10 MMA Rematches Absolutely No One Asked For

TL;DR

Ten pointless MMA rematches driven by lazy booking, nostalgia bait, or Dana White favoritism rather than merit.

Key Points

• 1.Fedor vs. Coleman 2 was pure spectacle with no competitive purpose. Pride used it to headline their first US show, but Fedor had already arm-barred Coleman quickly in 2004 — and did almost identically in the rematch.
• 2.Velasquez vs. Bigfoot Silva 2 was booked just one year after their first fight. Bigfoot was demolished in round one the first time, and in the rematch Cain finished him in half the time, making the outcome completely inevitable.
• 3.Volk vs. Lopez 2 was criticized for ignoring more deserving contenders. Unbeaten Lone Murphy (10 straight UFC wins, ranked #4) and Ilia Topuria's unbeaten streak holder IDK Iblov were both bypassed so the UFC could fill a Paramount date on an Aussie card.
• 4.Strickland vs. Du Plessis 2 made no sense with Hamza Chimaev clearly next in line. Strickland earned the rematch off a split decision over Paulo Costa, who had lost four of his last five, representing arguably the weakest title shot justification on the list.
• 5.Sean O'Malley received back-to-back unearned rematches against Vera and Merab. The UFC booked Vera 2 to protect O'Malley's new title rather than face Merab immediately, then gave O'Malley a Merab rematch despite being soundly beaten and having not fought for nearly a year.
• 6.Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler 2 topped the list as the most pointless rematch — even Diaz himself said so. Diaz had been out seven years, his last win nearly nine years prior, and despite 526 total strikes in three rounds, he quit in the third in a fight that should never have been made.