2010 Bloody Elbow Reader Awards: Knockout of the Mid-Year

Rule number one about pulling guard: never jump into a standing guard position.

This comes from the book of unwritten guard pulling rules. Written just now, by me. Dave Branch did not follow this decree. Dave Branch woke up in a haze.

Branch met Gerald Harris in a prelim fight at UFC 116. Through two rounds, the two had fought a slow, competitive fight that probably had Harris slightly ahead. Branch, who desperately began clinging to the fence moments earlier, jumped into a standing guard, searching for an avenue to finish the fight.

Big mistake. Harris took a moment to brace Branch on the fence. He then postured up into the full upright position. After securing a crossface, Harris jumps and deploys Branch's body toward the mat. As Branch is driven down, Joe Silva rises off his seat.

BOOM.

Full results after the jump.

Knockout of the Mid-Year
Fight 1st 2nd 3rd Total
Harris vs. Branch 14 5 3 88
Rua vs. Machida 8 9 5 72
Russow vs. Duffee 8 7 4 65
Lawler vs. Manhoef 7 4 5 52
Velasquez vs. Nogueira 2 7 6 37
Franklin vs. Liddell 4 4 3 35
Carwin vs. Mir 3 3 4 28
Sandro vs. Kanehara 3 1 16
Frausto vs. Sexton 4 1 13
Lamas vs. Casimir 2 1 13
Daley vs. Hazelett 2 2 12
Jones vs. Vera 1 2 1 12
Le vs. Smith 1 1 1 9
Nelson vs. Struve 1 2 7
Escovedo vs. Maeda 1 2 5
Gamburyan vs. Brown 1 5
Lombard vs. J. Silva 1 3
Dos Santos vs. Gonzaga 1 3
Santos vs. Finney 2 2
Howard vs. Roberts 2 2
Curran vs. Ricci 1 1
Leben vs. Simpson 1 1
Wiuff vs. Barnes 1 1
Guillard vs. Lowe 1 1
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