Plot: What’s it about?
The world of mixed martial arts has several venues, but few can come close to the intense realm that is the Pride Fighting Championships. Pride hosts some of the world’s most renowned combatants and places them on an even stage, where the men can showcase their skills against fighters from all across the world. You can see kickboxers, karate experts, jiu-jitsu masters, and all kind of other warriors, all with a single goal, to defeat all comers. As the title of this event implies, New Blood features some of the younger, rising stars of the mixed martial arts world, all out to establish & solidify their reputations. But don’t assume the fights aren’t as explosive and impressive, as the young guys can hack & grapple with the best of them, especially the ones on showcase in Pride FC’s New Blood event here. Although the fighters are young in age, most have well known personas and as such, fans of the sport will recognize most, if not all of the names. Ricco Rodriguez, Gary Goodridge, Akira Shoji, Vernon White, and numerous others all compete in New Blood, one of Pride’s most exciting & entertaining events, if you ask me. Below is a list of the matches you’ll see on this card and rest assured, most are excellent fights.
1. Heath Herring vs. Willie Peters
2. Carlos Barreto vs. Tra Telligman
3. Alan Goes vs. Vernon White
4. Carlos Newton vs. Naoki Sano
5. Akira Shoji vs. John Renken
6. Gilbert Yvel vs. Vitor Belfort
7. Igor Vovchanchyn vs. Daijiro Matsui
8. Ricco Rodriguez vs. Gary Goodridge
Video: How does it look?
The event is presented in a full frame transfer, as intended. The image is sharper and more pleasing than either VHS or Pay-Per-View editions, which is the main issue with releases of this kind, of course. The transfer does show some compression flaws, but nothing too serious and on the whole, fans should be pleased here. The colors and contrast seem on the mark, while flesh tones are natural and never falter in the least. Not much else that needs to be said here, this is about as good as the event can look, aside from the compression issues.
Audio: How does it sound?
The cracks, punches, and high impact attacks all sound good in the included mix, but don’t expect miracles from this kind of material. The in-ring sound effects are natural and sometimes sound better than others, but I was never let down and in the end, all the needed audio elements come through well in this option. The crowd noise is loud and clear also, as are the announcers and as such, all the bases seem to be covered with this one. Not a memorable audio experience, but with this material, the audio shouldn’t be the main focus anyway.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes a highlight reel from the event, as well as a brief featurette about Pride and its origins.
