Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin and the 25 Best Two-Fight Blowouts in MMA

There aren't too many rematches in MMA, but when there is, there is usually a lot more anticipation for them than the first time around.

Depending on how the first fight ends, it's a likely result that a rematch will occur if one fighter does just enough to get by the other or wins a controversial decision.

In other cases, a fighter may get beaten decisively in the first fight but rebuild himself back up to challenge the one who beat him. More often than not, it results in the same guy losing again and sometimes even more decisively.

Some things must be taken into consideration when determining which fighters produced the best two-fight blowouts in MMA history.

First, a finish is always favored over a decision. The sooner, the better. Quality of opponent is also taken into consideration.

Second, the second fight is weighed more heavily than the first so if the winner comes back and wins the rematch more decisively, it counts more than the other way around.

Remember, the fighter has to be 2-0 against their opponent. Trilogies where one fighter is 2-1 against the other will not be included.

Notable Mentions

Randy Couture defeats Pedro Rizzo (UFC 31, UFC 34)

Kimo Leopoldo defeats Patrick Smith (K-1 Legend, UFCF 1)

Igor Vovchanchyn defeats Gary Goodridge (Pride 4, Pride GP 2000)

Ken Shamrock defeats Bas Rutten (Pancrase)

Mark Coleman defeats Don Frye (UFC 10, Pride 26)

Sean Sherk defeats Karo Parisyan (Reality Submission Fighting 1 and 2)

Evan Tanner defeats Phil Baroni (UFC 45/UFC 48)

Josh Barnett defeats Semmy Schilt (UFC 32/Inoki,Bom-Ba-Ye 2003)

Nate Quarry defeats Pete Sell (UFN 1/UFN 11)

Matt Lindland defeats Phil Baroni (UFC 34/UFC 41)

No. 25: Forrest Griffin Def. Stephan Bonnar (TUF 1 Finale, UFC 62)

Ultimate Fighter 1 finalists Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin met in the season finale to determine who would get the six figure contract. Griffin edged Bonnar in arguably the greatest and most important fight in UFC history and won a unanimous decision.

To award both fighters' efforts, UFC President Dana White gave both competitors a six-figure contract.

The rematch would happen a year later at UFC 62. It was a much easier fight for Griffin this time around. His improved striking was enough to keep Bonnar on the end of his punches for the majority of the bout.

He won a decision and was now 2-0 against "The American Psycho."

No. 24: Fabricio Werdum Def. Gabriel Gonzaga (Jungle Fight 1, UFC 80)

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belts Fabricio Werdum and Gabriel Gonzaga met for the first time early in their careers in 2003.

The Jungle Fight show featured the heavyweight bout, and it was one where Werdum would wear his opponent down and win by TKO in the third round.

Gonzaga would go on to have a six-fight win streak before being stopped by Randy Couture in their title bout. To rebound from that loss, he decided to rematch Werdum, who was coming off a loss to Andrei Arlovski, at UFC 80.

Gonzaga showed success using his leg kicks but was eventually worn down and stopped by his much better conditioned opponent.

No. 23: Alistair Overeem Def. Vitor Belfort (Pride TE 2005, Strikeforce Revenge)

In the opening round of the Pride 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix, elite strikers Alistair Overeem and Vitor Belfort met to determine a quarterfinalist.

Overeem, who has one of the best guillotine submissions, was able to submit Belfort with a standing guillotine in the first round of their fight. He would use it to beat his next opponent as well before losing to Mauricio Rua in the semifinals. It was the only time Belfort has ever lost by submission.

With an up and down record after that bout, Overeem fought Belfort for the second time at a Strikeforce card in 2006, which was aptly named "Revenge." It wasn't as easy this time around, but "The Demolition Man" did win a unanimous decision over three rounds.

No. 22: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Def. Alistair Overeem (Pride 29, Pride FC 2006)

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Alistair Overeem fought at Pride 29 in 2005. Overeem, who had gone 2-0 since losing to Chuck Liddell, lost a unanimous decision over three rounds.

When they met again at Pride Critical Countdown Absolute in 2006, it was Rogerio who was coming off the loss and looking to get back on track.

Rogerio was able to get the finish in the rematch, but it was a confusing stoppage. Overeem appeared hurt but didn't appear to be going out. His corner decided to throw in the towel and save him from any more damage.

No. 21: Rich Franklin Def. Evan Tanner (UFC 42, UFC 53)

When a first fight is marred in controversy, it makes sense to have a rematch. That was the case in the two fights between middleweight fighters Rich Franklin and Evan Tanner. Their first one took place at UFC 42 in 2003

Franklin was making his UFC debut when he stopped Tanner with a barrage of strikes in the very first round. It was a questionable stoppage and one that didn't quite seal the deal of who the better fighter was.

After returning to the UFC in 2005, Franklin was able to take on the newly crowned UFC Middleweight Champion again at UFC 53.

"Ace" put a beating on Tanner for four rounds before the doctor stopped the fight. Franklin had to overcome being dropped in the fight, but he made it through with barely a mark on him.

No. 20: Frankie Edgar Def. BJ Penn (UFC 112, UFC 118)

It wasn't easy the first time around, but Frankie Edgar was able to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the year when he won a unanimous decision over BJ Penn at UFC 112 to win the UFC Lightweight Championship.

To many fans' surprise, one judge had the fight scored a complete shutout for Edgar. Because of the controversial decision, there was only one thing left to do and that was, have an immediate rematch.

Edgar came back better than ever and showcased his ever-improving skills to dominate Penn over five rounds in the rematch at UFC 118. There was no disputing a 50-45 scorecard in this one, and that's how the judges had it scored.

No. 19: Dominick Cruz Def. Joseph Benavidez (WEC 42, WEC 50)

Joseph Benavidez was riding a lot of momentum when he went into his WEC 42 bout with Dominick Cruz. After giving a fight of the night performance, Cruz walked away with the upset victory and a unanimous decision with the scores 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27. It was the first loss of Benavidez's career.

Cruz went on to win the WEC bantamweight title against Brian Bowles before facing Benavidez again at WEC 50.

In a close and competitive fight, Cruz walked away with a split-decision but one that most people thought he had won. The judges had it scored 49-46, 48-47 and 47-48 for Cruz. He still remains the only man to beat the Team Alpha Male fighter.

No. 18: Georges St. Pierre Def. BJ Penn (UFC 58, UFC 94)

Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn both wanted a crack at the UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes when they fought at UFC 58.

In one of the more gritty performances of St. Pierre's career, he battled through blood and bruises to win a split-decision over Penn. His late-fight takedowns appeared to win over the judges' decision in who to give the deciding round to.

Making St. Pierre quit seemed to be BJ Penn's goal leading up to the super-fight rematch at UFC 94.

Their first fight was close, and the second one was thought to be even closer. After a prime time countdown show over three weeks, the most anticipated UFC fight finally took place.

Penn's takedown defense got him through the first round untouched, but it didn't work for very long. St. Pierre got him down in the second round and put a beating on the former welterweight champion for three rounds before Penn's corner threw in the towel before Round 5.

No. 17: Urijah Faber Def. Jens Pulver (WEC 34, WEC 38)

As the face of the WEC and the lighter divisions, Urijah Faber planned on giving fans a fight to remember when he battled former UFC Lightweight Champion Jens Pulver at WEC 34.

Both fighters put on one of the best fights of the year, but it was Faber who walked away with a clear unanimous decision and his belt over five rounds.

When the rematch was set for WEC 38, both were coming off losses and hoping to make their way back into the title picture. Faber put himself into it by submitting Pulver a minute into the first round.

No. 16: Ben Henderson Def. Donald Cerrone (WEC 43, WEC 48)

The WEC's lightweight division got a lot more interesting when it decided to have a championship bout for the interim title between Ben Henderson and Donald Cerrone at WEC 43.

In what was many fans' fight of the year in 2009, Ben Henderson escaped submission attempts and out-hustled "The Cowboy" to win a unanimous decision after five rounds. Henderson used his wrestling and strength to take Cerrone down when he chose to.

With the exciting and competitive nature of the first fight being fresh in peoples' minds, both decided a rematch was necessary on the first ever WEC PPV at WEC 48.

In a fight that surprised many, Henderson submitted Cerrone shortly before the second-minute mark of the first round to retain his newly won WEC Lightweight Championship.

No. 15: Dan Henderson Def. Renato Sobral (KoK Tournament, Strikeforce)

In only the ninth fight of Dan Henderson's career, he took on Renato "Babalu" Sobral in the finals of the King of Kings Tournament in 1999.

In a not so fan-friendly type of fight, Henderson won a majority decision to extend his record to 9-0.

It would be over a decade later before they finally met again in 2010. Now, the fight was set to take place in Strikeforce. Both were completely different fighters, and it showed early.

Henderson made it a much more clearer victory as he pounded Sobral's face into the canvas to win by KO in the first round.

No. 14: Matt Hughes Def. Carlos Newton (UFC 34, UFC 38)

Matt Hughes challenged then UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Newton at UFC 34.

Hughes took a 29-3 record into the bout and had won seven straight since losing earlier that year in 2001.

In one of the more controversial moments of Hughes' career, he took the title away from Newton when he slammed him from the top of the cage to the canvas and put him out. Newton, who had locked on a triangle choke before the slam, appeared to have put Hughes to sleep as well.

Fortunately for Hughes, he only went out momentarily. It took him a few seconds before he actually realized what happened and jumped on the cage to celebrate his victory.

The two had a rematch at UFC 38 where Hughes displayed his dominant wrestling ability and vicious ground and pound to win by TKO in the third round. He would use the same position, the crucifix, the defeat BJ Penn later in his career.

No. 13: Fedor Emelianenko Def. Antonio Nogueira (Pride 25, Pride Shockwave)

Even though Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira met three times, only two were official results. The other was a no contest after Emelianenko's forehead was cut open by a headbutt.

The first fight between the two MMA legends was at Pride 25. Nogueira went into the bout as the Pride Heavyweight Champion but left the ring without his belt after Emelianenko put on one of the more impressive displays of ground and pound to win a clear-cut decision.

Their final fight was at Pride Shockwave in 2004. It was for the Pride Interim Heavyweight Championship as well as the Pride Heavyweight Grand Prix belt.

Emelianenko dominated Nogueira once again and won an easy decision against one of the most durable fighters the world has ever seen.

No. 12: Mike Brown Def. Urijah Faber (WEC 36, WEC 41)

Mike Brown went into his fight with WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber as the underdog but emerged as one of the best fighters in the world when he stopped "The California Kid" in the very first round at WEC 36. All it took was one shot, and the championship was now in the hands of Brown.

It wouldn't be long before they both had a rematch less than a year later at WEC 41.

It was a much more competitive fight than the first, and one that would go the distance. Faber fought with two broken hands to lose a decision but had won over a lot of fans for the heart he displayed.

Brown continued to prove his dominance in the division by retaining his title over the five-round distance.

No. 11: Brian Bowles Def. Damacio Page (WEC 35, UFC Live 3)

It's highly unlikely anyone will be able to copy what former WEC Bantamweight Champion Brian Bowles did to Damacio Page in their two fights.

They first fought at WEC 35 where Bowles finished Page by guillotine choke at 3:30 in the first round. He would go on to fight and defeat Miguel Torres to win the belt soon after.

After losing the title in his next fight, Bowles hoped to erase the memory of the loss when he faced his former foe in his UFC debut at UFC Live 3.

Three-and-a-half minutes into the first round, Bowles locked on a tight guillotine choke and put Page to sleep.

To make the submission that more crazy, it was at the exact same time of their first fight. A two-fight blowout doesn't get better than that.

No. 10: Jon Fitch Def. Thiago Alves (UFN 5, UFC 117)

Behind Georges St. Pierre, there were the best two best welterweights in Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves. They weren't considered the best when they first met in 2006.

Their first fight wasn't as intriguing as the second, but it was one of the better performances of Fitch's career. He stopped the muay thai kickboxer in the second round of their bout at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 5.

When they met again at UFC 117 in 2010, both had challenged for the title belt and lost one-sided decisions. Alves had shown quite an amount of improvement since the loss but wanted his shot at redemption.

Even though Fitch couldn't get the finish this time around, he put on a wrestling clinic and beat Alves by unanimous decision.

No. 9: Fedor Emelianenko Def. Mark Coleman (Pride TE 2004, Pride 32)

In the opening round of the Pride 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix, Pride Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko took on a former Pride GP champion in Mark "The Hammer" Coleman.

It only took two minutes for the Russian to lock on an armbar, and Coleman had no choice but to tap or have his arm broken.

In 2006, both met for a rematch in Emelianenko's first bout in the U.S. at Pride 32. Coleman survived long enough to have his face beaten into a bloody pulp before being caught in an armbar once again during the second round.

Two armbar submissions over the same opponent is a rare thing, but Emelianenko got it done.

No. 8: Chuck Liddell Def. Renato Sobral (UFC 40, UFC 62)

Chuck Liddell and Renato "Babalu" Sobral met at UFC 40 at a time when "The Iceman" had defeated some of the best known fighters in the sport. He had won 10 straight, including victories over Vitor Belfort, Guy Mezger and Kevin Randleman.

Liddell displayed his stand up skills in the first round by throwing a head kick that put Sobral down. He followed up and got the TKO victory.

When they rematched at UFC 62, Sobral had proven himself a worthy contender by winning 10 fights in a row over fighters like Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Chael Sonnen and Mike Van Arsdale.

Now, Sobral would be challenging Liddell for the light heavyweight belt. It proved to be a no contest between the two as Liddell knocked Sobral out at just 1:35 into the first round.

No. 7: Georges St. Pierre Def. Josh Koscheck (UFC 74, UFC 124)

Josh Koscheck went into both of his fights with Georges St. Pierre not knowing what to expect from the pound-for-pound star.

They first met at UFC 74 in St. Pierre's first bout since being knocked out by Matt Serra. Koscheck, who didn't expect to be out-wrestled by the Canadian, was taken down and smothered by GSP for three rounds. St. Pierre walked away with a unanimous decision victory.

Koscheck would eventually earn a rematch against St. Pierre, who had gone 6-0 since the last time they fought, at UFC 124.

Knowing that the wrestling might not be the key to success, Koscheck decided to keep this fight standing. It didn't work to his advantage as he was brutally punished by St. Pierre's jab for five rounds.

Two fights that were totally different ended up being totally one-sided for St. Pierre.

No. 6: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua Def. Alistair Overeem (Pride FC 2005, Pride 33)

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua was one of the youngest and most dynamic fighters when he signed up for the Pride 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix. After defeating Quinton Jackson in the quarterfinal, he was paired up with Alistair Overeem at Final Conflict.

Rua proved to be too much for the Dutch kickboxer and stopped him in the first round.

They rematched at Pride 33 where Rua got one of the most brutal knockouts of his career when he landed a right hand from the guard of Overeem, who immediately was knocked out by the shot.

No. 5: Matt Hughes Def. Frank Trigg (UFC 45, UFC 52)

Matt Hughes was one of the most dominant welterweight champions in the world, and he proved it by submitting Frank Trigg in both of their meetings at UFC 45 and UFC 52.

Both ended by rear-naked choke, and it was the first one that really stood out because it was one of the first times many people had seen a standing RNC.

The second fight ended up being a lot more competitive as Trigg was able to rock and almost submit Hughes quickly in the first round. Hughes reversed the position and slammed Trigg from across the Octagon.

After Hughes landed some brutal elbows that bloodied his opponent, he locked on the RNC and forced Trigg to tap once again.

No. 4: Dennis Hallman Def. Matt Hughes (Extreme Challenge 21, UFC 29)

Beating Matt Hughes is hard enough, but to do it two times in under a minute is even tougher. Dennis Hallman managed to do it and got the two best wins on his record of over 60 bouts.

The first fight came at Extreme Challenge 21 in 1998. It only took 17 seconds for him to submit the future UFC Welterweight Champion with a guillotine choke.

Hughes would challenge Hallman again at UFC 29 in 2000. He lasted four seconds longer than the first time around as Hallman was able to submit him with an armbar 21 seconds into the fight.

No. 3: Chuck Liddell Def. Tito Ortiz (UFC 47, UFC 66)

One of the greatest rivalries in MMA history was between UFC Light Heavyweight Champions Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.

Rivalries create enough buzz for more than one fight no matter how the first one turns out. These two had a lot of bad blood between them, and it made for one of the most anticipated light heavyweight matchups in the history of the UFC.

Liddell proved his superiority over Ortiz by knocking "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" twice in fights at UFC 47 and UFC 66. They made up some of the best and most defining moments of "The Iceman's" career.

No. 2: Quinton Jackson Def. Chuck Liddell (Pride Final Conflict 2003, UFC 71)

With Chuck Liddell just coming off his KO win over Alistair Overeem, he appeared to be the guy to go through and win the Pride tournament in 2003.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson had a much tougher time with Murilo Bustamante, who he beat by split-decision on the same card.

They met for the first time at Pride Final Conflict in 2003. Jackson was the much better conditioned and stronger of the two, and he showed it by stopping the future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion in the very first round.

Jump to four years later, and Liddell is now the most dominant and feared 205 pound fighter in the world. There was only one person on his record who he had not beaten, and that was Jackson. 

Jackson didn't let it get to him and went into UFC 71 with a knockout on his mind. He got it two minutes into the bout and was the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

No. 1: Anderson Silva Def. Rich Franklin (UFC 64, UFC 77)

Anderson Silva introduced himself to UFC fans when he stopped Chris Leben in his debut in 2006. He would go on to challenge UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin at UFC 64.

Silva put Franklin away in the first round and made it look easy as he punished his opponent with devastating knees to the head and body from the clinch. Franklin's broken nose told the story of the fight.

As dynamic and brutal of a finish the first one was, some were expecting the second to be a lot more competitive and go longer. They got the second part right as Franklin was knocked out in the second round in the rematch at UFC 77. 

To make things worse, he got his nose broken again, and it was in his hometown.