Silva vs. Sonnen II and 10 Rematches We Still Need to See

Although Anderson Silva is set to defend his title against his rival Chael Sonnen at UFC 148, that bout could fall apart due to an injury. As we've seen in the past few weeks, the injury bug has been biting a handful of fighters and creating a mess for scheduling UFC events.

The rematch is one of a handful of rematches that fight fans feel they need to see. Just like the buildup for the rematch between Silva and Sonnen, these rematches have quite a bit of hype behind them.

Even if the bouts won't headline a UFC event based around hype they certainly will hold their own on any card based on impact in the division and excitement.

Carlos Condit vs. Nick Diaz II

When Carlos Condit defeated Nick Diaz at UFC 143, it was by executing a masterful game plan devised by his coach Greg Jackson. Diaz was dismayed by the loss and has yet to be seen in the MMA community (or a grappling mat) since.

Would Condit be able to duplicate a similar strategy in a rematch with Diaz?

That is a question that will forever be up for debate as it seems Diaz is done with MMA and Condit has moved on to preparation for a title unification bout against Georges St-Pierre.

MMA fans are still a little bitter over the idea that the UFC promoted the event as two guys who would go to war with each other but Condit chose to fight smart and evade Diaz as he attempted to walk Condit down.

Like many fans said after the fight, it was a perfect game plan by Condit and lucky for him he likely won't have to attempt to repeat it.

Ronaldo Souza vs. Luke Rockhold II

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza entered MMA as one of the greatest grapplers in the world. It looked as if Souza would reign over the Strikeforce middleweight division after taking out Tim Kennedy and Robbie Lawler in successive bouts.

Enter Luke Rockhold after a year outside the cage while suffering from injuries. Rockhold utilized his superior striking to take Souza's title and was able to survive the takedowns by the Brazilian. The scorecards were close from two judges while another had Rockhold winning every round.

When breaking down the statistics of the fight it's clear Rockhold was the better fighter on the feet while Souza unquestionably had the better grappling. Souza showed improvements in his striking in his most recent Strikeforce bout and a rematch could be an even better fight.

Urijah Faber vs. Dominick Cruz III

These two men were originally scheduled to meet at UFC 148 in a co-main event title tilt but those plans fell through after Dominick Cruz's injury. Now Urijah Faber will face off against Renan Barao for an interim title.

If Faber can defeat Barao it will likely feel like a hollow victory given the fact it wasn't against Cruz. Their first encounter ended with Faber beating the upstart Cruz but it was in their second meeting that the two men showcased their skills.

In an action-packed five round war, Cruz would emerge victorious over the former featherweight champion Faber. A rubber match would no doubt leave fans on the edge of their seats for the duration of the bout and would finally put to rest the only great rivalry in the bantamweight division.

Benson Henderson vs. Anthony Pettis II

Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis put on an incredible show in their first match. It was a great way for the WEC to close out it's existence as it left a positive memory for any MMA fan who was able to catch one of their great events.

Other than a back and forth battle, the bout also gave us one of the single greatest highlights in MMA history when Pettis jumped off the cage and kicked Henderson in the face.

Henderson is slated to defend his new title against Frankie Edgar first with Pettis sitting by, waiting for his title shot. Even if Henderson can't retain his title, there won't be a fight fan who will complain if these two are matched up again.

Michael Chandler vs. Eddie Alvarez II

When Michael Chandler took on Eddie Alvarez at Bellator 58 he entered as the underdog due to Alvarez ruling over the division since his arrival.

Chandler didn't seem to care what Alvarez had done in the past as he brought the fight to the champion in the opening frame. Chandler nearly finished the champion but Alvarez showed the heart of a warrior by maintaining his composure.

Following the bout many publications were claiming this to be a front-runner for Fight of the Year in 2011 and a rematch would no doubt be one of the biggest bouts in Bellator history.

Rory MacDonald vs. Carlos Condit II

In what could be considered one of the greatest comebacks in recent history, Carlos Condit erased what would have been a judge's decision loss into a TKO victory. Rory MacDonald had controlled the majority of the first two rounds but visibly slowed down in the final frame.

Condit, sensing blood in the water and realizing he wasn't fighting to his full potential finally kicked into high gear. The now interim welterweight champion came out and dominated MacDonald in the final frame. With only seconds remaining, Condit forced the referee to intervene and secure a victory from the jaws of defeat.

MacDonald has clearly grown from that bout and looked extremely impressive against Che Mills. If he can defeat BJ Penn and Condit pulls off a miracle by dethroning Georges St. Pierre, these two could meet again for a UFC title.

Chael Sonnen vs. Michael Bisping II

When Michael Bisping was bumped up to face Chael Sonnen, a vast amount of MMA fans felt Sonnen would simply steamroll through the Brit. Not only did Bisping do a great job of bringing the fight to Sonnen but nearly emerged victorious as well.

Once the final scorecards were read the MMA community was up in arms over Sonnen's decision victory. Bisping visibly stunned Sonnen and thwarted a number of takedown attempts from the American.

Whether you believe Bisping won or Sonnen won is irrelevant when discussing a possible rematch between these two. The bottom line is this is a bout that needs to happen again as you can't really make a case for either man being declared the clear victor.

And given Bisping's hype ability combined with Sonnen's, fans would certainly get a proper build up to this great rematch.

Mauricio Rua vs. Dan Henderson II

Although I would place myself among the group of fans that don't want to see this rematch, there's no denying that there's a vast amount of MMA fans that want to see Mauricio Rua and Dan Henderson face off again.

The two men not only engaged in the clear-cut Fight of the Year in 2011, but one of the best fights in MMA history. Henderson nearly finished Rua on a number of occasions but "Shogun" had perhaps the most dominating round in the fifth in what many fans scored as a 10-8 round.

A rematch likely would not live up to the hype fans would place on it due to the first fight, but it would certainly be an easy sell for the UFC.

Junior Dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez II

The first encounter between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez was a monumental event in MMA history. It was the first UFC event on Fox and was a much anticipated heavyweight battle between two of the world's best.

Unfortunately for fight fans who had been waiting for a while for these two men to fight, they were left feeling like they needed more, as the bout only lasted just over a minute. The highlights from the fight were a failed takedown attempt from Velasquez and a huge right hand that dropped him shortly thereafter.

Velasquez earned a rematch after his absolute destruction of Antonio Silva and hopefully the rematch with dos Santos will be the exciting fight that fans were anticipating last year.

Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II

Their first encounter was something straight out of Hollywood. For weeks leading into the fight, Chael Sonnen went on a presidential-sized campaign of bashing Anderson Silva through the media and his Twitter account.

Not only did Sonnen back up his talk but he battered the champion for nearly four and a half rounds. Of course every MMA fan knows what happened in the last half of of the final round as Silva pulled off a miracle triangle attempt.

One would think the defeat would add a bit of humility to Sonnen but that doesn't seem to be possible as Sonnen continues to trash talk his opponent at every opportunity.

This rematch could be one of the biggest events in UFC history given the past between these two men and is pretty much the biggest box office fight the UFC has right now.