Customer Reviews

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Vol. 43 - Meltdown

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

UFC has come a long way since UFC 1 the style and skills have gotten alot better. UFC 43 Meltdown is a great show between the Light Heavy weight Interm fight between "The Iceman" Chuck Liddell and Randy "The natural" Coutrue. This event also features the return of "The phenom" Vitor Belfort agiasnt marivn eastman.
Other fights on the card are
Frank Mir Vs Wes Sims
Kimo vs Tank Abbott
Vernon White vs Ian freeman
Yves Edawrds vs Eddie Ruiz
Falaniko Vitale vs Matt linland
Pedro Rizzo Vs Tra Tillgiman.

Great show overall

Meltdown
Date: June 6, 2003
Location: Las Vegas

The night of fights begins with Pedro Rizzo taking on Tra Telligman. This fight is a slugfest and it must eventually be stopped by the doctor due to cuts.

In one of the stranger bouts I've seen in the UFC, Matt Lindland fights Falaniko Vitale. I don't want to spoil it for those who have not yet seen it, but put it this way: The fighter who loses essentially beats himself... This is indeed strange - and it leads to a rematch at a future UFC event.

Yves Edwards then fights Eddie Ruiz. Edwards is making a name for himself in the UFC at this point. He makes another strong case for his title contention in this bout. Pretty impressive.

Next, we see Frank Mir square off against Wes Sims. Sims is a giant... and he's also an idiot. Mir is dominant, until he commits to an armbar. Things go badly from there, as Sims doesn't keep the rules in mind as he tries to turn the tide of the fight. Mir is impressive and one of the most effective submission fighters I've seen in the UFC. His future looks quite bright. Sims, on the other hand, is a bit too exciteable and needs to learn to harness his energy better.

Vernon "Tiger" White makes his UFC debut against veteran Ian Freeman. White is no rookie, though. He is a seasoned fighter and it is apparent in this fight, as he battles to a draw against a great fighter.

Vitor Belfort then faces Marvin Eastman. This one ends quickly... It ends violently, with a huge knee and some solid follow-up punches. The result of this quick flurry is one of the most horribly gruesome cuts I've seen in mixed martial arts competition.

UFC legends Tank Abbott and Kimo also go at it on this night. The fight isn't all that exciting, though. It doesn't stay on the feet long, which usually spells trouble for Tank.

In the main event of the evening, Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell challenges Randy "The Natural" Couture for the light heavyweight title. Liddell is riding a lightning bolt of momentum coming into this fight. People know that he, more than any other UFC fighter, can end a fight quickly with a single strike. People also know, however, that Randy Couture is an inspirational athlete with outstanding skills. On this night, we see a truly legendary fight between two of the finest fighters to ever enter the octagon. Amazing... This is a must-own for a fan of the UFC.

As usual, the DVD includes some great behind-the-scenes bonus footage.

Meltdown is without a doubt one of the best UFC tournaments in recent times. Whatever you do get the DVD coz the pre-lims are great and VHS doesn't show them. Strangley for UFC the first Pre-lim is Pedro Rizzo vs Tre Telligman. Thats one big first pre-lim! and it kicks of the night perfectly, Telligman is his usual agressive self, Rizzo looking as if he's just got up sporting a hangover doesn't hold back either. This fight really is a brawl between two very effective strikers. I won't spoil any fights by anoucing the winner but Rizzo's famous leg kicks come into play and bloody hell they look painful.

We get to see the always enjoyable Yves Edwards practicing his ThugJitsu in an entertaining fight against eddie Ruiz, that man Edwards is just so Calm and collected. Marvin eastman hopes about like he's on speed againt Vitor Belfort in a match that ends with the worst cut i've seen in the UFC, it's proper nasty. If you don't know what happened in the Sims-Wir match then your seriously out of touch. A good bit of stomping ends this fight, naughty naughty (Stomping is illegal coz of the octagon).

The shapely Vitale with his tanned body and good looks takes on the pasty, balding awkward but seemingly unbeatable Lindland. Lindland with his brilliant wrestling ability has beaten Baroni and miletich recently (if only he could punch like couture or Hughs!). Tank vs Leopoldo is the worst match by far. One thig worth mentioning is the odd heavily reliogious undertones this UFC has, with both Vitor and Kimo dedicated christians, Kimo is a minister and actually eneterd the Octagon in his UFC debut with an enormous cross on his back!

But that's nothing compared with the extravagant weirdness of Chuck Lidell's entrance. What the hell was he thinking! Couture v Liddell is a good match but dominated by on of the fighters. Of course Couture has just moved down from the heavy weight division and Liddell is the interim light heavy weight champion since Tito refused to fight him. This DVD has got a really enjoyable mix of fights, my fave is the Rizzo-Telligman bout although the Lindland fight is truly hilarious. better than Sudden Impact and Onslaught, though if your willing to explore the past Worlds Collide was very enjoyable.

UFC 43 is, in my opinion, one of the best UFC's to date. Usually, there'll be at least one or so fights that aren't worth watching, but here, every fight is great. Vernon White vs. Ian Freeman, Tra Telligman vs. Pedro Rizzo, and of course the main event Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell, are all huge, epic battles. The "David and Goliath" matchup of Frank Mir and the 6'10" Wes Sims is exciting as well. There are some short fights here, such as Kimo Leopoldo quickly submitting Tank Abbott, and the amazingly quick-handed Vitor Belfort destroying Marvin Eastman with his lightning-fast punches. Still good fights though, because for one thing, Tank Abbott is such a braggart, and it's always gratifying to see him get owned by superior fighters, and second, Belfort is just awesome.

Anyway, back to the main event. Randy Couture was an underdog for this fight, as Liddell was thought to be a much better kickboxer, and with his good takedown defense, Couture's wrestling background would put him at a disadvantage. However, Couture shocked all by dominating throughout all 3 rounds, even outclassing Liddell in the striking department. That, combined with the fact that he was pushing 40 at the time made for a hell of a surprising and impressive victory.

Oh, and in regards to the 1-star reviews below from Pride FC fans: while I agree with you that Pride has surpassed the UFC, and has better fighters overall, the fact remains that the UFC started it all, and regardless of which one you prefer, you have to give them credit. And no skill? Come on! How anyone could watch fighters like Belfort and Couture, and honestly say they have no skill is definitely beyond me.

Anyway, this was a great event, and highly recommended to all UFC fans.

UFC 43
MELTDOWN

There was a lot of controversy surrounding this event when it first went down because of Tito Ortiz. The story was Tito refused to fight Chuck Liddell and defend his title so he was stripped of the belt and the belt was put up for Chuck and Randy Couture. The winner of the fight would be the new champ at 205, and is probably what started a lot of the bad blood between the UFC and Tito.

1.PEDRO RIZZO VS TRA TELLIGMAN-I really can not believe that this was a prelim fight, this was a rematch between the two from UFC 20 I believe. The first round was great with some good striking and at one point Rizzo gets dropped and starts to bleed. The second round starts out explosive with a few exchanges that almost end the fight, including a vicious leg kick. Pedro Rizzo ends up winning the fight when the doctors stop the fight due to cuts on Tra.5/5

2.MATT LINDLAND VS FALANIKO VITALE-this is the famous fight that saw Matt Lindland try to take Vitale down and knocks himself out in the process. Very weird yet exciting ending that makes this a very memorable fight.5/5

3.YVES EDWARDS VS EDDIE RUIZ-excellent first round that saw some great ground work, Edwards had a good body triangle on Ruiz for most of the round. The second round starts out great with a beautiful kick onto Ruiz that was crazy. From there we gat some more great ground work from both, and the round ends with a near miss high kick from Yves. In the third round Ruiz escapes a deep triangle from Yves that is unbelievable. Yves ends up getting the decision but Eddie Ruiz showed a ton of heart in this fight.5/5

4.FRANK MIR VS WES SIMS-two very well known names go at each other during this fight and go all out. Wes Sims gets a little to head of him self during the first round and ends up on the ground in a rear naked choke. And after an arm bar attempt by Mir Sims slams him down and proceeds to illegally kick a downed opponent to the head. It is here that Wes Sims is disqualified and the fight is awarded to Frank Mir. I'll give it a classic score because it was a very exciting fight.5/5

5.IAN FREEMAN VS VERNON WHITE-the legendary KEN SHAMROCK was supposed to take this fight but due to an injury Vernon stepped in for him. This fight starts out nice and ends up on the ground for most round one, but leading into the second round they stand up. The second round is a mirror image of round one, start standing then go to the ground for most of the round, and then end up standing back up. The third round ends up being were these two warriors give it every last thing they got and go to a judge's decision. And rightfully so this contest is declared a draw, I agree with this decision, good fight.5/5

6.VITOR BELFORT VS MARVIN EASTMAN-another fight between two well known fighters, both have very big wins in their careers and needed this win to move up in contention. And Vitor came to get that victory, he destroys Marvin with a deadly knee from the clinch and unloads with furious punches till the reff steps in. Marvin gets a sick looking cut on his face, it looks like a hatchet went into him.5/5

7.DAVID "TANK" ABBOT VS KIMO-this was one of the most anticipated fights of all time in my opinion. Two of the biggest legends in the history of the sport. Most people will tell you that this fight was a let down, in my opinion this fight completely lived up to the hype. Like JOE ROGAN says during the fight, people boo this fight because they Didn't understand what was going on. Kimo came well prepared and executed a solid game plan. He took Tank down and work a submission on him and was the better man that day. Kimo really impressed me with this fight, excellent fight.5/5

8.CHUCK LIDDELL VS RANDY COUTURE-since TITO ORTIZ could not [depending on who you believe] fight that night Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell had to get it on for title that night. And while Randy Couture was a 2 time heavyweight champion he was the under dog in this fight, oh how they were wrong. All I can say about this fight is WOW. This is one of the greatest fights in the history of the UFC. Randy Couture really gives it to Chuck Liddell in this fight and exposes his weaknesses. He takes Chuck down the whole fight and even beats him on the stand up game as well. Randy is the new champion after he beats Chuck into a bloody pulp by the third round. Since I really don't like Chuck I love watching this fight all the time.5/5

Excellent event, in fact one of the UFC's best in my opinion.

I have watched this one many times now. Kick ass event... a must own for any MMA fan.

Here is a list of the matches:

PEDRO RIZZO VS TRE TELLIGMAN-great battle, too bad it had to be stopped.

BELFORT VS. MARVIN EASTMEN-You will see what I am talking about when you watch it, but Belfort can hit freaking hard!

FALANIKO VITALE VS. MATT LINDLAND-very funny match(but very painful too).

IAN FREEMAN VS. VERNON WHITE-great match, enough said.

YVES EDWARDS VS. EDDIE RUIZ-you have to feel a bit sorry for Eddie Ruiz but this match was hilarious.

WES SIMS VS. FRANK MIR-great match, too bad it had to end like it did.

TANK VS. KIMO-I hate Kimo but Tank needs to retire. This was one fo the saddest UFC fights I have ever seen.

COUTURE VS. LIDELL-I certainly did not expect this. Great Match.

There were 3 Liddell vs. Couture fights. This is where it started. If you've seen all 3, you know they were all excellent matches, and NONE of them went all 5 rounds. So without giving anything away, this is #1. This is the first match-up between these two warriors. Randy's thought was simply, "Chuck's been waiting for a title shot for a long time." Chuck Liddell, on the other hand was direct. "Titles aren't the main thing for me. I'm gonna try and tear his head off." What would happen with this high-caliber main event? They both wanted it! I believe if Dana White, and some of the others with UFC knew the outcome of the fights on this evening, it could've been nicknamed, "to Be Continued..." There are a few fights in this that are just the beginning. This doesn't make for a boring event. All these fights are great! Here's a list of what's on the DVD. Read below:

Pedro Rizzo vs. Tra Telligman: Both men are swinging for the knockout! Both men get cut. This is a great slugfest until the fight has to be stopped due to cuts. Great heart by both fighters!

Matt Lindland vs. Falaniko Vitale: Ok, you wanna talk about a screwball way to end a fight?! Matt Lindland does it. I didn't know whether to laugh, or to feel kind of sorry for Matt after this fight. It doesn't help for somebody to explain what happened in this fight. You simply have to see it. Needless to say, there is a rematch! To be continued in UFC 45!

Yves Edwards vs. Eddie Ruiz: Great fight all around. Yves Edwards is an amazing fighter with great skills! Eddie Ruiz shows amazing heart the whole time. It goes to a unanimous decision.

Frank Mir vs. Wes Sims: This was a great fight until... Somebody needs to think straight and use their head a little bit more before just acting out! There is a disqualification. To be continued in UFC 46!

Ian Freeman vs. Vernon White: Freeman's a veteran fighter. White's no slouch. In King of the Cage, Vernon White fought Jeremy Horn for the title. THAT fight went all 5 rounds, and White lost a controversial split decision that many think he should have won. This fight goes to a well deserved draw. Both of these guys fought well!

Vitor Belfort vs. Marvin Eastman: A word to Marvin Eastman. You can look as tough as you want when fighting, but you actually have to fight. This ends with one nasty gash over the eye!

Tank Abbott vs. Kimo: Amazingly enough, this is probably the most boring fight of the night. It ends pretty quickly without a punch landing.

Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture: This is amazing! To say the least, it is amazing. This is what starts off a great rivalry, and takes us to UFC 52!! As goes the theme for the night... TO BE CONTINUED!!!

This is a great night of fights. Don't miss it.

This is definitely one of the better UFCs I've seen, it has a great lineup top-to-bottom. Heck, even Rizzo/Telligman is worth seeing and that's just a preliminary fight!

Belfort, Mir, Tank, Kimo, White, Couture, Liddell, among others are on this card... all in all this DVD is too good to pass up!

Just terrible and not worth the money. The fights are horrible and the fighters have very little skill. Puchase PRIDE instead where the best fighters in the WORLD come to fight.