UFC 88 will be remembered as the PPV that separated Rashad Evans from an ordinary fighter in the light heavyweight division to a future star. Before the fight, Evans was lost in the shuffle in a division that is regarded as one of the most stacked in the whole of MMA. One knockout punch later and Evans became a star.

Of course, to see it all unfold you have to watch the DVD. Rashad Evans versus Chuck Liddell was originally scheduled for UFC 85, but an injury to Liddell forced the fight to be put back a number of months. It will never go down as a classic, but this is a fight that really shocked me. Liddell was coming off the back of a huge win over Wanderlei Silva and Evans was still relatively untested in the light heavyweight division.

The biggest downfall, in what I regard as Evans career defining moment, was the screaming in the background Evans’ girlfriend/wife, which completely ruined anything that you could see on screen as Evans celebrated. While I don’t discourage her joy – the fact that she screamed louder when Joe Rogan mentioned it was very tasteless and has you swiftly reaching for the mute button. It would be easy to lay blame on the director here, but simply, you can’t edit that out.

The rest of the DVD’s fights are very much what it looks like on the tin. Matt Hamill versus Rich Franklin was always going to be one of those fights were the better man on his feet would win. The step up to light heavyweight certainly doesn’t faze Franklin as he puts in a terrific performance against his good friend.

There’s also a timely reminder on the main card as to why Nate Marquardt and Dan Henderson are two of the most feared fighters in the UFC Middleweight division. Marquardt, who I widely consider to be one of the best Middleweights coming out of America, puts in an awesome performance against Danish fighter Martin Kampmann. Kampmann himself is a very dangerous striker, but Marquardt looked first class here.

Dan Henderson dealt with Brazilian submission machine Rousimar Palhares and reinstated his position as one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC. Absorbing any punishment on the ground, Henderson managed to scramble his way through a tough fight to earn a unanimous decision victory with the judges.

The fight between Matt Brown and Dong Hyun Kim also treats the taste-buds on more than one occasion. Brown, who remains one of the toughest fighters in the UFC, certainly didn’t disappoint as he continued to swing for the fences. You have to hand it to Matt Brown – he certainly doesn’t stop for the three rounds that he fights. His opponent here, Dong Hyun Kim, was undefeated going into the fight and was a solid test to Brown’s ground game. Interesting fight indeed, but one hell of a controversial decision.

The undercard may not be a fantastic display of MMA but it manages to keep you entertained and watching. Notable performances from Kurt Pellegrino, Tim Boetsch and Thiago Tavares should not be missed. The fact that Thiago Tavares and Kurt Pellegrino picked up the fight of the night should tell you all you need to know. Of course, we only get four preliminary fights after Karo Parisyan injured his back just hours before his fight with Yoshiyuki Yoshida.

The second disc to this DVD gives us all our usual treats. We get behind the scenes interviews, the weigh-in’s, countdown shows and fighter interviews. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, the second disc features on these DVD’s are worth the selling price alone. They are always top stuff and very enjoyable to your average MMA fan.

The fight card may not have been littered with stunning bouts and jaw dropping performance but this DVD lives up to expectations. One career defining moment and some really good performances make it a must for the average UFC fan. This DVD is definitely one to buy and if you’re in the UK and Europe, you can do so via FightDVD by clicking here.

Martin Smith
martin@ifight365.com