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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
With Quinton "Rampage" Jackson returning to the UFC for the first time in over a year Saturday night at UFC 114 against Rashad Evans, the UFC and Anchor Bay Entertainment are set to release a new DVD for Rampage fans everywhere.
"UFC: Rampage Greatest Hits" will be released in stores this coming Tuesday, June 1 on DVD for $19.97, and the following Tuesday, June 8 on Blu Ray disc for $29.97.
Featuring ten of Rampage's greatest fights in their entirety, including all five of his victories in the UFC, the release is an excellent highlight of some of the most exciting moments and best performances in the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion's career.
The release is fairly straight-forward. It skims over a few of Rampage's more high profile losses, including his Pride debut against Kazushi Sakuraba, Pride Middleweight Grand Prix final against Wanderlei Silva and UFC Light Heavyweight Title bout against Forrest Griffin; but the DVD is all about the fights, and they've picked some great ones from Pride and the UFC for Rampage fans new and old.
For new fans, the five fights from Pride showcased on the DVD are a great look at what brought him such hype coming into the UFC in 2007. After the highlight of his loss to Sakuraba, it switches right into the first full fight on the disc, a November 2001 bout against Yuki Ishikawa.
From there it's on to Jackson's willingness to fight anyone placed in front of him, including feared heavyweight striker Igor Vovchanchyan at Pride 22. The Pride fights are rounded out with his victory over Kevin Randleman, his first meeting with Chuck Liddell and perhaps his most famous highlight reel finish over Ricardo Arona at Pride Critical Countdown 2004.
The narration skips ahead to Rampage's entrance into the UFC, and his subsequent fast track to the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. For fans that may have missed some of his fights in the UFC, they're all here in their entirety, save for the loss to Griffin. The knockouts of Marvin Eastman and Chuck Liddell, his five round war with Dan Henderson to unify the UFC and Pride belts, his revenge over Wanderlei Silva and his last fight against Keith Jardine are all presented here, and it's a great collection to have in one place.
The disc is lacking in any special features, as again it's a straightforward release with limited narration and just about two hours of in-ring/cage action. However, there's still some great stuff to be found throughout the release, including Dana White on commentary during Jackson's first fight with Liddell during the Pride Middleweight Grand Prix.
A very candid White can be heard getting increasingly disappointed in the performance of Liddell, who had been brought over to represent the UFC in the Pride Middleweight Grand Prix; though White did end on a very classy note, vowing to bring their guys into Rampage's locker room to assist him in getting ready for Wanderlei Silva in the finals later that night.
Solid narration from Jonathan Adams keeps everything moving smoothly throughout the disc; and though there's not anything extra in behind the scenes type features, the action itself is the selling point.
The Blu-Ray release brings all of the UFC fights in high definition, but that is the only difference between the two releases as the Pride fights are all presented in their original 4:3 format. Still, the UFC fights look great in HD, and for the extra $10 it may be worth it for many fans.
All in all this is a must have for newer fans of Rampage that have not seen much in terms of his fights in Pride. The powerful slams, excellent ground and pound and knockout power in his striking showcased in his Pride fights show a different Rampage than the one typically "stand up first" game that Rampage has brought to the UFC.
For old school Rampage fans, the release may still be worth the purchase as it brings ten of his greatest victories onto one release for the first time, and provides a nice synopsis of this eight year span of his career from his Pride debut to the Jardine bout.
The DVD does end on an odd note, however, considering its release comes after Saturday's UFC 114 fight with Rashad Evans. Because of Jackson taking his role in the A-Team movie, the narration ponders whether he'll make his return or not, meaning the disc was clearly put together before the bout with Evans was set for UFC 114.
It's a minor detriment to close the story of the disc, but again this is a bare bones and straight forward issue of ten Rampage fights, and all, save for the Jardine fight, make for excellent viewing. The DVD is definitely recommended for any Rampage fan.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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