Former two-division WSOF champion David Branch will try to rebound against an ex-Cage Warriors champ next month.
Branch (22-5 MMA, 4-4 UFC) will take on Jack Hermansson (18-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in a middleweight bout at UFC on ESPN 2. UFC officials announced the new booking today.
UFC on ESPN 2 takes place March 30 at Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia. The card airs on ESPN following early prelims on ESPN+.
In 2017, Branch left WSOF, where he held the light heavyweight and middleweight titles, for the UFC. He picked up a split-decision win over Krzysztof Jotko in his first fight back with the promotion after a 2-2 stint in 2010-11.
That got him a main event against former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in September 2017, but Rockhold stopped him with a second-round TKO. Branch rebounded seven months later with a bonus-winning knockout of Thiago “Marreta” Santos. But at UFC 230 this past November, Jared Cannonier knocked him out in the second round at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Hermansson will try to build on back-to-back stoppage wins in 2018. At UFC 224, he knocked out Thales Leites in Brazil. Then in December at UFC on FOX 31, he submitted Gerald Meerschaert in Milwaukee, wh ich was his first fight in the States in nearly five years. Four of his five UFC wins have been finishes.
The latest UFC on ESPN 2 lineup includes
- Edson Barboza vs. Justin Gaethje
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Michelle Waterson
- Alexa Grasso vs. Marina Rodriguez
- Desmond Green vs. Ross Pearson
- Paul Craig vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
- Sheymon Moraes vs. Sodiq Yusuff
- Maryna Moroz vs. Sabina Mazo
- Kevin Aguilar vs. Enrique Barzola
- David Branch vs. Jack Hermansson
For more on UFC on ESPN 2, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
