What do you get when you put sixteen guys in a house and let them fight for a contract in the UFC? It could only be another season of the Ultimate Fighter couldn’t it?

This time, we have two coaches who literally can’t stand one another. The present vs. the past. The future hall of famer versus the Welterweight champion. It’s the typical good guy vs. bad guy scenario.

Everybody knows that Matt Hughes and Matt Serra legitimately hate each other. So, how will they handle the pressure of sending eight of their own warriors in to battle against their arch enemies’ team? Not very well it seems.

Both Hughes and Serra lose their cool regularly, with Hughes contemplating quitting the show during the season and Serra getting frustrated with real life friend Joe Scarola – the latter ending with Scarola leaving the show and losing his job at Serra’s training centre.

One thing that struck me immediately was how interesting and addictive this type of reality television was. Having never previously watched a series of the Ultimate Fighter, I was hooked.

Of course, the outcome of this DVD wasn’t exactly ground breaking stuff. Before the finish, I was well aware of who won the contract and what other fighters performed extremely well.

This didn’t take away my excitement however, as I felt myself getting more and more into each fighters personality and their attributes. Certainly, it was hard to imagine Mac Danzig as an animal lover before watching this DVD. It wasn’t exactly ground breaking but it was still a hook nonetheless.

Some of the fighters on this DVD are relatively well known MMA stars today and for that, this DVD becomes more and more interesting all the time. With the likes of Matt Arroyo, Ben Saunders, Jared Rollins, Jon Koppenhaver and of course, the likes of Speer and Danzig, we get an in depth look at the future of the welterweight division. The future is certainly bright.

It certainly wouldn’t be a normal season of the Ultimate Fighter without a fair few bits of controversy and this season follows a similar trend. Take Joe Scarola, who leaves the show to be with his girlfriend or the Dan Barerra/Ben Saunders fight which ends a round premature causing Dana White to call it ‘one of the worst decisions he’s ever seen’.

It’s certainly not going to disappoint.

There are also various confrontations inside the house that help keep this DVD highly entertaining. It’s certainly not worth taking your eyes away from the screen.

The extras on this DVD are absolutely brilliant. Of course, we get the usual fight night, which includes several big hits and our final to the series – Mac Danzig vs. Tommy Speer. We were also able to see the audition tapes the fighters sent for their audition, their actual additions and more bonus footage. In terms of bonus features, this is a UFC fans dream.

Overall, this is a fantastic five disc DVD set that really does give you a deep insight into what the UFC is all about. We are watching sixteen guys trying to achieve their dreams of becoming a UFC fighter. It certainly doesn’t get much better.

You need to buy this DVD. If you have any spare change, this must be a priority. It’s top value, very entertaining and is extremely addictive to the average UFC fan.

If you’re in the UK and Europe you can buy this online via FightDVD with a £5 saving until October. Buy it – you’ll be hooked.

Martin Smith
martin@wwepreview.com