David Branch was forced to pull out of UFC Vancouver with an injury, leading to Marvin Vettori replacing him against Andrew Sanchez.
The injury to David Branch was initially reported by MMA Junkie’s Nolan King, while the new Marvin Vettori vs. Andrew Sanchez bout at UFC Vancouver was reported by MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin.
The extent of David Branch’s injury is unknown at this time. He was looking to bounce back from a two-fight losing streak and improve his 2-3 record in the Octagon in his current stint.
Stepping in for Branch is Marvin Vettori, who is on the upswing after a brief USADA suspension. The Italian bounced back from spending over a year on the shelf by defeating Cezar Ferreira in an entertaining fight last month. Vettori is 3-2-1 in the Octagon including a razor-close fight with interim champion Israel Adesanya.
Andrew Sanchez is a wrestler through and through who earned a shot at The Ultimate Fighter after accumulating a 7-2 record and acquiring the RFA middleweight title. Sanchez ran through the show and defeated Khalil Rountree to win the show. Since then, he is 3-2, most recently defeating Canadian prospect Marc-Andre Barriault.
Vettori will quickly go from fighting a submission-first grappler in Ferreira, to a wrestling-based grappler in Sanchez. Both following a fight against one of the UFC’s finest strikers in Israel Adesanya. He’s certainly been getting a taste of the wide world of mixed martial arts lately.
UFC Vancouver takes place on September 14 from the Rogers Arena in British Colombia, Canada. Headlining the card is a highly-anticipated fight between fan-favorites Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Justin Gaethje. Also reported today was a bout between top Canadian prospect Brad Katona taking on Hunter Azure, and Michel Pereira vs. Sergey Khandozhko was officially announced.
