great technique, but tremendous power.

Hermes Franca/Joe Jordan, what can you say? Franca is a machine and Jordan took this fight on short notice. Good showing by both in a action filled contest of the little guys.

The rest of the night, the main card....dismal. One man bleeds profusely, another fighter is robbed by the judges, a rematch that didn't need to happen, battle of Josh's, and a timid main event"

The Drunken Brawl in the Sports Bar Was More Entertaining

Ron Cole | 04/21/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I remember originally seeing this fight at my local sports bar. The first televised match was between Yves Edwards and Joe Stevenson, and was one of the bloodiest I've ever seen (it almost made my girlfriend throw up, but I loved it). That set the stage for what should have been a legendary night of fights - but it wasn't. As the card continued, match after match was boring - three out of four of them going to decisions and no impressive submissions displayed. Of the two headlining matches (Ortiz vs. Shamrock 2 and Sylvia vs. Arlovski 3), one ended MUCH too soon due to a highly criticized referee stoppage and the other went on forever (neither fighter really did anything significant). During the airing, a pushing match between two drunk patrons at the bar I was at ended in two punches thrown and a tackling by the bouncers - and that was more interesting than the UFC matches. Overall, I was glad I didn't pay my usual fifty bucks to see this dog on cable.

The DVD itself is typical UFC, and contains the (sadly) more impressive preliminary bouts that were not aired on the PPV broadcast. In the end, though, none of the fights make this DVD worth buying (though Yves Edward's bout was quite memorable for the gore-factor).

This DVD is region-free, and contains the following bouts:

Drew Fickett vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Gilbert Aldana vs. Cheick Kongo
Jeff Monson vs. Anthony Perosh
Hermes Franca vs. Joe Jordan

Yves Edwards vs. Joe Stevenson
Josh Burkman vs. Josh Neer
Dan Christison vs. Frank Mir
Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock
Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovoski"