When asked to review this DVD, I had to try and rack my brains to think of the card. When I checked out this DVD, I remembered that this was one of my favourite cards of the year. It may not have been memorable, but UFC 84 certainly kept me entertained.

One thing I loved about this event was the variety of fighters on the card. We had Tito Ortiz in his final battle in the UFC, Sean Sherk returning from a drugs ban to take on the UFC Welterweight Champion, the likes of Sokoudjou, Jardine, Wanderlai Silva and we had one of the best knockouts I’ve ever seen. This event had it all.

In fact, this DVD features two very fine knockout punches, thrown by Shane Carwin and Wanderlai Silva. Carwin, fighting in the prelims of this DVD, shows great stand-up and lands a deadly punch which sends his opponent, Christian Wellisch, sprawling to the mat without a mouthpiece. Silva, on the other hand, throws a number of fine blows to Keith Jardine, in what was a very impressive performance.

What people need to remember is, Wanderlai Silva was under huge pressure going into this fight. Having lost to Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson in his last two fights, he certainly needed to pick up his game. That he did.

Silva produced a breaktaking display to defeat one of the top light-heavyweights in the world with releative ease. Many were touting Keith Jardine as a possible contender for the light-heavyweight title before this fight and so, it was a risky fight for Wanderlai Silva to take. He duely delievered a fine performance, which is worth the money of this DVD alone.

Another interesting point out of this DVD was the Lyoto Machida/Tito Ortiz fight. The undefeated Machida, very much seen as the new breed of fighter, against Tito Ortiz, a legend in this sport. The old versus the new. Literally, a passing of the torch.

In what was Tito Ortiz’s last fight in the UFC (for now), we saw a fight which was very much against the style that Ortiz made himself famous for. With Ortiz displaying fantastic ground-work, the fight became a bit of a non-contest. In fact, it was a bit boring at times. However, this was Tito Ortiz’s last fight – and it certainly didn’t end without a bit of excitement towards the end!

Anyone who believes that Lyoto Machida is the next big thing in the light-heavyweight division needs to watch this fight. The fact that he struggled against Ortiz shows he isn’t ready just yet. You may wonder what the heck I’m going on about, after all, Ortiz is a great fighter. However, when you consider Ortiz hasn’t won by TKO against an opponent other than Ken Shamrock since 2001 (let’s face it, Shamrock was past it during those three fights), then it shows how vulnerable he has become. He isn’t the old Tito Ortiz, and if Machida wanted to make a statement, then boy, this was his chance.

Finally, our main event features two fighters who hate each other. Perfect for a main event isn’t it? BJ Penn won the UFC Welterweight title after Sean Sherk was tested positive for taking drugs – thus being stripped of the title. Call this fight a unification bout and you wouldn’t be far wrong. This is the chance to see who the true champion is.

To this day, I still believe Sherk was wrongly stripped of the title, but there’s certainly no doubting Penn’s dominance today. The fight on this card left many wondering if Penn was the best fighter in the world. My answer? He’s not even close.

This PPV is definitely a must watch. Great fights, brilliant action and some fantastic submissions. Throw in some amazing knock-outs and, ladies and gentleman, we have one hell of a good DVD. If you’re in the UK, you can pick up a copy online through FightDVD by clicking here. Definitely check this out!

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Martin Smith
martin@ifight365.com