Anytime a fighter loses, if he really did his best, he usually wants a rematch to prove he can be better .
Chuck Liddell took pride in settling the score in his rematches. He creamed Jeremy Horn the second time around, as he did Randy Couture. But sadly, he gained no satisfaction when he fought Quinton “Rampage” Jackson the second time, getting knocked out in short order.
It’s easy to see why fighters want rematches, but which sequels do the fans want to see, and why?
Most of the time, it’s because a fight was close and the winner was disputed; thus, a rematch is set up to give final and definitive proof as to who deserves to be the victor.
Occasionally, a rematch is booked because a normally good fighter had such a bad showing that the result is best forgotten; the best version of whomever never showed up, so the other guy won almost by default.
And finally, sometimes rematches happen as a due process of divisional rankings. Two fighters met before, and months or years later they meet again. But even as innocent as that sounds, you can bet the bout has some significance for both men.
Either way, a rematch has a special place in our hearts. Here are 10 rematches that we would like to see, offered in the spirit of settling disputes, redeeming bad showings and serving due process.