The fight was surprisingly good. Probably better than most thought it would be. David Branch came out guns blazing the first round. I actually think he won that round. He walked forward, closed the distance, clenched, and threw some bombs. There was a moment where Branch looked like he was going to KO Rockhold. He caught Rockhold with a punch and threw a flurry from the hips while Rockhold's back was against the cage.
Round 2, despite the great start it looks like Branch begin gasing out. I'm not totally sure whether he just didn't pace himself right or maybe Rockhold's body shots started to hurt. Either way Branch slowed down very much. Rockhold started picking him off. He took him to the ground, mounted him, and did what Rockhold does best, pounded him into the canvas. Branch doesn't get knocked out but he taps out which was surprising.
I don't hold it against him, I mean if he's stuck and getting beat up, it's ok to end the fight. But other people won't let his off the hook. Here's what Dan Hardy had to say.
I hope Branch is able to bounce back from this, and I hope he's not left broken after this fight. He did have his moments, he really did have Rockhold in trouble at times.
On the bright side, Luke Rockhold is back. This guy could've been the champion right now had it not been for the disastrous fight against Michael Bisping, so the skill set is there. He just needs to find the drive to rebound and go for anther title run.
