Tag: UFC Pittsburgh

David Branch Ready To ‘Rumble’ With Luke Rockhold

Former World Series of Fighting two-division world champion David Branch has a golden opportunity in front of him. On Saturday (Sept. 16, 2017) night, Branch will headline a UFC Fight Night card in Pittsburgh, as he’s set to take on former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in a five-round bout. If he can come out on […]

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Former World Series of Fighting two-division world champion David Branch has a golden opportunity in front of him.

On Saturday (Sept. 16, 2017) night, Branch will headline a UFC Fight Night card in Pittsburgh, as he’s set to take on former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in a five-round bout. If he can come out on top, Branch will undoubtedly put his name into the title mix at 185 pounds.

When the fight was announced, many labeled it as a mismatch despite the fact that Rockhold hasn’t competed since June 2016 when he was shockingly knocked out by champion Michael Bisping. Branch, on the other hand, returned to the UFC last May at UFC 211 where he scored a lackluster split-decision victory over Krzystof Jotko.

Regardless, Branch said on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour that he’s ready to ‘rumble’ with Rockhold, and that he plans to win in a way that leaves no doubt in the minds of fans:

“I don’t like to think too far down the road, but the way that I want to win this fight and the way that I intend to win this fight, I think that there should be no doubt about it,” Branch said. “Because Luke was the former UFC middleweight champion. Everybody’s been saying for years, how would Branch do in the UFC? How would he do? … Okay, I won in the UFC against a top-10 guy (Jotko), that’s to answer everybody’s question.

“But now everybody is like, ‘Okay he won, but how is he going to do against an elite guy?’ What about that? Now this guy was a former champion? What the f**k else? This is a tough kid, that’s why I wanted to fight him. When I heard that I had the opportunity to fight him, I was like, ‘Hell motherf**king yes. Hell yes.’ This is the kind of fight that I f**king want to do right here and I’m going to be able to get it on, I’m going to be able to rumble with this kid because he’s going to want to bring it, and I’m going to bring it. And that’s the kind of fight that I know that he can’t beat me in.”

Do you think Branch has what it takes to score the upset, or will Rockhold simply be too much for the 35-year-old New York native?

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David Branch Promises He’ll ‘Shut Luke Rockhold’s S**t Down’

This Saturday, Luke Rockhold will be fighting for the first time since losing his middleweight belt by knockout to Michael Bisping at UFC 199. Standing in his way of redemption is former WSOF middleweight and light heavyweight champion David Branch, who has thus far made good use of his second UFC run. Branch revealed his […]

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This Saturday, Luke Rockhold will be fighting for the first time since losing his middleweight belt by knockout to Michael Bisping at UFC 199.

Standing in his way of redemption is former WSOF middleweight and light heavyweight champion David Branch, who has thus far made good use of his second UFC run.

Branch revealed his thoughts on Rockhold and his performance against Bisping leading into their upcoming main event fight in Pittsburgh this Saturday during an appearance on The MMA Hour:

“He’s going to try and come out to establish his dominance. He’s going to try and run his alpha male shit on me and I’m going to shut that shit down, obviously,”

“I think that in that fight against Bisping the motherfucker slipped up. You can’t go out there and take anybody lightly,” said David. “That’s the thing with me, I come from a different background than Luke, and I don’t have that kind of indoctrination that he does. I come from the fucking streets and I don’t take anybody lightly.”

Rockhold infamously was on the receiving end of a stone-cold knockout from Michael Bisping in a rematch of a fight he had dominated and won. Many fight fans and pundits alike are under the impression that Rockhold didn’t take “The Count” seriously, and fought with a carelessness he had yet to display in the octagon thus far.

As for his opponent, Branch was complimentary of Rockhold’s skills, but stopped short of withholding his violent intentions:

“He’s a tough opponent. I respect him enough to have trained for him the way I trained for him. And that’s the most respect that this motherfucker is going to get from me,” he explained.

“He’s not getting anymore respect. I already gave him enough respect by training the way I have. When I go in there, I am going to be very disrespectful to him.”

Do you think Rockhold will emerge victorious in his comeback fight, or will Branch spoil that party?

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Dana White Is Unhappy With Cerrone vs. Oliveira Stoppage

If you were watching UFC Fight Night 83, you may have noticed a number of concerning errors. UFC president Dana White did, and he wasn’t too amused… UFC Fight Night 83 was for the most part a great card, with some riveting finishes and rousing battles in a number of divisions. The tale of the

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If you were watching UFC Fight Night 83, you may have noticed a number of concerning errors. UFC president Dana White did, and he wasn’t too amused…

UFC Fight Night 83 was for the most part a great card, with some riveting finishes and rousing battles in a number of divisions. The tale of the night came in the main event though, as two cowboys in Donald Cerrone and Alex Oliveira faced off. Cerrone was making his welterweight debut after a brutally unsuccessful lightweight title shot last December, and in his Brazilian counterpart he faced a late replacement that could have really rocked the boat with an upset.

As it was, the ‘Cowboy’ of old showed up, dragged Oliveira to the mat and sunk in a triangle choke from the mount. Just half way through round one and the bout was all over, and a jubilant Cerrone celebrated the rekindling of his winning ways. But it wasn’t all roses in the main event, at least not where the referee was concerned. The Brazilian appeared to tap almost right away when the choke hold sunk in and Cerrone rolled with his back to the mat, but it was some time before the referee reacted.

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As the referee Mario Yamasaki moved to get a better view, Cerrone was pointing wildly to indicate Oliveira had tapped, at that point the ref intervened. Oliveira never went out, but it was a little concerning to see he’d tapped about ten times before being released. Check out what UFC president Dana White thought of the stoppage:

And it wasn’t his only blunder of the evening either, Mario Yamasaki had made a pretty rough job of the end of Cody Garbrandt’s fight too. As Augusto Mendes lay helpless on the mat from some punishment, the referee appeared to stop the fight, but then seemingly changed his mind. Garbrandt continued with his gruesome beatdown on Mendes, who was by this time out cold.

Here’s what ‘No Love’ said about the stoppage, via MMAFighting.com:

“He was definitely knocked out,” Garbrandt said in the post-fight press conference. “His eyes were rolling in the back of his head. He wasn’t even looking at me. So I threw my hands up, it was done. And Mario stepped in, so I was like, ‘OK, he didn’t touch me, so I’m gonna keep hitting him, finish the job.’ … He’s a dead man laying.”

Thoughts?

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Five Biggest Takeaways From UFC Pittsburgh

It may not have been the most hyped mixed martial arts (MMA) event of 2016, but last night’s (Sunday, February 21, 2016) UFC Fight Night 83 from the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, delivered a heavy-hitting mix of great fights and finishes that earned it a deserving recognition as a very solid under-the-radar event.

The post Five Biggest Takeaways From UFC Pittsburgh appeared first on LowKick MMA.

It may not have been the most hyped mixed martial arts (MMA) event of 2016, but last night’s (Sunday, February 21, 2016) UFC Fight Night 83 from the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, delivered a heavy-hitting mix of great fights and finishes that earned it a deserving recognition as a very solid under-the-radar event.

There was a great women’s bout between Lauren Murphy and Kelly Faszholz that earned ‘Fight of the Night’ on the Fight Pass prelims, while the fight right after it between Ashlee Evans-Smith and Marion Reneau resulted in yet another MMA scoring controversy that only furthered the backlash towards the scoring system in place and the judges present in Pittsburgh that made some head-scratching errors.

There was also the continued rises of a few strong up-and-coming stars, and another return of sorts as recent lightweight title challenger Donald Cerrone returned to winning ways with an impressive first round submission of late replacement Alex Oliveira. All in all, it was a strong card that continued the UFC’s strong recent efforts and will continue promotional momentum into the absolutely blockbuster events scheduled for two weeks to come.

Let’s take a look back at the five biggest takeaways from UFC Fight Night 83.

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Derek Brunson vs. Roan Carneiro Full Fight Video Highlights

Rising UFC middleweight Derek Brunson was looking to make a statement against veteran Roan Carneiro in the co-main event of tonight’s (Sunday, February 21, 2016) UFC Fight Night 83 from the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and he definitely did just that. Taking advantage of a huge missed shot from “Jucao,” Brunson opened up

The post Derek Brunson vs. Roan Carneiro Full Fight Video Highlights appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Rising UFC middleweight Derek Brunson was looking to make a statement against veteran Roan Carneiro in the co-main event of tonight’s (Sunday, February 21, 2016) UFC Fight Night 83 from the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and he definitely did just that.

Taking advantage of a huge missed shot from “Jucao,” Brunson opened up the floodgates with nonstop ground strikes that Carneiro actually defended at first but ultimately succumbed to for a fourth straight win for Brunson.

With the victory, Brunson should move on to a top challenge in one of the UFC’s most stacked divisions. Watch the full fight video highlights of his latest win right here:

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UFC Fight Night 83 Bonuses: ‘Cowboy,’ Camozzi Bank $50,000

Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone returned to the win column against another ‘Cowboy’ in Alex Oliveira in the main event of tonight’s (Sunday, February 21, 2016) UFC Fight Night 83 from the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and he earned $50,000 for the event’s first “Performance of the Night” bonus by stopping the fill-in Brazilian with a quick

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Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone returned to the win column against another ‘Cowboy’ in Alex Oliveira in the main event of tonight’s (Sunday, February 21, 2016) UFC Fight Night 83 from the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and he earned $50,000 for the event’s first “Performance of the Night” bonus by stopping the fill-in Brazilian with a quick first round triangle after some early rough spots.

Middleweight Chris Camozzi earned the second “Performance of the Night” for his swarming first round TKO over longtime veteran Joe Riggs.

“Fight of the Night” rightfully went to women’s bantamweights Lauren Murphy and Kelly Faszholz, who fought a rousing war on the preliminary card that Murphy won by a very late stoppage. Kudos to Faszholz for taking a tough fight on short notice and contributing half of an entertaining battle.

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