UFC 136: Edgar vs. Maynard and 3 Upcoming Rematches You Don't Want to Miss

The UFC is hosting their biggest matchups of the year in the second half of 2011, and several rematches will be headlining their pay-per-view cards before the end of it.

After controversial endings for most of the fights on this list, many fans as well as the fighters called for a rematch. Controversy is what draws fans to watch a fight again, and these fights are not short on that.

Others are happening for the simple fact that people just want to see it again after the first one produced a shocking result that was hard to believe.

Whatever is the case, these are three intriguing rematches you don't want to miss.

No. 3: Nam Phan vs. Leonard Garcia

A rematch between featherweights Nam Phan and Leonard Garcia was recently added to the main card of UFC 136, and it should answer a lot of questions about the outcome of the first fight.

It was awarded fight of the night at the TUF 12 Finale, but the first fight was marred in controversy after Garcia walked away with a split-decision that many thought Phan had won. It was one of the top candidates for robbery of the year.

It's not the first time Garcia has been involved in controversial bouts. Five of his last seven bouts have ended by split-decision. He won three of them and had a draw in one.

Aside from the decision, this should be a fun fight to open the pay-per-broadcast of UFC 136. Garcia is really never in a boring fight and was involved in the 2010 fight of the year versus Chan Sung-Jung.

No. 2: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir

UFC 140 will be headlined by a heavyweight matchup featuring former heavyweight champions Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

They first met in an interim title bout at UFC 92 in Dec. 2008. Mir shocked the MMA world by knocking out Nogueira and becoming the first man to finish the Brazilian.

After the fight, Nogueira revealed he had been dealing with a serious staph infection that kept him in the hospital for an extensive period before the fight.

Since the bout, "Minotauro" has gone 2-2 with victories over Brendan Schaub and Randy Couture. Mir has gone 3-2 with victories over Roy Nelson, Mirko Cro Cop and Cheick Kongo.

A title fight could be on the line for the winner of this bout, or at the least, could put them into a No. 1 contender's fight for a shot at the winner of Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos or Alistair Overeem vs. Brock Lesnar.

No. 1: Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard

UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar has unfinished business with Gray Maynard, and between the two fights they have had, he has yet to get a victory over his most dangerous opponent.

Maynard is still undefeated after drawing with Edgar at UFC 125. After nearly knocking out Edgar in the first round, Maynard was certain he had the win secured. Edgar fought back enough to earn a draw in a bout that saw him retain his title as the champion.

That was a rematch of a 2008 bout that Maynard won by unanimous decision. Neither fighter would earn a title shot till 2010, and when Edgar did, he defeated B.J. Penn at UFC 112. He would go on to beat him again in a rematch later that year before defending his title against Maynard on the first of this year.

It's not crazy to think both of these fighters could have their second and third fights on the list of fight of the year candidates.