The matchup had been in the works for the past two weeks, but Branch only recently worked out his visa issues and was able to sign a contract to fight in Russia. Shlemenko was initially linked to a matchup with Louis Taylor, but that bout did not come to fruition.
David Branch owns a 22-6 professional record while fighting in organizations such as the UFC, Bellator and World Series of Fighting, where he was a two-division champion at middleweight and light heavyweight. Branch went 4-5 over the course of two separate stints in the UFC, earning a notable knockout triumph over recent light heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos in April 2018.
This will be Shlemenko’s third bout under the RCC banner. He has twice headlined events for the Russian promotion, tapping out Jonas Billstein at RCC 5 last December and earning a technical knockout win over Viscardi Andrade at RCC 6 in May. In both instances, the former Bellator champion had to rally from the brink of defeat to earn victory. Shlemenko is 58-12 with one no contest in his professional career.