diff --git a/lua/lazy/manage/git.lua b/lua/lazy/manage/git.lua
index 5d431ae2..116c5fe0 100644
--- a/lua/lazy/manage/git.lua
+++ b/lua/lazy/manage/git.lua
@@ -131,7 +131,8 @@ function M.get_target(plugin)
       commit = M.ref(plugin.dir, "tags/" .. plugin.tag),
     }
   end
-  local version = plugin.version == nil and Config.options.defaults.version or plugin.version
+
+  local version = (plugin.version == nil and plugin.branch == nil) and Config.options.defaults.version or plugin.version
   if version then
     local last = Semver.last(M.get_versions(plugin.dir, version))
     if last then