I don't come and read a lot on the UG anymore, mostly only in the weapons forum, but I wanted to make a post about my thoughts regarding the fight, DVD and whoopass.tv.
The phrase "larger than life" might be used by some regarding this fight and I wouldn't argue with them. If someone were to look at the fight purely as a "person A vs. person B" fight, I could easily understand if they were to dismiss it as good but perhaps overhyped.
From my perspective, however, this is one of the best fights I have seen for a number of reasons. The sequence of events leading up to the fight - from the posting of the first grainy video of Kimbo, to Kirik asking for challengers to Gannon accepting... all happened on this website. In the post, I committed to buying a DVD if it came to fruition.
Then came the wait. I remember a week before the fight, I was hoping that I didn't die... not because I've got a kid on the way or because I want to finish a cool knife I'm working on... I didn't want to die because I wanted to SEE THE FIGHT. The anticipation on the day of the fight... the hour of the fight follows the same pattern. Seeing the first photos of the war and the hardcore atmosphere just added to my excitement. I wanted that DVD, bad!
Someone I know sent me a link to the fight they claim was uploaded. I saw the fight and was kind of bummed out because of the crappy quality. I wanted to reserve judgement until I saw the DVD.
I ordered it from whoopass.tv on Thanksgiving as the night before I got my paycheck. The following Monday, I e-mailed whoopass.tv just to confirm they received my order. Within a couple hours, I received the answer was yes and that the vid was sent out over the weekend, at the latest. I received the DVD about a week after it was sent.
The spliced version of the fight was awesome. MUCH better quality than I anticipated (didn't look like low budget stuff) and beyond comparison to the link I saw online.
The prefight scenes with Kimbo's crew are cool, the different angles and pics are also good to have. Again, anyone who sees this as more than just a "guy A vs. guy B" fight, I absolutely recommend this vid. To me, it's like a part of history, and the whole story behind it is fun to tell others before they watch the fight. IMO... one thing that would be really nice to have on the video is the first Kimbo fight. That would really add to the story. Fortunately, I've got it on my computer and I show that video before the DVD.
Between the spliced fight and the three angles and showing the DVD to friends... I've seen the fight over a dozen times now. It's funny to see reactions of people in the background sometimes.
As far as whoopass.tv goes... I'm a firm believer in good customer service. I had some initial problems with the menu and each time I asked questions, whoopass.tv responded either that day or the next morning, at the latest. They were professional and polite to deal with and I wouldn't hesitate to do business with them again. If you guys read this, I appreciate the help. Keep it up.
Finally, I wanted to thank the folks who were behind this fight. I feel for Gannon in particular, who had to deal with the fiasco some people created afterwards and how they tried to dick him over. Unfortunately, this just proves the saying "there's one in every crowd." The remarkable thing is that as a cop, Gannon wouldn't hesitate to put his life on the line to save maggots like them. While most of us would be greatful, they're the type that would just say "hey, I pay taxes and he's just doing his JOB."
In any event... just some thought from an MMA fan on the matter. Apologize in advance if this has been discussed a million times... things usually are by the time I post them here. :)
Cheers