The one caveat to this great deal of free fight cards on basic cable is that unlike the usual UFC ppv's, one assumes (I dug around for answers and couldn't find anything concrete) the co-production deal with Spike must make for some kind of sticky rights issue, so the UFN series has remained unreleased on DVD. So far, after nearly three years and dozens of cards, all we have are these planned "Best Of" releases. This first volume has twelve selected fights from the first three UFN's- three from UFN 1, three from UFN 2, and a whopping six from UFN 3, almost that entire card, which begs the question, why not just release all of UFN 3?

Because this release only covers fights from the first three UFN's, we actually don't get a lot of great fights. The first events, and even the current ones, lean towards fighters from the reality show which is a mixed bag of talent and the first few shows had the dubious distinction of disastrous headline fights like the Nate Marquardt Vs. Ivan Salaverry stalemate and the Tim Sylvia Vs. Assuerio Silva snoozer, infamous only for the fact that Sylvia admitted to having a severe case of diarrhea the day of and during the fight- I know, gross.

The one good thing I will say about this compilation is that they have Rich Franklin hosting. How they got him when he's so hot after Cyborg Solider, I'll never know! The former middleweight champion is well-spoken, certainly far better than blowhard UFC shill Mike Goldberg or the monosyllabic Chuck Liddell, the hosts of UFC's "Ultimate Knockout‟ DVDs, and he prefaces each fight with a brief bit to put the fight into context.

So what have we got? Josh Koscheck Vs. Pete Spratt- Koscheck has blossomed into a legit welterweight contender but in this early fight he was a pretty much just a wrestler pitted against his opposite in one-dimensional striker Spratt. Mike Swick Vs. Gideon Ray- Another sort of obvious build em' fight for TUF'er Swick versus shopworn veteran Ray. Alex Karalexis Vs. Kenny Florian- Yep, TUF'er versus TUF'er. Perpetual tow the company line commentator Mike Goldberg has the nerve to call both men "superstars," but really it is only Florian, raw at the time of the fight, who has gone on to any acclaim. Spencer Fisher Vs. Thiago Alves- Another one that is interesting due to the fact that Alves, who was only 22, has blossomed into a welterweight contender. Alves, now feared for his striking prowess, at the time is actually called the lesser striker by commentators Joe Rogan and Goldberg. Brandon Vera Vs. Fabiano Sherner- Hindsight is the pattern here. Vera at the time was a shiny, new, fresh, pink, beautiful prospect as a heavyweight and possible lightheavyweight. He seemed to have the striking skill, the wrestling pedigree, and the poster boy looks and charisma to carry him very far. The Sherner match was one of his early showcases and it is interesting to contrast that promise to his recent fall due to a contract negations layoff and some lackluster performances.

Chris Leben Vs. Edwin Dewees- Meh. Not a bad fight, I guess, but its just another TUF builder match pitting slugger and reality star black sheep Leben against a known but highly vulnerable opponent. Spencer Fisher Vs. Aaron Riley- Again, this match emphasis the problem with the "Best Of" label. The fight is a pretty uneventful single round of slugging that comes to a justified but not wholly satisfying conclusion because it is stopped due to Riley's jaw being broken. Melvin Guillard Vs. Josh Neer - Now this is actually interesting, a decent evenly matched pairing of two guys who aren't high caliber fighters. Delivers with some serious drama when Neer is badly cut, which amazingly the doctor doesn't think warrants stopping, and he gamely fights through the grue. Duane Ludwig Vs. Jonathan Goulet - This fight has exactly one landed punch. Thats all it needed when you get a known striker versus a guy best known for having a fragile chin. Chris Leben Vs. Jorge Rivera we see- yes, yet again- another TUF'er versus vet fight and one with some tide turning drama. Drew Fickett Vs. Josh Burkman- Again, I find this one a tad contentious because, while a fine fight and a solid submission win, it is a quick one. I just think a "Best Of" needs some competition or well-played dominate strategy to merit the tag. Finally, Stephan Bonnar Vs. James Irvin ends the compilation with the best technical match. Irvin known for his powerful standup, meets the more ground savvy Bonnar, who wisely takes the fight to the floor and carefully works for a wince-inducing sub.

The DVD:

Picture: Being fights from the earlier days, we don't get a widescreen display and no high definition camerawork. Nope, it was purely standard fullscreen back in 2005 and 2006. But, for what it is, it looks quite fine. And really, although I'm a fight fan, sometimes even I dont want all the blood and guts like the Guillard-Neer fight to be in picture perfect detail. It really kills my fight time snacking.

Sound: The disc has a basic 2.0 Stereo track. Standard stuff. Nothing that will amaze but appropriately punchy (pun intended).

Extras: The sole extra is a 17 minute 32 second behind the scenes featurette. This footage is from UFN 3. Interviews with the likes of Bonnar, Rivera, Leben, and Burkman as they go through the weigh-ins, the backstage bowels of the event center warm-up, getting the mandatory rule refresher, and post-fight comments.

Conclusion: Ultimate Fight Night, now without 100 commericals for Burger King's Chicken Fries and interviews with Sticky Fingaz promoting his sure fire hit Blade: The Series!

As far as compilations go, this one isn't that great. Obviously this is a bit of sandbagging because this is a planned series. I guess we fight fans have to wait for future releases to see some better UFN scraps like Nathan Diaz Vs. Kurt Pelligrino, Kenny Florian Vs. Dokonjonosuke Mishima, or Diego Sanchez Vs. Karo Parisyan.