Luke Rockhold is officially back.
The former UFC middleweight champion, who has been out of action for over a year, returned with a punishing performance on Saturday night as he tapped out David Branch with strikes in the second round of their main event matchup in Pittsburgh.
It was a long road back for Rockhold, who suffered an embarrassing defeat last June when he fell to current middleweight champion Michael Bisping in a shocking first round knockout.
Rockhold had actually been ready to return to the Octagon as early as June but the UFC struggled to find him a worthy opponent until now. In fact, Branch not only accepted the matchup but predicted that he would give the former champion a very rude welcome home to the Octagon.
As the first round got underway, Branch nearly backed up his bold prediction.
Branch wasted no time going on the attack with a barrage of punches all aimed directly at Rockhold’s chin. The former champion countered with a series of kicks to the body, but Branch didn’t back away from his aggressive strategy.
With Branch still going after Rockhold aggressively, the former two-division World Series of Fighting champion landed a fast combination as the fighters backed up against the cage.
Branch landed several hard, stinging shots that rattled Rockhold momentarily before the fighters got locked in the clinch against the cage.
Rockhold was able to build a little momentum before the end of the round including a late takedown before the horn sounded.
As the second round got underway, Rockhold opted for a different strategy as he took Branch to the ground after grinding him against the fence while looking to out wrestle him.
Once he got the fight to the mat, Rockhold immediately moved into the mount as he started raining down a barrage of punches with Branch just trying to survive.
Branch rolled and gave up his back as Rockhold continued to pour on punches in bunches with referee Dan Miragliotta getting closer and closer to stopping the fight.
Before he could step in, however, Branch tapped the canvas to signify the end of the fight as Rockhold earned a submission finish due to strikes in his first return to action since June 2016.
Luke Rockhold is back! #UFCPittsburgh https://t.co/BT4VXBoUaY
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) September 17, 2017
The tap came at 4:05 in the second round.
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