The first EliteXC 2-disc set in a while which doesn´t feature brawler Kimbo Slice lacks drama. Despite the presence of returning fighters (from previous events) Nick Diaz, Gina Carano, Jake Shields and Joey Villasenor, "EliteXC: Uprising" can´t quite combine the freshness of "Destiny" or "Renegade" with the crowd appeal of "Street Certified." And for the life of me, I can´t figure out why.
It´s not the historical aspect to the presentation. Even if the World Middleweight Champion Murilo "Ninja" Rua hadn´t been upset by "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler, the second appearance by Carano should have done the trick. Featured in the third televised fight, Carano-also known as Crush on the new "American Gladiators"-wins her first match by submission. The fact females get into the cage to pummel one another is something I remain intrigued by. Why? Because both Carano and her challenger Tonya Evinger are every bit the fighters the men are, though you wouldn´t know it by the pitifully quick work Carano makes of Evinger.
Of course, there are four other fights on the main card. The first match up, that between Jake Shields and Renato Verissimo is particularly violent, with Shields mounting his opponent and then unleashing a barrage of attacks. It is the first of two fights stopped by the referee, something we did not see much of in the previous DVD´s. In fact, when you factor in Carano´s rear naked choke (submission) and the two matches halted by the ref, it´s a disappointment to see the last two actually go to the judges for a decision.
With the Joey Villasenor/Riki Fukuda battle fittingly going to Villasenor-he has the upper hand for a majority of the three five-minute rounds-Nick Diaz/Mike Aina is a bit sketchier. Coming off a six month marijuana suspension (we´ll get to this in a minute), Diaz uses the first round to regain his fighting legs, to figure out exactly what Aina is going to do. It is here his opponent gives his best performance. As the second and third rounds carry on, though, Diaz would find the chops to go against K. J. Noons in "Renegade" for the Lightweight Title.
About that continuity: it might sound silly to even mention a continuing storyline for something like mixed martial arts, yet I find it necessary to enjoying the material in its entirety. While I do understand releasing bouts with Slice and other MMA royalty to build the fanbase, I have to believe EliteXC, ProElite and Image Entertainment would have been better served releasing in some sort of reasonable order. Isn´t it better for the audience to watch the rise (and potential fall) of a personality than it is for them to enter at their high point and then go back to see what was missed?
In three previous EliteXC reviews, I have failed to mention the announcing team in any meaningful way, despite always having the same reaction to them. The main card is called by the team of Mauro Ranallo, Bill Goldberg and Stephen Quadros. There is no doubting the pedigree of the three: Ranallo has been announcing since the age of 16 in various wrestling and combat arenas; Quadros practices martial arts, as well as holding positions for several different publications; and Goldberg is a retired wrestler.
With the exception of Goldberg-who is the most grounded of the three-there is no hyperbole they don´t know. For one fight, or maybe even two, hearing Ranallo shout into the microphone isn´t all that bad. But after two hours of the same voice telling us how wonderful the fight is? Boring and a bit irritating. Of course, I am holding these three to the pinnacle (for me) of announcing teams: Marv Albert, Matt Goukas and Bill Walton. That might be unfair. In the context of MMA announcers, I can only guess they are on par with their peers.
"Uprising," like "Street Certified," "Destiny" and "Renegade," follows a precise formula, down to scripts, type of coverage and even DVD menu´s. It shouldn´t be very surprising, something I noted in "Street Certified." If it works once, you might as well go back to the well until it runs dry.
VIDEO:
"Uprising" took place on September 15, 2007, the sixth EliteXC event following the formation of the league earlier in the year. ("Destiny," already on DVD, was the first televised event.) I only mention this in the video section of the review to point out a peculiar problem with the transfer: it´s not presented in anamorphic widescreen like the other three events now on DVD. The DVD box and slipcover mention a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer; all we get here is a fullscreen affair.
More than a labeling problem, the transfer is riddled with distortion around fine details like the letters on the cage mat, on top of heads and hats and through the cage fence. I don´t recall any of the previous televised fights looking this bad. Blacks remain adequately rendered, though even they are one or two steps away from true black. I noticed more than a couple blue dots lingering on the screen as the camera tilted up toward the rafters. Could it be from the spotlights illuminating the cage? Sure, but this was not a problem before. "Uprising" got the short end of the stick in the video department.
AUDIO:
Now this is more like it. A standard English 2.0 track is provided and it´s a definite step up from its tech specs counterpart. Granted, it´s not a spectacular mix, though it remains on par with the other releases and what I´d expect from a live sporting event on a pay cable network. Unlike other outings, the audio on "Uprising" very rarely becomes distorted or overpowered. Not that we always want to listen to $kala (on the bonus fights) or the hyperbolically overblown announcing team on the main fights.
There was only one moment of cringe worthy audio courtesy of Bill Goldberg. It occurs in the post-fighter interview with Robbie Lawler. Goldberg tries to pimp the winner by drawing out his name via a scream leading to an audio warble near the end. Otherwise, it´s a solid affair. No subtitles are included.
EXTRAS:
There is a template ProElite, EliteXC and Image Entertainment have come up with for these discs and they slavishly adhere to it from one release to the next. The main attraction here is a series of five-not seven, as the cover art suggests-untelevised fights. Running nearly 79 minutes (in play all and individual fight options), these additional bouts were shown on ProElite.com to subscribers. Outside of the first-Nam/Manners-and last-Wolf/Klingensmith-there´s no reason to delve too deeply into these matches. The other three last less than one full round and one (Hose/Cox) is particularly inept.
And now we come to the stock extras. A series of Fighter Bios-one for each of the main card combatants-is included for a total of 10 short biographies. The Behind the Scenes section includes promotional videos. Major headings include "Weigh In," "Pre-Fight," "Post-Fight" and "Showtime Uprising Promo." The first and last include only one video each, while "Pre-Fight" contains 10 interviews; "Post-Fight" has 9.
Photo Galleries are up next, again in different sections: "Promo" (9 images); "Pre-Fight" (9 images); "Fight" (8 images); "EliteXC Girls on the Beach" (14 images); and "EliteXC Girls in the Arena" (8 images). The obligatory Rules of the Cage and Term Glossary round out the special features.
Two trading cards are included in the double disc amaray case: Robbie Lawler and Ninja Rua. A metallic slipcover comes over the keepcase, just like the previous releases.
PARTING CHOKE:
EliteXC and Image Entertainment do the viewer a disservice by not releasing these fights in any sort of continuity order. Part of the idea, I suppose, is for the audience to begin feeling a kinship with each fighter, as well as their personal story. But when each DVD set bounces around between more current and older matches, it´s impossible to form any sort of coherent narrative through line. Granted, the target audience for these discs is the EliteXC fan and not the casual DVD buyer; they undoubtedly know the in´s and out´s of the sport better than anyone else, precluding the need for continuity. Still, aside from the glaring packaging mistakes and/or content missing from the disc, this is another worthy, if not remarkable, MMA presentation.