The rematch to one of the most surprising grudges of the year has been booked. The UFC yesterday announced that Johnny Bedford and Rani Yahya will rematch at UFC Fight Night 44: Swanson vs. Stephens, which takes place June 28 at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. The fight is scheduled for three five-minute rounds, but anyone who saw the pair’s first bout knows it’s not likely to go that long. It was just a few weeks ago at UFC Fight Night 39 when Yahya and Bedford clashed in a preliminary bantamweight card. The fight started off with Yahya throwing leg kicks and circling around Bedford while his opponent charged forward with extreme confidence and began throwing heavy punches. Then, out of nowhere, Yahya was knocked to the ground, Bedford pounced, and everyone who had Yahya in their parlays thought they were dead in the water. But replays showed it wasn’t a strike that knocked Yahya down, but rather a clash of heads, and the referee ended up making the right decision and declared the fight a No Contest, which was absolutely the right decision based on the fact one cannot win a fight by using an illegal blow in mixed martial arts. However, Bedford was extremely fired up by the decision to rule the fighta NC, and when UFC commentator Dan Hardy interviewed him in the cage afterwards, he went on a little tirade and told Yahya he was ready to finish the fight right there and then. Yahya, ever the sportsman, told Bedford to act like a professional and Bedford started to have a meltdown in the cage (he later apologized to Yahya on his Facebook) before demanding a rematch with Yahya in his backyard of Texas. Well, Bedford gets his wish as the two will meet again, only this time it is indeed in Bedford’s home state of Texas, and only this time it’s a grudge match — perhaps the most surprising grudge match of the year in mixed martial arts, and I would be shocked if this rematch went the full 15 minutes. As far as the odds for the rematch go, Yahya was a 2-to-1 favorite the first time around but it was clear to anyone watching the first fight that Bedford had a huge edge in the standup department and was likely on his way to a first-round knockout victory. As such, I expect the line for the second fight to be a lot closer, with Yahya being about -140 or so and Bedford around even money. And, honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the line flipped around completely and Bedford was actually a slight favorite in the rematch, especially considering it’s in his home state. I wasn’t too pumped up for the first clash between these two bantamweights — like most, I figured it was just preliminary card filler — but after what happened in the first fight I admit I’m pretty excited for this rematch and it should end up being a very entertaining fight for the fans when it finally goes down.
