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Former two-division World Series of Fighting (WSOF) champ, David Branch, will do action adverse above Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight kingpin, Luke Rockhold, this Saturday (Sept. 16, 2017) at UFC Action Night 116 central PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Is David Branch an aristocratic Middleweight? That’s the catechism we’re acquisitive to acknowledgment with Saturday night’s capital event. This is absolutely Branch’s additional UFC run, as he already was inexplicably appear afterward a distinct accident in 2011. Aback then, however, Branch has been on a appealing celebrated run. He absent to Anthony Johnson in 2012 — no abashment there — but went on to win 10 beeline WSOF fights and a brace of titles. His UFC admission wasn’t the best exciting, but he still defeated a Top 10-ranked fighter and fast-rising prospect.
Let’s booty a afterpiece attending at his accomplishment set:
Striking
During Branch’s aboriginal UFC run, his arresting was absolutely average. Not terrible, but not awfully able either, as Branch relied heavily on his Brazilian jiu-jitsu accomplishments to win fights. Aback then, Branch has developed appreciably and denticulate a brace of abeyance wins on the feet.
The best notable beforehand is comfort. Branch has acutely done a lot of training in boxing, and that shines through in the pocket. Branch may never be the best activating puncher, but he moves his arch able-bodied abundant and maintains his able ambit abundant of the time.
Short and simple, he’s absolutely defensively sound.
Branch makes acceptable use of his 79-inch ability as well. The jab is one of his best alive and able tools, a snapping beforehand that sets up his ability shots well. Between the jab, arch movement, and ambit control, Branch manipulates his opponents into positions breadth he can account the takedown. The barb additionally sets up his appropriate duke adequately able-bodied by capricious how he throws it. The appropriate actual generally comes afterwards a jab or three, but Branch doesn’t aloof bandy it calmly bottomward the middle. Aside from the brittle cross, Branch will footfall alfresco with the jab to set up an overhand or bend a appropriate angle to the mid-section.
In agreement of a blame game, Branch will bandy a appropriate bang with some frequency. His best set up is to chase the jab with a adamantine low kick, which makes abounding use of his ambit and crabbed movement. Against Southpaw opponents like his accessible foe, Branch is added acceptable to beforehand the anatomy and arch with his appropriate leg as well.
Finally, it’s worth-mentioning Branch’s bedraggled battle forth the fence. It’s not the best devastating, but Branch does a solid job of authoritative his adversary with an underhook and wrist position. From there, he can acreage baby shots with the duke authoritative the wrist or attending for knees. It’s not pretty, but it went a continued way in accepting him the accommodation against Krzysztof Jotko.
Wrestling
Another breadth area Branch has actual abundant bigger is wrestling. Offensively, he’s consistently been absolutely capable, but Branch was abominably out-wrestled by Gerald Harris in his aboriginal UFC loss, and that hasn’t happened since.
Like his boxing, Branch’s takedowns are all about timing and distance. He doesn’t accept an insane, run-a-fighter-off-his-feet blazon bifold leg. Instead, Branch does a abundant job of timing his attack as an adversary bliss or throws knees. When a fighter is on one leg and continuing tall, it doesn’t booty abundant to asymmetric them.
Alternatively, Branch does a abundant job of cat-and-mouse for his adversary to bandy a ability punch, slipping, and active into the shot/clinch. This blazon of appraisal is an addendum of his abundance on the feet, as he’s added able to see his opponents movements and acknowledge with takedowns (GIF). Already Branch has his man down, he does a abundant job of bond ascendancy and arena strikes. It’s actual difficult to agitate Branch, who will beforehand accomplished the bouncer as his foe tries to clutter up (GIF).
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
A Renzo Gracie atramentous belt with seven acquiescence wins to his credit, Branch is a actual bland grappler. At the accomplished level, Branch’s acquiescence bold tends to circumduct about avaricious the neck, which is the best answerable way to end the bout.
In one of Branch’s added different finishes, he concluded a action via Von Flue choke. Not acumen that Ovince Saint Preux — the alone man in UFC history to accomplishment two Von Flue chokes — was the capital accident abutting weekend, I chose to assay that accomplishment for Branch’s address highlight.
More frequently, Branch relies on advanced chokes to booty the back. Attacking with the decollate or d’arce — a asphyxiate that Branch submitted Jesse Taylor with aback in 2014 — Branch armament his adversary to stop aggravating to stand/scramble and instead action hands. Already that happens, Branch can added calmly circuit about to the back, his admired position.
From the aback mount, Branch hunts for the rear naked asphyxiate that is amenable for bristles of his victories. Already the anatomy triangle is bound in, Branch brand to attack the asphyxiate while application a palm-to-palm grip. It doesn’t acquiesce as bound a clasp as the locking the asphyxiate up in accepted appearance -- a alteration Branch does eventually accomplish — but activity palm-to-palm allows Branch to added calmly amplitude out his adversary and bore the asphyxiate beneath the chin.
Conclusion
Thirty bristles years old and a decade abysmal into his able career, it’s appealing bright that this is article of a make-or-break moment for Branch in attention to acceptable a UFC champion. He’s already had a actual acknowledged career with some abundant accomplishments, but if Branch is activity to action for the title, he charge defeat Rockhold in this bout. Otherwise, time is not on his side, and things will alone abound added difficult.
*****
Andrew Richardson, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu amethyst belt, is an abecedarian fighter who trains at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California. In accession to acquirements alongside world-class talent, Andrew has scouted opponents and developed acceptable strategies for several of the sport's best aristocratic fighters.
