Two-Division Champ Leaves WSOF For UFC

World Series of Fighting has taken a big blow and has lost one of their top fighters to the UFC.

Former WSOF light heavyweight and middleweight champion David Branch, who has fought in the UFC before, is headed back to the promotion. Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting is reporting that Branch has signed a new multi-fight contract with the promotion.

Branch left the UFC in 2011 after he went 2-2 in the promotion. Since then, he has won 12 of his 13 bouts with his only loss in that stretch coming from Anthony Johnson in 2012. He recently left WSOF after an undisclosed issue with the promotion before and after his fight win over Louis Taylor on December 31st.

“Here’s the thing, it was just a lot of things that went on that night, and like right now … it’s just really complicated,” he said on a recent episode of The MMA Hour. “If I’m coming into a show, okay, and I’m coming in to fight my opponent, that should be the only opponent I have to worry about fighting. I shouldn’t have to worry about politics, I shouldn’t have to worry about all these other things. I’m not going to go into details, but these are somethings the things fighters have to face. My reasons for leaving are a bit similar. I’m not going to go into detail, but that’s just one of those things that happens. This is the fight game. It gets crazy sometimes. Sometimes promoters have problems with fighters, and sometimes fighters have problems with promoters.”

Although his return fight in the UFC has yet to be finalized, he is expected to compete in the middleweight division.