David Branch isn’t one to take risks if he can’t guarantee victory.
Tonight (Sept. 16), Branch will step inside the Octagon against former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title holder Luke Rockhold. The 185-pound clash will serve as UFC Fight Night 116’s main event.
When he reigned as a two-division champion in World Series of Fighting, Branch was known for his grappling. While he did have finishes, he didn’t take major risks that would’ve put him in danger.
That’s exactly how Branch wants things to go.
Speaking to MMAFighting.com, Branch said when he competes, he wants to sustain as little damage as possible:
“No matter what, even if your fight is f**king boring or not if you’re the champion then you’re getting paid. Obviously, you can take more risks when you’re at that level because you’re involved in pay-per-view buys, so you’re going to be able to be more exciting. Who in their right mind wants to be that exciting when you risk losing half your f**king money but you’re going out there for all the f**king risk. You’re going out there for all the danger and then your ass gets f**ked up because you trying to be exciting and you get half your f**king money.”
Unlike other fighters, Branch won’t develop a reputation for “swangin and bangin.”
“And they say, ‘Good job, son. We’ll put you back on.’ Get the f**k outta here, I’m not going for that, hell no. That’s not good business for me. That doesn’t sound like a good business transaction.”
