The World Series of Fighting light heavyweight and middleweight champion confirmed the news on Wednesday via Twitter following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. A date and opponent for Branch’s first UFC bout since 2011 have not been revealed.
I want to thank my fans for all of the amazing support you guys have given me on twitter this AM I'm happy to be back home @ufc
— David Branch (@DavidcBranchMMA) February 15, 2017
And for the all haters there's no pay cut here. I'm well taken care of here on my new journey.
— David Branch (@DavidcBranchMMA) February 15, 2017
Branch will enter his second UFC stint on a 10-fight winning streak, with all of those victories coming under the WSOF banner. The Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu product captured the promotion’s middleweight title with a first-round submission of Jesse Taylor at WSOF 10 in June 2014. He later claimed 205-pound gold with a first-round tapout of Teddy Holder at WSOF 23 in September 2015.
Branch, 35, went 2-2 during a brief UFC stint from 2010 to 2011. During that time, he earned decision wins over Rich Attonito and Tomasz while falling to Rousimar Palhares via submission and Gerald Harris via KO.