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After narrowly losing to him at UFC 284, Alexander Volkanovski seems desperate for a rematch with Islam Makhachev. If history is anything to go by, though, he should be careful what he wishes for.
Over the years we’ve seen a number of fighters who came close to dethroning a UFC champion, earned a rematch, but then were beaten worse the second time around.
Often, this was simply a case of the champion having learned their lesson from the first fight. On other occasions, the fighter who earned a rematch made a major error.
With this in mind, here are five fighters who earned a rematch with a UFC champion, only to lose worse the second time around.
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#5. Randy Couture vs. Pedro Rizzo – UFC 34
Randy Couture is well-remembered as one of the greatest UFC champions of all time, and with good reason. ‘The Natural’ held the promotion’s heavyweight title on three occasions and the light heavyweight title on two, and defeated numerous fellow legends in the process.
However, while fans fondly recall his 2007 heavyweight title win over Tim Sylvia, it’s arguable that his greatest victory came over Pedro Rizzo six years prior.
Rizzo, a heavy-hitting kickboxer renowned for his leg kicks, first faced Couture in the headliner of UFC 31. The bout proved to be a true classic as the two heavyweights went toe-to-toe for five rounds, with Rizzo hurting Couture badly with his strikes at points.
However, ‘The Natural’ just about hung on and ended up winning a controversial decision, despite many fans believing ‘The Rock’ had won. Dana White and company clearly believed the same, and so Rizzo was granted an immediate rematch just six months later.
Plenty of fans expected the Brazilian to finally get the job done the second time around, but they couldn’t have been more wrong.
Couture upped the pressure on Rizzo much more than he had in the first fight and it quickly became clear that ‘The Rock’ couldn’t cope. After landing multiple takedowns, the third round saw ‘The Natural’ drive him into the fence before destroying him with punches for a TKO.
The fight proved once and for all that Couture was the better fighter, but after his performance in their first clash, it was hard not to be disappointed by Rizzo’s showing.
#4. Matt Hughes vs. Carlos Newton – UFC 38
When Matt Hughes defeated Carlos Newton for the UFC welterweight title in late 2001, it was one of the most controversial finishes in the promotion’s history.
Caught in a triangle choke, Hughes elevated Newton into the air. Before he could do anything with the position, he slipped from consciousness.
However, as he passed out, the challenger dropped Newton onto his head, knocking ‘The Ronin’ out instantly. As Hughes seemed to come around first, he was declared the winner via knockout.
It was clear that nothing was truly settled between the two. Therefore, after Hughes made a successful title defense against Hayato Sakurai and Newton submitted Pele Landi-Jons, a rematch was signed for the summer of 2002.
The second time around, though, Hughes seemed much better prepared to deal with Newton’s dangerous grappling game. Where he’d struggled on the ground with ‘The Ronin’ in their first clash, the only success the Canadian had in the rematch was with a first-round armbar attempt that Hughes narrowly escaped.
Outside of that, Hughes totally overpowered the former champion on the ground and in the clinch, constantly taking top position to punish him with ground-and-pound.
The fourth round eventually saw Hughes catch Newton in a mounted crucifix. From there, he dropped punches and elbows onto the former champion until the bout was called off.
It was a dominant showing from Hughes and set the tone for his equally dominant title reign. Newton, meanwhile, did not win a fight in the octagon again after his disappointing performance in this rematch.
#3. Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal – UFC 261
In the UFC, title fight rematches tend to be set up in one of two ways. They’re either booked because the first fight was close to call or because the losing fighter goes on a winning streak to earn a second shot at the champ.
Jorge Masvidal, however, was the exception to this rule when he rematched Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title in 2021.
‘Gamebred’ first faced off with Usman in 2020. Despite being talked up as the biggest threat to ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’, he found himself clearly outworked for a decision.
However, the fact that Usman didn’t come close to finishing him and fought in a somewhat safe way didn’t sit right with many people, including Dana White.
The general consensus was that Masvidal, who had taken the fight on short notice, would stand a better chance with a proper training camp, especially when it came to stopping Usman’s takedown.
In the end, though, the rematch went even worse for ‘Gamebred’ than the initial meeting.
Clearly fuelled by the criticism he faced in the first bout, Usman came out like a man possessed. After showing far more aggression in the first round, the second saw him destroy Masvidal with a right hand, knocking him out cold in an instant.
It was one of the most vicious knockouts in octagon history and it was safe to say that ‘Gamebred’ suffered a far worse defeat the second time around than he did the first.
#2. Demetrious Johnson vs. Joseph Benavidez – UFC on Fox 9
When the UFC introduced the men’s flyweight title in 2012, the inaugural title bout proved to be a real war of attrition.
Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez battled for five rounds that were difficult to split. If anything, the biggest moment of the fight came from Benavidez, who dropped Johnson in the fourth round and almost submitted him with a guillotine choke.
When the fight went to the scorecards, though, it was ‘Mighty Mouse’ who was awarded a split decision, making him the new champion and leaving Benavidez devastated.
He didn’t sit on his laurels for long. 2013 saw him reel off three straight wins, including a knockout of Jussier Formiga, to climb right back into title contention. However, if he was expecting to be able to take out ‘Mighty Mouse’ with his improved striking game the second time around, he was mistaken.
Just two minutes had passed in their rematch when Johnson stunned the challenger with a lunging right hand, dropping him to the ground. From there, ‘Mighty Mouse’ followed up with a salvo of vicious strikes, putting Benavidez out cold.
It was a remarkable finish from Johnson, who, up to that point, had never been known for his striking. It was also a devastating loss for Benavidez, who had put his heart and soul into earning a rematch.
Arguably, he was never quite the same again afterwards.
#1. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen – UFC 148
In their first UFC middleweight title fight in 2010, Chael Sonnen not only gave Anderson Silva the fight of his life, he came literally minutes away from dethroning him.
‘The American Gangster’ lived up to every bit of trash he’d talked prior to the bout, beating Silva to the punch standing, taking him down every opportunity he got, and smashing him with ground-and-pound on the mat.
However, with two minutes to go, he left himself slightly open, and that was all the invitation that ‘The Spider’ needed. He locked up a triangle choke and Sonnen was forced to submit, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Initially, it looked like the UFC were happy to set up an immediate rematch. When Sonnen tested positive for banned substances, though, he was suspended for a year and instead had to earn his shot.
He did that by defeating Brian Stann and Michael Bisping in impressive fashion. When his long-awaited rematch with Silva was finally signed, many fans picked him to win.
Despite a strong opening round, though, it wasn’t to be.
A wild exchange in the second round saw Sonnen miss an ill-advised spinning backfist. Silva capitalized on the chaos by smashing him with a knee to the body. ‘The Spider’ then followed with a barrage of strikes, and moments later, the fight was over.
Whether ‘The American Gangster’ could’ve repeated his performance from the first fight had he not thrown the backfist is debatable. It’s safe to say, though, that he lost the rematch in far worse fashion than he’d done in the initial meeting.
