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David Branch on Tapping To Strikes: ‘I didn’t just give up’

David Branch on Tapping To Strikes: ‘I didn’t just give up’

 

 

David Branch is a 1st Degree Black Belt under the Legendary Renzo Gracie. He started training under Relson Gracie at age of 22 years old. In 2004 he started training at the acclaimed Renzo Gracie Jiu Jiu Academy in New York City. David has competed and won in numerous Jiu Jitsu tournaments across the country. He is a 2x Pan American champion, Abu Dhabi trials competitor, Bellator veteran, UFC veteran – and in his last bout against Luke Rockhold he tapped to strikes.

 

” I just got caught in a position that I couldn’t escape,” Branch said to mmajunkie. “I tried to take the punishment as much as I could, I got busted up a little bit and I decided to save the fight for another day and just come back stronger. I took as much punishment as I could. I didn’t just give up. Eventually it came, but I took a lot of knocks before that happened.”

Now tapping to strikes has some controversy attached Ben Fowlkes, mma analyst explains:

 “I know there’s that stigma about tapping to strikes, but it’s mostly pretty dumb. We regularly see fighters get hurt and go full fetal as a signal to the referee that they’ve had it, which is basically like tapping to strikes without actually doing it.”

Of course there’s also giving up without a submission fully being in as was the case with Sage Northcutt for example and that halfguard armtriangle that was very wonky looking.

But Branch explains:

“He was the better man tonight,” Branch said. “He defeated me fair and square. I did not go out there to try to lose that fight. I worked really, really had for a long time leading up to this. I thought the skills that I had and the effort would be enough to get the victory tonight, but apparently it wasn’t. There’s a lot I’ve got to go back and address.”

“I learned a lot. Not losing in almost six years – perhaps victory defeated me. Getting comfortable, winning all the time and losing a little bit of that fear of losing again. Now I have it again, the same way he had it. When I come back out there again I’m going to be real hungry.”

Is it ok to tap out to strikes? Or is a tap out a signal you send when there’s permanent damage in fighters’s opinion?