UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Branch

UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Branch (also known as UFC Fight Night 116) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on September 16, 2017 at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[2][3]

UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Branch
The poster for UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Branch
Information
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateSeptember 16, 2017 (2017-09-16)
VenuePPG Paints Arena
CityPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Attendance7,005[1]
Total gate$396,190.75[1]
Event chronology
UFC 215: Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2 UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Branch UFC Fight Night: Saint Preux vs. Okami

Background

This event was the third that the UFC has hosted in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[3]

A middleweight bout between former Strikeforce and UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold and former WSOF Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Champion David Branch headlined this event.[4]

A heavyweight bout between Justin Ledet and Dmitriy Sosnovskiy was expected to take place at UFC Fight Night: Bermudez vs. The Korean Zombie. However, Ledet pulled out of the fight on January 26 alleging an undisclosed injury, and promotion officials elected to remove Sosnovskiy from the card.[5][6] In turn, the UFC confirmed that Ledet was suspended for four months after testing positive for a banned substance.[7] The fight was expected to take place at this event.[8] Subsequently, Sosnovskiy was removed from the card on September 10 and was replaced by promotional newcomer Zu Anyanwu.[9]

An August 19 event (originally expected to be UFC 215) had two announced bouts, including a welterweight bout between Mike Perry and former UFC Welterweight Championship challenger Thiago Alves, as well as a middleweight bout between former Bellator Middleweight Champion Héctor Lombard and Anthony Smith.[10][11] After the event was canceled, both fights took place at this event.[12][13] In turn, Alves pulled out of the fight on September 13.[14] He was replaced by promotional newcomer Alex Reyes.[15]

A middleweight bout between Krzysztof Jotko and Uriah Hall was expected to take place at UFC Fight Night: Jędrzejczyk vs. Penne in June 2015. However, Hall was removed due to visa issues, and promotion officials elected to remove Jotko from the card as well.[16] The fight took place at this event.[17]

A bantamweight bout between Felipe Arantes and Luke Sanders was pulled from the card after Arantes fell sick on September 14 from an undisclosed illness.[18]

Results
Main Card (Fox Sports 1)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Middleweight Luke Rockhold def. David Branch Submission (strikes) 2 4:05
Welterweight Mike Perry def. Alex Reyes KO (knee) 1 1:19
Middleweight Anthony Smith def. Héctor Lombard TKO (punches) 3 2:33
Lightweight Gregor Gillespie def. Jason Gonzalez Submission (arm-triangle choke) 2 2:11
Welterweight Kamaru Usman def. Sérgio Moraes KO (punch) 1 2:48
Heavyweight Justin Ledet def. Zu Anyanwu Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1)
Lightweight Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Anthony Rocco Martin Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Heavyweight Daniel Spitz def. Anthony Hamilton TKO (punches) 1 0:24
Middleweight Uriah Hall def. Krzysztof Jotko KO (punches) 2 2:25
Lightweight Gilbert Burns def. Jason Saggo KO (punch) 2 4:55

    [19]

    Bonus awards

    The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[1]

    • Fight of the Night: Gregor Gillespie vs Jason Gonzalez
    • Performance of the Night: Mike Perry and Uriah Hall

    See also

    References
    1. Brian Mazique (2017-09-17). "UFC Fight Night 116 results, bonus winners, fight Scores, highlights, attendance & gate info". forbes.com. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
    2. Mookie Alexander (2017-06-26). "UFC's late 2017 schedule includes PPV in Detroit, return to MSG in November". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
    3. Nolan King (2017-07-14). "Sources: UFC Fight Night 116 targeted for September 16th in Pittsburgh". mma-today.com. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
    4. Mike Bohn (2017-07-22). "Ex-champ Luke Rockhold returns vs. David Branch in September's UFC Fight Night 116 headliner". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-07-23.
    5. Fernando Quiles Jr. (2017-01-26). "Justin Ledet off UFC Fight Night card in Houston with an injury". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
    6. Staff (2017-02-01). "UFC statement on Justin Ledet". ufc.com. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
    7. Shaun Al-Shatti (2017-04-05). "UFC heavyweight Justin Ledet accepts four-month USADA suspension". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
    8. Marcel Dorff (2017-07-13). "Justin Ledet is fighting against Dmitriy Sosnovskiy during UFC Fight Night 116" (in Dutch). mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
    9. Eric Kowal (2017-09-10). "Zu Anyanwu gets long awaited call to UFC, fights Saturday in Pittsburgh". mymmanews.com. Retrieved 2017-09-10.
    10. Ariel Helwani (2017-06-09). "Mike Perry vs. Thiago Alves slated for UFC 215". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2017-07-23.
    11. Steven Marrocco (2017-06-06). "Hector Lombard vs. Anthony Smith targeted for August UFC event". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-07-23.
    12. Marcel Dorff (2017-07-15). "Hector Lombard crosses swords with Anthony Smith during UFC Pittsburgh" (in Dutch). mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2017-07-23.
    13. Ariel Helwani (2017-07-19). "Alves vs. Perry, Lombard vs. Smith slated for UFN: Pittsburgh". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2017-07-23.
    14. John Morgan (2017-09-13). "Thiago Alves out of Saturday's UFC co-headliner; replacement foe sought for Mike Perry". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-09-13.
    15. Shaun Al-Shatti (2017-09-13). "With Thiago Alves out, Mike Perry meets newcomer Alex Reyes at UFC Pittsburgh". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2017-09-13.
    16. Staff (2015-06-12). "Three days after UFC Fight Night 69 booking, Uriah Hall pulled from card". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
    17. David Tees (2017-07-23). "Multiple fights added to UFC Fight Night: Pittsburgh". fansided.com. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
    18. Dave Doyle (2017-09-14). "Illness forces cancelation of Felipe Arantes vs. Luke Sanders bout at UFC Pittsburgh". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
    19. "UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Branch". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2017-07-22.
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