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.
| 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 |