The octagon returned to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for the first time in eighteen months with Luke Rockhold returning to action with a victory over David Branch, who tapped to strikes in the second round.
Branch began the fight as the aggressor, pinning Rockhold on the back foot and landing strikes with the former champion against the cage. Rockhold returned in the second round and immediately looked more in control, taking down his opponent and swiftly transitioning to full mount.
Branch struggled to move out of the position and eventually Rockhold took his back, using the pressure of his relentless ground and pound to leave the former World Series of Fighting dual-weight champion in trouble.
Eventually the strikes proved too much for Branch, who submitted to strikes after a barrage of punches rained down from Rockhold.
Vicious finish of David Branch at #UFCPittsburgh last night. 💪
It marks the former champion’s first win since 2015 and puts himself firmly in the title picture in the middleweight division.
In the co-main event, Mike Perry’s stock continued to rise with a brutal first-round knockout of Alex Reyes. Perry landed a right knee with just over a minute gone in the fight to send the late replacement hurtling towards the canvas.
The win should guarantee Perry a place in the welterweight rankings, after also earning his second consecutive performance of the night bonus. His octagon debut only came just over thirteen months ago and he now holds a 4-1 record in the promotion.
Anthony Smith stopped Hector Lombard inside the first round to secure three consecutive victories for the twenty-nine-year-old. It leaves Lombard with four straight losses and without a victory since 2014. It could be fair to say that at thirty-nine, he may not make the walk to the octagon again.
Smith was possibly two rounds down when he finished the veteran midway through the final round with a right hand followed up with a left.
Gregor Gillespie and Jason Gonzalez put on an outstanding fight in a period where many had eyes on Canelo vs. Golovkin, with unbeaten prospect Gillespie getting the victory with a slick arm-triangle choke midway through the second round.
The fight rightly earned the Fight of the Night bonus, earning each fighter a cheque for $50,000. Gillespie was a huge favourite to win the bout but Gonzalez pushed him all the way!
Nigerian welterweight sensation Kamaru Usman made it six out of six inside the promotion with his first knockout victory in the octagon. He previously won the Ultimate Fighter Season 22 and should find himself inside the top ten in the welterweight division.
Justin Ledet opened the main card with a split decision victory over Azunna Anyanwu. Not exactly a fight for the ages with only just over seventy strikes landed, but Ledet got the nod with the judges after three rounds.
Another fight that left the judges split was the fight pass concluding bout between Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Tony Martin.
Aubin-Mercier’s four takedowns were possibly the deciding factor in the bout, with the striking and control statistics very close, whilst Martin landed no takedowns. The judges were split, but the Canadian made it three consecutive wins in the octagon.
Daniel Spitz got the quickest finish of the night, needing just twenty-four seconds to dispatch of fellow heavyweight Anthony Hamilton. A right hand which knocked his opponent down led to several unanswered strikes on the ground, leaving the referee with no option but to call an end to proceedings.
Uriah Hall gained the second performance of the night bonus with a big comeback in the second round. His opponent in Krzysztof Jotko dominated the first round, outstriking the Jamaican five-to-one.
Jotko appeared to have gassed out in his efforts to finish Hall in the first round and he was punished for not doing so in Round 2, with Hall saving his UFC career with a brilliant finish after landing a huge right hand.
Gilbert Burns opened up the evening with an impressive stoppage victory over Jason Saggo in Pittsburgh. Burns landed a huge overhand right, finishing Saggo instantly.
Take a look at this knockout… I think the Brazilian has a right to feel aggrieved that he didn’t earn himself a performance of the night bonus also!
The octagon makes the journey to Japan for Ovince Saint Preux vs. Yushin Okami next weekend.
