UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II and the 10 Greatest Rematches

What is it that makes a rematch great? Is it the heat that stems from a rivalry? Perhaps, it's when a first encounter has unfinished business. Sometimes, it's simply because the second fight turned in a thrilling night of fireworks. 

When Anderson Silva meets Chael Sonnen at UFC 148, he has got to prove that the first fight was a fluke. The Spider overcame an incredibly slow start that saw him battered, beaten and bruised for more than 20 minutes.

To forever cement his status as the greatest fighter of all time, he will need to violently dispatch of Sonnen; proving to the world that he is the superior fighter and that outside factors led to the one-sided whooping he took in their first contest.

In anticipation of UFC 148, here is a look at the 10 Greatest Rematches in UFC history.

Matt Serra vs. Chris Lytle II

Going into UFC 119, the only people clamoring for a rematch between Matt Serra and Chris Lytle were Matt Serra and Chris Lytle. Both fighters progressed tremendously since their Ultimate Fighter 4 meeting, which was the first tournament final to be deemed lackluster.

In their later years, Lytle and Serra became known for their desire to show aggression and put on thrilling performances. Lytle holds the records for Fight Night bonuses and Serra has won Fight of the Night and Knockout of the Night in his most recent showings.

When the two squared off the second time around, they had a gentlemen's agreement that the contest would be a war in which neither man took the battle to the ground.

Let's take a look at a post from FightMetric to see how the fight went:

"

Congratulations to Chris Lytle and Matt Serra! Their fight at UFC 119 set a new UFC record for most combined significant strikes landed in a single fight. Lytle landed 153 significant strikes and Serra landed 124 for a new record-high of 277. This was a major leap past the previous high of 187, set by Chris Lytle and Paul Taylor at UFC 89. This is also the only fight in UFC history in which both fighters each landed more than 100 significant strikes.

"

Shogun Rua vs. Lyoto Machida II

UFC 104 saw a thrilling battle between light-heavyweights Lyoto Machida and Shogun Rua, in which the challenger would outstrike the seemingly unbeatable champion over the course of five rounds.

When the scorecards came back, Shogun, along with the rest of the MMA world, was agasp by the fact that Machida had somehow been declared the victor.

The decision was controversial and it enraged many fans. To this day, it is cited as one of the worst decisions in the sport.

Shogun was considered the uncrowned champion of PRIDE for awhile, and it appeared that when he finally captured gold, it was ripped from his hands without mercy.

The two would have an immediate rematch at UFC 113 that saw Shogun finish the job he started. An enormous right hand would send Machida to the canvas in a daze, and a pair of punches on the ground would leave the champion in a limp and motionless state.

Spencer Fisher vs. Sam Stout II

It takes a lot for the Zuffa boys to sign a rematch of fighters who are miles away from title contention. Spencer Fisher and Sam Stout had a magical battle the first time around, and Joe Silva decided that they needed to do it again 15 months later.

This time around, they would have high expectations, as they fought in the main event. After 15 minutes of thrilling action, Fisher would avenge his loss in the first fight by earning a unanimous decision victory.

The first battle ranked at No. 16 on the UFC Ultimate 100 countdown of the top fights in the promotion's history. The sequel didn't score quite as high, but still made the list at No. 65.

Their third battle took place at UFC on FX 4, although it didn't quite live up to the thrill of their first two, but it did win Fight of the Night honors.

Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir II

Brock Lesnar was a professional wrestler who made his way into mixed martial arts on a whim. After an incredible collegiate career in wrestling, it was known that he had spectacular skills in one aspect of the game, but could he compete with the best fighters in the world?

When Lesnar debuted in the UFC, he did so against former Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir. As soon as the fight began, Lesnar made an immediate impact by securing a takedown and landing some heavy ground and pound.

After a questionable restart from referee Steve Mazzagatti, the fight went back to the canvas, where Mir was able to secure a kneebar; 90 seconds into the contest.

The two fighters went their separate ways after the encounter. Mir would square off with Big Nog and win the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship, while Lesnar would defeat Heath Herring and Randy Couture to capture the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

With each man in possession of a championship belt, the hotly anticipated rematch was booked for UFC 100. 

For those of you who live under a rock, Brock Lesnar would win the rematch via TKO in the second round after some nasty ground and pound. The contest headlined the biggest Pay-Per-View in UFC history and the card received an unprecedented 1,600,000 buys.

Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg II

Frank Trigg received a title shot in his UFC debut. The 10-1 fighter had just defeated Dennis Hallman via TKO in the first round in the World Fighting Alliance.

Why is that relevant? Hallman had previously bested UFC Welterweight champion Matt Hughes twice, so when Trigg was able to quickly dispatch of him, "Twinkletoes" was considered to be a major threat to Hughes and his belt.

Their first encounter was one of the best one-round fights in UFC history, which saw Hughes secure a rear-naked choke four minutes into the first round. 

After scoring a pair of TKO wins inside the Octagon, Dana White was excited to book Hughes vs Trigg II.

The rematch took place at UFC 52 and Frank Trigg nearly pulled off the upset. After a low blow went unnoticed by the referee, Hughes was badly hurt while trying to fend off the attacks of his foe. 

Trigg would knock Hughes down and clamp on a rear-naked choke. The end was near, but not in the manner that appeared to be imminent. 

Somehow, Hughes would escape the choke, throw Trigg onto his shoulder and charge across the cage before slamming his opponent onto the canvas. Hughes locked in an RNC of his own to secure the tapout and retain his gold.

Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz II

When a scheduled battle between PRIDE champion Wanderlei Silva and Chuck Liddell fell through, it looked as if fans would have a disappointing replacement instead. Boy, were they wrong!

UFC 66 ended up with a historic main event between The Iceman and The Huntington Beach Bad Boy. The battle was a rematch from their April 2004 meeting, which saw Liddell KO Ortiz in the 2nd round.

After the win, Liddell would go on to win the UFC Light-Heavyweight championship from Randy Couture, and then defend the belt against Couture, Babalu Sobral and Jeremy Horn.

Likewise, Ortiz picked up three consecutive wins, against the likes of Patrick Cote, Vitor Belfort and Forrest Griffin.

With the two on an inevitable collision course, the rematch saw even more anticipation than the first. Ortiz would pick up two additional wins against Ken Shamrock and earn a shot at the belt.

Liddell would show his superiority once again when he knocked out Ortiz in the third round. The event would be the first UFC Pay-Per-View to receive more than one million buys.

Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture II & III

The biggest legends in the history of the light-heavyweight division have squared off three times inside the Octagon, and each time, there was gold on the line.

In their first encounter, Couture shocked many by knocking out Liddell, who was widely considered to be the superior striker. The battle saw much praise, and it crowned Couture as the UFC Interim Light-Heavyweight Champion. 

After the conclusion of coaching The Ultimate Fighter, the two future Hall of Famers would meet once again at UFC 52. This time, Chuck was able to throw a strike while backpedaling, and it connected hard. Following a pair of strikes on the ground, the fight was stopped and Liddell would begin his iconic championship reign.

When their rematch broke PPV records, it made sense to host a rubber match between the legends. 

The third fight took place at UFC 59. Once again, the event broke the record for UFC buyrates, as it scored 400,000 purchases. While this number seems low, in early 2006, it was a landmark.

Liddell would find himself to be successful once again, as he was able to KO Couture in the second round. 

Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre II & III

Matt Hughes has nearly 60 fights throughout his career. It makes sense that he has engaged in several rematches. Additionally, Hughes has found himself in a couple of trilogies through his storied past.

The trilogy of battles against Georges St. Pierre is one of the most important series of fights in the history of the UFC.

It represents a passing of the torch from a man who was considered the greatest welterweight of all time into the hands of a man who could ultimately go down as the greatest fighter in MMA history.

Georges St. Pierre challenged Matt Hughes for the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 50 after scoring wins over Jay Hieron and Karo Parisyan. Hughes would secure an armbar with only one-second left in the first round. 

The loss was the first in GSP's career, and it sent him out of the UFC. Upon his return, GSP would win four fights against big-time players to earn a rematch.

"Rush" would dominate Hughes the second time around; en route to a 2nd round TKO.

This would be the last time that Hughes would touch UFC gold, however, it was not his last time competing for it. When champion Matt Serra was injured, Hughes would square off with GSP a third time at UFC 79 for the UFC Interim Welterweight Championship.

Once again, GSP would find himself in the winner's circle after he was able to catch Hughes in a nasty armbar.

Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard II & III

When fighters have a lackluster fight the first time around, it's rare to see Joe Silva pit them against each other again.

Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard met for the UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 125, and they made fans forget about their wrestling-centric battle at UFC Fight Night 13. Instead, the pair turned in a Fight of the Year candidate that saw Gray Maynard come within an eyelash of strapping the belt around his waist.

Edgar would show the world that he is unmatched when it comes to heart and determination, as he was able to come back from the brink of defeat and work his way to a split draw.

There was no controversy behind the draw, but these two men had unfinished business. To not give them another go at it would be unfair to fans and to the division.

At UFC 136, the two squared off for the third time. Battling fiercely into the fourth round, it looked as if we could be on the way to yet another draw. The first round had likely been scored 10-8 in favor of Maynard; who nearly finished with strikes.

Ultimately, Edgar would close out the rivalry after landing some heavy strikes that left Maynard as a semi-conscious mess on the floor. The win secured "The Answer" as the top lightweight in the world, and marked his third successful title defense.  

Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II

Is it possible? Are we really less than a week away from the biggest rematch in the history of mixed martial arts? Are Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen preparing to recreate the magic from their UFC 117 battle? 

There are a lot of questions surrounding this rematch because there were a lot of questions stemming from the original encounter.

How will Chael perform with his T/E levels in check? How much better will Silva perform without a rib injury? How much will Silva's reported knee injury impact him in the second encounter?

The questions keep coming. Has he come up with a game plan to avoid being taken to the canvas and pounded on once again? Will Silva be able to make Sonnen pay for the countless verbal barbs that have been slung? Will he live up to his promise to break limbs and knock out teeth?

These are things that we can speculate on, but will be unable to answer until the rematch takes place on Saturday night when this heated rivalry comes to a boiling point.