David Branch (born September 26, 1981) is an American former mixed martial artist who competed as a middleweight.
In addition to mixed martial arts, Branch has also competed in (and won) Brazilian jiu-jitsu titles in nationwide competitions.
Branch then competed in the UCC organization and defeated John Troyer via TKO (punches) at 4:26 of the second round.
Branch next faced Rousimar Palhares on March 3, 2011, at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann, replacing Alexandre Ferreira.
[12] Branch was defeated by Palhares when he tapped out to a kneebar early in the second round[13] and was subsequently released from the promotion.
Branch next faced of against Strikeforce vet Dominique Steele at Pure MMA: The Beginning.
In the Middleweight Tournament Final, Branch faced Jesse Taylor at World Series of Fighting 10 on June 21, 2014.
In his first title defense, Branch faced fellow UFC veteran Yushin Okami at WSOF 15 on October 24, 2014.
[22] However, on the day of the weigh-in, Markes was forced out of the bout due to dehydration and was replaced by promotional newcomer Jesse McElligott.
On February 15, 2017, Branch announced that he had re-signed with the UFC and expects to be scheduled to compete in the middleweight division for the promotion by May.
[30] However, on January 12, 2018, it was announced that Robert Whittaker was pulled from the middleweight title championship at UFC 221 and replaced by Romero.
[34] However on October 19, 2018, It was reported that Souza replaced injured Luke Rockhold who was scheduled to fight Chris Weidman in the event.
[40] However, it was reported that Branch was forced to pull from the event due to injury and he was replaced by Marvin Vettori.
He tested positive for Ipamorelin, a class of Peptide hormones and Growth Factors, detected in a urine sample he provided out-of-competition on May 24, 2019.
[43] After the release from the UFC, Branch faced Alexander Shlemenko at Russian Cagefighting Championship 7 on December 14, 2019.
[45] He was expected to make his promotional debut against Leandro Ataides at ONE Championship: Full Circle on February 25, 2022,[46] but wasn't medically cleared to compete.