Things have taken another turn for the worse for the fighter because MMA Fighting is reporting that Branch has been released by the UFC. It should be noted that neither the UFC or Branch have commented publicly on the failed drug test or release.
Branch went 2-3-0 during his second run with the UFC, defeating the duo of Krzysztof Jotko and Thiago Santos, while dropping bouts to the three pack of Luke Rockhold, Jared Cannonier and Jack Hermansson. Branch went 2-2-0 during the first run with the UFC, defeating the duo of Tomasz Drwal and Rich Attonito, while suffering defeats to the two pack of Gerald Harris and Rousimar Palhares. The fighter had much more success during an extended run in the WSOF, where he held the promotion’s light heavyweight and middleweight titles simultaneously.
The fighter isn’t eligible to return to action until his suspension ends in July of 2021, but can circumvent the USADA suspension and potentially compete in promotions that would ignore the ruling made by the drug testing organization.
