David Branch turned the tables on Thiago Santos at UFC Fight Night 128 last weekend, winning via knockout 2:30 into the opening round.
It was an eye-opening performance for the Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu product, who was facing an opponent with four consecutive KO/TKO victories in the Octagon under his belt. Branch rebounded nicely from a second-round stoppage loss to Luke Rockhold last September and has now won 12 of his last 13 fights overall.
The 36-year-old went 2-2 during a brief stint in the Las Vegas-based promotion from 2010 to 2011, but he didn’t truly blossom until a 10-bout undefeated run in World Series of Fighting saw him capture titles at both middleweight and light heavyweight.