On Saturday, Sept. 16, the UFC hosted UFC Fight Night 116: Rockhold vs. Branch from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
In the night’s main event, former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold returned to action against former two-division World Series of Fighting titleholder David Branch. Rockhold had been out of action since UFC 199, when he was violently knocked out by Michael Bisping inside the first round. The loss snapped a five-fight winning streak and forced Rockhold to relinquish his belt. Branch, meanwhile, returned to the Octagon at UFC 211 following a five-year absence. The New York-based fighter entered the contest riding an 11-fight winning streak.
The 10-fight event kicked off Saturday with four preliminary card bouts at airing 8 p.m. ET on Fox Sports. The six-fight main card followed at 10 p.m. ET, also on Fox Sports 1.
Mike Perry def. Alex Reyes by knockout (knee). Round 1, 1:19
Anthony Smith def. Hector Lombard by TKO (strikes). Round 3, 2:33
Gregor Gillespie def. Jason Gonzalez by submission (arm triangle). Round 2, 2:11
Kamaru Usman def. Sergio Moraes by knockout (punch). Round 1, 2:48
Justin Ledet def. Zu Anyanwu by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Tony Martin by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Daniel Spitz def. Anthony Hamilton by TKO (strikes). Round 1, 0:24
Uriah Hall def. Krzysztof Jotko by knockout (strikes). Round 2, 2:25
Gilbert Burns def. Jason Saggo by knockout (punch). Round 2, 4:55