Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber and 10 Other Rematches I Want to See, Part 2

Welcome to part two of my top-10 fights that deserve a rematch. Yesterday I posted rematches six through 10, so today the top five get all the attention.

Expect the top five to feature more star power and have more divisional impact. Again, I will not be including rematches that are already scheduled to happen. Let's take a look.

5. Diego Sanchez vs. Martin Kampmann

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This fight main evented UFC Live 3 on Versus.

Kampmann was on the heels of a controversial split-decision loss to Jake Shields and Diego had just gutted out a Fight of the Night win over Paulo Thiago. Everyone knew the fight had potential for fireworks, but I don’t think anyone could have expected what would happen in the octagon for the next 15 minutes.

Martin Kampmann picked Sanchez apart in the first round and stuffed all his takedown attempts. Round 2 saw Diego pick up the pace to Tazmanian Devil levels and started having success with his striking against the cage. With each fighter taking a round, the third round would definitely be the deciding factor. Diego finally got Kampmann down, but The Hitman sprung back to his feet almost immediately.

The end of the fight saw Kampmann tending to a possible broken hand, and Diego bleeding profusely. Blood was actually oozing out the towel his corner put on his multiple cuts. The end result gave Diego a puzzling unanimous decision. Both men received an extra $140,000 for their troubles in a Fight of the Night bonus.

Rematch

Let me just go on record to say that I think Kampmann won the first fight. It was close, but Diego clearly lost in the striking department, and was only successful on one of his many takedown attempts. If the rematch were to happen, I would give it to Kampmann.

Diego said he trained nothing but wrestling for his camp and still only got one takedown (and couldn’t even do anything with it). I expect Kampmann to let his hands go more and avoid being pinned against the cage. Diego had his best success when he was throwing wild haymakers while Kampmann’s back was against the cage.

Prediction: Martin Kampmann defeats Diego Sanchez by unanimous decision.

4. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Shogun Rua

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For this fight we travel back in time to the PRIDE days.

Shogun was the hot, young rookie and Rampage was the proven veteran known for his vicious slams. It had all the makings of a back-and-forth battle between age and experience. The fight itself, however, was a complete blowout.

Rampage had injured his ribs shortly before the fight, but did not pull out due to financial problems. Shogun blitzed Jackson and unleashed a brutal combination of knees, kicks, and punches that left Jackson covering up in the corner. This was the last time Jackson was stopped and truly dominated.

Rematch 

I have gone back in forth on this fight so much because it is hard to predict which version of each man will appear.

Will we get the Shogun who solved the Machida puzzle and ran rampant through PRIDE? Or will we get the Shogun who looked sluggish and soft against Mark Coleman and Jon Jones? The same questions can be applied to Rampage. Will we see the Rampage who KOd Wanderlei Silva and Chuck Liddell or the out of shape Rampage who lost to Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans?

For the sake of this column, I am going to assume both men will be as close to 100 percent as possible. With that, I am slightly leaning towards Shogun based on Jackson’s unwillingness to check leg kicks. A Rampage win would not shock me at all, but Rua is the more versatile striker and I do not think this fight will be decided on the ground. I don’t think he will finish Jackson, but I think he will do enough to win a very close decision.

Predicition: Shogun Rua defeats Rampage Jackson by decision.

3. Wanderlei Silva vs. Vitor Belfort

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People will remember this as the fight that truly showed just how fast Vitor Belfort is. The fight lasted less than a minute and ended with a flurry that knocked Silva out before Wandy knew what happened.

After that fight, Belfort showed extreme inconsistency highlighted by beating Randy Couture for the 205 strap and followed by losses anytime he faced a top-10 fighter. Wanderlei would go on to dominate PRIDE and become their longest reigning champion and biggest star.

Rematch 

Both men have expressed interest in a rematch, and this is a fight I fully expect to happen within the next year. This is a tough fight to predict because of Belfort’s inconsistent performances and Silva’s recent injuries and decline. Both men are capable of knocking the other out and are skillful on the ground if it ends up on the mat.

Another hard fight to predict, but history has shown that Belfort does not respond well when his opponents pressure him, which is exactly what Wanderlei is known for. Vitor has better hands but doesn’t really throw many kicks, knees or elbows. Silva has the advantage in the clinch (just ask Rampage) and throws a wider variety of strikes. I’ll go with the upset and pick Silva to swarm Belfort for three rounds and finish him sometime in the third round.

Prediction: Wanderlei Silva vs. Vitor Belfort by third round TKO

2. Forrest Griffin vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

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Fresh off their gigs as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 7, Forrest Griffin challenged Quinton "Rampage" Jackson for his title back in 2008. Few gave Griffin a chance to upset Jackson, who had just unified the PRIDE and UFC belts with a win over Dan Henderson.

The fight was extremely close and fans wondered how the judges would score the surprisingly competitive fight. Not only did Forrest prove himself by going toe-to-toe with Jackson for 25 minutes (and chopped him down in the second for a 10-8 round), he proved to be the best in the world at 205 by winning the title. Afterwards, Jackson was gracious in defeat, but would soon tell anyone who would listen how he thought he should have been given the nod. Rampage has campaigned for a rematch ever since.

Rematch 

Given Rampage’s burning desire to avenge his loss to Forrest, I do not predict Rampage to come into this (fictional) bout under-motivated. Rampage would train harder than ever to not only beat Forrest, but finish him, leaving no doubt who the better man is. Also, expect Forrest to have the same mindset as he has now for is upcoming rematch with Shogun, to prove that the first fight wasn’t a fluke.

As much as I love Forrest, an angry and driven Rampage should beat Forrest more often than not. Rampage is stronger, more powerful and has knockout power in both hands. Look for both guys to come out firing strong in the first round, but Jackson will eventually clip Griffin and finish him off with some devastating ground and pound for a second round TKO.

Prediction: Quinton Rampage Jackson to defeat Forrest Griffin by second round TKO

1. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen

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Could it really be anything else? You have the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world that has beaten the best in the world for over four years without breaking a sweat, defending his belt against the best trash-talker in UFC history. People say that Tito Ortiz, Phi Baroni, and Josh Koscheck are good trash-talkers, they don’t even compare to Sonnen.

Sonnen had talked more smack than any other fighter in MMA history. No one really cared about Silva’s next victim until the Chael Sonnen hype train arrived and made us all tune in to watch one of the best fights in UFC history.

For 23 minutes, Sonnen did what no man has done—he made Silva look bad. Anderson has lost before, but he had never been embarrassed. Sonnen not only beat up Silva on the ground, he dropped him standing. Let me say that again, Chael Sonnen, the wrestler, dropped the best striker in the UFC standing.

Wow.

Just as it looked like we were about to crown a new champion, Silva threw up his legs and locked in a triangle to make Sonnen tap. It was by far the best comeback ever and the ironic finish (Sonnen had said that getting a black belt from the Nogueira brothers was like getting a toy in a Happy Meal) was poetic.

Rematch 

Silva attributed his poor takedown defense to a rib injury he sustained shortly before the fight. Also, Sonnen got busted for PED’s after the fight so we don’t know how that may have affected things.

As far as an inevitable rematch is concerned, I see Anderson emerging victorious again.

Anderson is just too skilled a striker and Sonnen has some serious submission defense issues that I can’t pick against The Spider. I do think Chael will have success in the takedown department, but I don’t think he will be able to deal with Silva throwing up submissions every time his back hits the mat. The real winner is us, the fans, because we get to hear more entertaining zings from Sonnen’s smack talk.

Prediction: Anderson Silva to defeat Chael Sonnen by submission (triangle choke—again)