UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 5

Introduction:
"Ultimate Knockouts" 5 is the latest release from the Ultimate Fighting Championship promotion, looking back at the knockout highlights from the "UFC 52: Couture vs Liddell II" (held in April 2005), all the way through to June 2006, and "Ultimate Fight Night 5".

A 60-minute compilation, this DVD shows off some of the best fighting talent in the UFC, such as Chuck Liddell, Michael Bisping, and current Middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

Video:
Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL, and is very good for a DVD of this genre. You would expect as much considering that the footage is taken from 2005 - 2006.

Between the bout footage are introductory notes from commentator Mike Goldberg, which also is of good quality.





Audio:
Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and is also very good. Commentary - which is usually by Goldberg and Joe Rogan - sounds good, as does the mix as a whole, which fits in crowd noise and in-Octagon rumblings as well.

There is a further 2.0 track available in French.





Overall:
We've had four previous "Ultimate Knockouts" releases - not to mention an "Ultimate Ultimate Knockouts" all-time compilation - so it isn't like viewers are coming into "Ultimate Knockouts 5" not knowing what to expect.

Thankfully, this release maintains the standards of the previous releases, with lots of action available here, that will more than satisfy the fans of UFC who prefer to see fights end via knockout. Of particular note are Tim Sylvia's knockout of Tra Telligman, Chris Leben's destruction at the hands of Anderson Silva, and Derrick Noble's loss to Thiago Alves.

Mike Goldberg's introductions mean a lot to this release, as he explains at which stage of the fight we join the highlights, giving the action more context than it would have had previously. Naturally, there are replays of all of the knockouts, for a look at the action from a different angle.





Overall, as noted, it's easy to know what to expect from a DVD called "Ultimate Knockouts". But this is another quality release from the UFC company, and if knockouts are your bag (baby), you're going to want to watch again and again.