Ultimate Fighting Championship, Vol. 69: Shoot Out [DVD]

The biggest disappointment of this card was the Koschek/Sanchez fight. A major letdown for what should have been a slugfest. However, the main event made up for it, as Matt "The Terror" Serra made all the doubters and skeptics eat a major slice of crow by shocking the world and upsetting a very talented and capable George "Rush" St. Pierre to win the welterweight title. (SIDE NOTE: Travis Lutter, TUF 4 middleweight winner who blew a golden opportunity by failing to make weight for his bout against middleweight champ Anderson Silva, should take a lesson from Serra.)As good a Serra is, nobody gave him a snowball's chance in the hot spot of winning. It just goes to show how unpredictable MMA is. Serra's TKO victory over GSP (who, by the way, has nothing to feel bad about and I'm sure will be back in winning form before long) was just one in a series of stunning UFC upsets.Overall, it was a pretty good fight card.

UFC 69 is a great DVD to own, lots of action and some great war's that entertain throughout the fight. The main event even after watching it multiple times gives me goosebumps, its great fight card and a great DVD to own.

UFC 69SHOOTOUTIn honor of UFC 98 tonight I am going to review the UFC that happened here in my state, also Matt Serra won the welterweight title on this night. Since I am a huge fan of this Renzo Gracie black I will be cheering for Serra to defeat Matt Hughes [a guy I can not stand]. I like GSP but every time he has faced Serra or BJ Penn I had to go against him, this night live in Texas Serra won the belt.1.LUKE CUMMO VS JOSH HAYNES-the first fight pits a fighter from The Ultimate Fighter 2 against one from 3. The first round sees both spend time finding each others range and in the clinch. The second round is looking a lot like the first until Luke lands a nice overhand right and it's over, Josh continues to fight though taking the ref down on accident. Team Serra is off to a good start.3.8/52.PETE SPRATT VS MARCUS DAVIS-the first round on this one is great as it sees a nice throw and some excellent transitions and reversal attempts. The second round sees a lot more stand up between the two but once it goes down again Davis hooks in an ankle lock and gets the win.4.8/53.PETE SELL VS THALES LEITES-Matt Serra's right hand man Sell is back looking for a victory over Leites. Talk about a Jiu-Jitsu clinic and the way the round ends is excellent, these two showcase some great offense and defense in the realm of Jiu-Jitsu. The second round is more about the stand up and some vicious ground and pound, Sell losses the round easy. The third round looks like the first two with Leites dominating Sell, he takes the decision victory.5/54.HEATH HERRING VS BRAD IMES-one of my favorite fighters ever and Pride veteran Heath Herring is back and looking to win. The first round is a good one with Heath in trouble early but he soon turns it around with some good strikes. In the second round Heath dominates him just pounding on him, Brad turns it around with seconds left but not enough to take the round. The third round is a little more even and there are some good moments, Herring takes the decision.4.5/55.KENDALL GROVE VS ALAN BELCHER-the first round is good as both come for a victory and land some strikes and takedowns. The second round is more so controlled by Kendall with ground and pound and even a slam, but it is the darce choke that wins it for Kendall.5/56.MIKE SWICK VS YUSHIN OKAMI-two excellent fighters go at it in this one I remember watching this one and thinking this is going to be a classic. The first round is a little slow as they feel each other out but Okami ends up on top as the round closes. The second round looks much like the first but with Mike unloading on him as the round closes. The third round is more even with some great ground work and it goes to a decision, Okami takes the victory.4.5/57.ROGER HUERTA VS LEONARD GARCIA-the first round is an excellent one with some great action displayed by both fighters but Roger takes the round. Even more exciting action in the second with some great slug fests and ground game, Roger still takes the round. The third round is just as exciting and even as the round ends with Garcia on his back he is still swinging for the fences. Huerta takes a decision win.5/58.DIEGO SANCHEZ VS JOSH KOSCHECK-a rematch here with two guys from the Ultimate Fighter show, I can't stand Koscheck. Billed as the headline fight [top fight under the main event] these two wanted to go at it for a while since Josh talks to much. There is not really much in the first round as the feeling out process takes up the whole round until the last 20 second Josh gets the takedown. The crowd boos like crazy because the second round is one long feeling out process, not much here. The third round has a little more action but not much, Josh "The Blanket" Koscheck wins a lame fight and acts like it is the greatest victory ever.2/59.GEORGES ST-PIERRE VS MATT SERRA-this is one of my favorite fights of all time because I called before it happened, believe it or not but while all my friends were betting on GSP I won some good cash on this fight. I have been a fan of Serra since he debuted, I mean come on he is a black belt under Renzo Gracie. The thing that gets me is that people say Matt got lucky but if you watch the fight from start to finish Serra was winning the fight easy, and then he got the TKO. One of the greatest moments in MMA with out a doubt and it all happened here in Texas. Plus one of the greatest shots in UFC history happens win Matt is getting the belt put on him, his reaction is priceless.5/5This is one of the greatest events ever as one of the best wins the title, plus there is some excellent behind the scenes footage with Serra, GSP, and such. Please Serra beat Hughes tonight and shut him down forever.

I ordered this PPV live, so this review is being done after only seeing one undercard match. The main event was shocking and exciting, but ended very quickly. Koscheck and Sanchez totally ruined the PPV. Their match was not only a letdown, but a travesty for two guys who hate each other and have so much talent. Kos even has the nerve to say it was boring, I don't care, I won, pretty much sticking it to the fans. This is one time that the Pride yellow card system could have helped. All that aside...Two words: Roger Huerta! Although he was more skilled than his opponent, every single fight he is in is spectacular. Huerta saved this PPV from being a total letdown. Kendall Grove was impressive and the fight was entertaining. Mike Swick really did give it his all in his home town, but Okami has the strength of some light heavyweights. They put Cummo vs. Haynes on television, and it was an entertaining fight also. I hear that Heath Herring got back to his old self in this PPV, so I am sure that is good as well. Thats all I got...for the shock factor of Matt Serra winning alone this is worth watching. Hope this helps.

No spoilers on how the fights end, just know that the majority of the fights are pretty darn good. Only a few go the distance and even the ones that go the distance are pretty exciting fights. The only thing the genuinely bothers me is the fact that you don't see the post fight interviews with Joe Rogan at the end of the matches and you miss out on the corner talk....what? I like seeing those. Great fights!However, the Sanchez and Koscheck fight is a little boring.