5 UFC rematches that didn't live up to the original

At UFC 275 this weekend, strawweight stars Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Weili Zhang are set to face off in a rematch of arguably the greatest women’s MMA fight of all time, and will be hoping to live up to the standards of that clash.

While Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk will be hoping their rematch is as good as the original, over the years we’ve seen plenty of UFC rematches that failed to do so.

Naturally, this doesn’t tend to be the fault of the fighters or the matchmakers, as usually, it’s simply a case that the magic of the first fight just couldn’t be replicated – but it’s nevertheless disappointing when it happens.

Here are five UFC rematches that failed to live up to the original.

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#5. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen – UFC 148

Anderson Silva's second bout with Chael Sonnen was far less dramatic than their first

When Anderson Silva put his UFC middleweight title on the line against top contender Chael Sonnen in the summer of 2010, few fans were giving Sonnen a shot at dethroning ‘The Spider’. However, they were quickly proven wrong.

‘The American Gangster’ lived up to every bit of the trash he’d talked, and essentially beat Silva down, both on the feet and on the ground, only to fall victim to a last-gasp fifth-round triangle choke in one of the most dramatic finishes in MMA history.

It was an absolute no-brainer that the promotion would look to book a rematch between the two rivals, particularly as it was clear that there was still bad blood between them. So once Sonnen had returned from a suspension for a positive drug test and won a couple of fights, he was quickly given another shot at ‘The Spider’.

The hype for the rematch was understandably off the charts, with Dana White even claiming that he expected the promotion’s pay-per-view buyrate to be shattered.

Unfortunately, not only did that prediction turn out to be incorrect, but the fight could not live up to the standard of the original, too.

Sonnen tried his best to take the fight to Silva again and did win the first round, but in the second, he made a fatal error in attempting a spinning backfist. Silva dodged the shot, causing Sonnen to stumble, and that was all the opening that ‘The Spider’ needed.

He smashed the challenger with a knee to the chest, and then quickly unloaded on him with a series of strikes to stop the bout, defending his title again. Sure, Silva’s performance was genuinely excellent, but the fight didn’t come close to the wild drama of their first meeting.

#4. Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler – UFC 266

Both Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler looked past their primes for their 2021 rematch

Given that nearly two decades had passed by the time that the UFC signed a rematch between welterweight stars Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler, the likelihood of their second bout living up to the standards of their first was never that high.

Their original clash, which took place in April 2004, saw the then-young guns go toe-to-toe in a truly wild brawl that saw Lawler stun Diaz on multiple occasions, only for the Stockton-based fighter to soak up the shots and turn the tables on ‘Ruthless’, eventually stopping him in the second round.

In the years that followed, both men saw huge success, with Lawler even claiming the UFC welterweight title in 2014. However, by September 2021, when their rematch was signed, both men had fallen on hard times.

Lawler had lost his last four fights, while Diaz hadn’t officially won a bout in the octagon since 2011. More worryingly, the latter also looked to be nowhere close to his best shape at the weigh-in, causing fans some concern.

The fight wasn’t bad, per say, but it definitely didn’t live up to their original clash. Both men looked far slower than in their prime, and Diaz in particular simply looked far past his best.

The fight mercifully ended in the third round when Diaz couldn’t continue following a barrage from Lawler. To tell the truth, the rematch didn’t do a lot for anyone.

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#3. Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski – UFC 61

Tim Sylvia's third fight with Andrei Arlovski was hugely disappointing

When the UFC booked a trilogy bout between heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia and former champ Andrei Arlovski in the summer of 2006, it’s probably safe to say that nobody was expecting anything but a crazy fight.

Their first clash lasted under a minute, as Arlovski dropped Sylvia with a right hand before submitting him with an ankle lock. Their second was even more dramatic and saw ‘The Pitbull’ drop Sylvia badly again, only for ‘The Maine-iac’ to make it to his feet and land a knockout blow of his own seconds later.

However, by the time their third clash came around, both Sylvia and Arlovski seemed to have been affected by the crazy nature of their earlier two meetings. Most notably, both men seemed hugely wary of the other’s punching power.

This meant that neither man really wanted to engage in the trilogy bout. Instead, the fans were treated to what was essentially five rounds of circling and staring. To say that the bout didn’t live up to the standards of their previous two was an understatement.

Sylvia eventually won via decision, but the fight was instantly considered one of the worst title bouts in UFC history and both fighters came away with a severely dented reputation thanks to their poor performances.

#2. Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson – UFC 232

Jon Jones' first bout with Alexander Gustafsson set a standard unmatchable for their rematch

When UFC fans compile lists of the greatest title fights in the promotion’s history, one bout that tends to come close to the top is Jon Jones’ 2013 light heavyweight title defense against Alexander Gustafsson.

At the time, few fans expected Gustafsson to be able to push ‘Bones’ all the way, but in stunning fashion, the Swede took the fight to the champion through the early rounds and largely outstruck him.

Only a brutal spinning elbow in the latter moments of the fourth round turned the tide in favour of Jones. While ‘Bones’ managed to claim a decision victory, many fans actually felt that ‘The Mauler’ deserved to take the gold home.

The UFC attempted to book an immediate rematch, but it fell through due to an injury to Gustafsson. In the end, it would be another five years before the two men would face off again.

Unfortunately, while Jones remained largely in his prime for the rematch, the same could not be said for ‘The Mauler’. While the Swede came into the fight on the back of two straight wins, he’d also been out of action for over a year with various injuries.

Sure enough, he simply couldn’t hold a candle to Jones when it came to it and ended up succumbing to a third-round TKO in a largely one-sided fight. If their first bout had been an instant classic, their rematch was anything but, and could not have gone more simply for Jones, disappointing the fans greatly.

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#1. Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar – UFC 62

Forrest Griffin's first bout with Stephan Bonnar was an instant classic - but the same could not be said for their rematch

A fight that is usually considered to have changed the UFC’s fortunes entirely, the brawl between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar that capped off the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter still holds up today.

Both men put everything they had on the line in order to claim a much-vaunted six-figure contract with the promotion. After a wild brawl that saw both men beaten bloody, Griffin was handed a razor-close victory.

Sure, the clash wasn’t a technical classic, but as far as straight up brawls go, it was pretty hard to touch. Therefore, it made perfect sense that the promotion would look to book a rematch at some stage.

It turned out that they would wait just over a year before matching Griffin and Bonnar again. Unfortunately, if fans expected a redux of the original brawl, they were mistaken.

While Bonnar remained largely the same fighter that he’d been during TUF, Griffin had improved dramatically in the time that had passed, and was beginning to be considered a genuine contender for the UFC light heavyweight title.

Sure enough, he showed no interest in brawling with ‘The American Psycho’ in their rematch, and instead used his leg kicks and crisper boxing to pick him apart en route to a clear-cut decision win.

The fight wasn’t bad or dull but, unsurprisingly, it didn’t come close to thrilling the fans in the same way that the original fight did and stands as one of the best examples of a rematch that didn’t live up to the original.