One man's loss is another man's gain as budding middleweight prospect Dave Branch will return to the octagon, replacing an injured Alexandre Ferreira. The Renzo Gracie black belt will be taking on former contender Rousimar Palhares at "UFC on Versus 3", which takes place on March 3 at the KFC Yum! Center in Lousiville, Ky. Branch is on a roll in the UFC, coming on the heels of back-to-back wins inside the octagon defeating tough talent in the likes of Tomasz Drwal and Rich Anttonito, both by dominant decision victories. ...

The latest season of the popular ufc reality TV show “The Ultimate Fighter” is beginning to wind down, with this week’s episode marking the final preliminary fight. As such, “The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale” live event card is also beginning to take shape. Recently it was revealed that Leonard Garcia would likely be returning to the Octagon at the TUF 12 Finale, and it’s now been confirmed that Dave Branch will take on Rich Attonito. While Garcia’s bout has yet to be officially confirmed, Branch/Attonito marks the fourth fight confirmed by the UFC. Here are all the details. ...

Two-time Bellator Fighting Championships fighter and Renzo Gracie (13-7-1) student Dave Branch (6-0) has signed a four-fight deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC). Renzo Gracie announced the news about his black belt student making his way into the UFC. Branch is an exciting fighter who turned pro in 2007 and since then has a record of 6-0 all coming via stoppage. Three were technical knock out (TKO) victories and the other three were submission wins. It is rare to see a jiu jitsu black belt who also possesses good striking and knock out power so early on in his MMA career. This makes Branch a unique prospect who could end up making some big waves in the UFC considering their ability and willingness to bring a fighter along slowly. Stay tuned to Fighters.com to find out when Dave will be fighting and who is first opponent inside the Octagon will become. ...

Former UFC light heavyweights “Barbarian” Tim Boetsch (9-3) and Alex Schoenauer (13-9) will rumble at the Philadelphia Motorcycle Show when MMA promotion Respect Is Earned presents Philly Biker Brawl at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks October 10. ...