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The sport of Mixed Martial Arts is incredibly demanding, and it's indeed an undeniable fact that the margin of error in MMA competition is extremely low. Even the smallest mistakes can lead to a fighter either getting viciously knocked out, choked out, or getting their limbs broken if they don't tap out to a well-applied submission hold.
Irrespective of what most fight promoters out there may claim -- with regard to their fighters being unbeatable -- an invincible combatant is nothing but a myth. Just like MMA legend Georges St-Pierre has often stated -- 'The perfect fighter does not exist.'
Considering that, it's no surprise how the fight game often sees the underdog upset the favorite, turning the proverbial tables on the latter and winning the bout. However, we often see that rematches between the same pair of fighters more often than not turn out to be quite different than their first encounters.
That, in turn, makes the prospect of these great fighters engaging in a rematch with one another, all the more appealing. Today, we look at a few UFC rematches that need to happen...
#5 Amanda Nunes vs. Cris Cyborg
Amanda Nunes shocked the world by becoming the first fighter to knock out Cris Cyborg, when the two women's MMA titans went toe-to-toe inside the Octagon at UFC 232. Nunes entered the fight as the UFC Women's Bantamweight titlist, whereas Cyborg held the UFC Women's Featherweight Championship.
Nunes dropped Cyborg with several well-timed punches, multiple times, before knocking the latter out with an overhand right -- ending the fight within the first minute of the opening round. Now, given that Cyborg has been the most dominant female fighter in the MMA realm for about a decade or so, it's only fair that an immediate rematch is in order.
Logic dictates that Nunes ought to defend her UFC Women's Featherweight Championship against Cyborg at the earliest, before the end of the 2019 calendar year...
#4 Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic
Then-UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier moved back up to Heavyweight, in order to face Stipe Miocic who at the time held the UFC Heavyweight Title. These formidable, well-rounded Mixed Martial Arts combatants squared off at UFC 226 in July of 2018; in a fight that barely lasted a round.
Cormier was briefly taken down by his larger foe, but quickly resumed the action on the feet, following which both fighters dinged one another with a few decent strikes from long range. Most of the close range exchanges in this brief bout took place in the clinch -- as 'DC' gave up the under-hook to Miocic, which the latter gladly accepted.
Cormier then caught his foe with a well-placed overhand right to the chin, and put the latter to sleep with a few follow-up ground strikes -- making DC the new UFC Heavyweight Champion of the world. Now, this fight took place at Heavyweight, and in the division of giants, chaos is the norm rather than the exception.
While Cormier has stated that he'd like to fight Jon Jones for the third time, then Brock Lesnar, and then retire -- the Miocic rematch is also something DC could take before the latter rides off into the sunset. Fans can expect a potential DC-Miocic rematch to take place later this year.
#3 Tyron Woodley vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Back in 2015, Tyron Woodley fought Kelvin Gastelum to a razor-thin split-decision win. Although Woodley came out the victor, the man clearly faced issues with Gastelum's boxing and distance control over the course of the fight.
In fact, Woodley is also said to have injured his foot during the bout, which in turn hampered his movement during the 3-round bout. Following that fight, Woodley went on to become the UFC Welterweight Champion and has enjoyed a decent title reign thus far. Meanwhile, Gastelum moved up to Middleweight and found great success there.
So much so, that Gastelum is now set to fight Robert Whittaker for the latter's UFC Middleweight Title this year. Gastelum has often spoken about wanting to run back his fight with Woodley, particularly because he feels he won their first fight, and if it weren't for his terrible weight cut before the fight, he'd have absolutely dominated Woodley.
Moreover, Woodley has spoken about wanting to move up to challenge the Middleweight Champion, and should Gastelum beat Whittaker for the Middleweight Title; we could very well get to see Woodley vs. Gastelum 2 at 185 pounds instead of 170 pounds.
This is a very important fight for both fighters, as a significant amount of interest has been shown by the duo in fighting each other one more time.
#2 Thiago Santos vs. Anthony Smith
Thiago Santos faced Anthony Smith in an all out war in early 2018, with the bout ending when Santos landed a huge kick on Smith's body, and followed up with a barrage of heavy ground strikes. Both fighters have exhibited tremendous progress since their bout, and are now two of the top Light-Heavyweight contenders.
Smith is fresh off a huge submission win over former title-challenger Volkan Oezdemir, whereas Santos is coming off a huge KO win over perennial contender Jimi Manuwa. The MMA community is presently abuzz with banter of Smith fighting current UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones for the latter's title, this year.
Well, win or lose in his fight against Jones; Smith will most definitely cross paths with Santos once again. Their first fight was highly entertaining, and with the vast majority of fans clamoring to see them lock horns again, it's a matter of when rather than if Smith fights Santos again.
#1 Alistair Overeem vs. Junior dos Santos
Back in 2015, longtime rivals Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos finally faced one another inside the Octagon. Overeem and Dos Santos had engaged in several years of trash-talking, amidst steroid usage accusations being levied on both sides -- with all that banter finally reaching a crescendo when they did battle in a 3-round bout, in December 2015.
Overeem utilized a considerable amount of movement which seemed to flummox JDS. However, the latter, to his credit, did work the body with a few decent punches while Overeem was trapped against the fence...Regardless, 'The Reem' landed a beautiful shifting left hook on JDS's chin in the second round of their fight -- following up with a few brutal ground strikes which resulted in Overeem winning by way of TKO.
Both fighters have had their ups and downs since then, however, Overeem is coming off a big TKO win over Sergey Pavlovich; whereas Dos Santos impressed everyone by becoming the first man to defeat and knock out rising star Tai Tuivasa.
Moreover, JDS has strongly asserted that he'd love to face Overeem this year, with the winner potentially getting another shot at the UFC Heavyweight Championship that is currently held by Daniel Cormier.
Which UFC rematches do you want to see this year? Sound off in the comments!
