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Louis Taylor Fighting for More Than WSOF Gold
- Updated: December 22, 2016
Louis Taylor comes from a hardened area of Chicago, the type of neighborhood that brings the phrase “Survival of the Fittest” to life with cold reality. Taylor has fought his way from the South Side to a World Series of Fighting title shot, as he will challenge David Branch for his middleweight championship at WSOF 34 on Dec. 31 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Branch finds himself on a nine-fight winning streak that has seen him capture belts in two weight classes and become one of the promotion’s premier attractions.“Overall, I think he’s a really good fighter,” Taylor told Sherdog.com. “I don’t think he gets the respect he’s earned. I wouldn’t say deserved, but it’s earned. I think people are finally starting to pay attention to him, and it’s good to see that people are starting to realize that he holds titles in two weight classes before Conor McGregor and that McGregor isn’t the only one to do it. I think he’s really well-rounded, but I also think he’s going to lose.” Taylor set the WSOF record for the fastest submission when he choked Cory Devela unconscious with a guillotine in just 29 seconds on March 12. He followed the performance with another submission, as he tapped Phil Hawes with a guillotine choke at WSOF 32 a little less than five months later. Taylor believes there are reasons why fighters like he and Branch have been overlooked. “He would get more respect if he was in the UFC,” Taylor said. “He’d be on billboards; he’d have a bigger name if he left and went somewhere else and got those two titles, whereas since he’s done it the other way around, people don’t look at him the same way. You can beat the same dang person outside the UFC, but it’s not looked at as highly. It is what it is.” Branch holds the rank of black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Renzo Gracie and has improved his striking since arriving in the World Series of Fighting in 2012. However, Taylor thinks his greatest asset rests upon his shoulders. “What …
