• UFC 120

Brits light up O2 Arena on UFC 120 undercard

Paul Sass boasts a deadly triangle choke © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

• News: Bisping not interested in loser of Marquardt v Okami
  

Liverpudlian Paul Sass, the world record holder for seven successive victories via triangle choke, added another victim to his MMA record during the UFC 120 prelims, forcing the first-round stoppage of Mark Holst in trademark fashion.

The Sassangle as he has become known, took less than 20 seconds to launch his first submission attempt, and he continued to pull guard relentlessly for the rest of the fight before finally locking on arguably the most deadly triangle in the UFC.

Using a clever range of strikes to set up his attempts to pull guard, Sass employed the occasional superman punch to get the fight into his territory. The first major threat came with a heel hook, but it was always going to be the triangle choke that forced Holst to tap.

Kurt Warburton, fighting out of Michael Bisping's Wolfslair gym, put on a fine showing despite suffering a unanimous decision defeat to the hugely experienced Spencer Fisher. Warburton dominated the first round, landing plenty of strikes and threatening a guillotine from top position, but Fisher's greater cardio made the difference as he ended the fight looking for a choke of his own.

Warburton's Wolfslair team-mate, Rob Broughton, the top-ranked heavyweight in British MMA, fared better in his clash with giant Brazilian Vinicius Queiroz, winning via rear naked choke at 1.46 in round three. The 27-year-old debutant struggled with his takedown defence for two rounds, but he held his own in the striking department and utilised a range of submission attempts from guillotine to armbar to the eventual fight-winning choke.

In the light-heavyweight division, Alexander Gustafsson dominated Cyrille Diabate in the striking and grappling realms to secure a convincing rear naked choke victory at 2.41 of round two. Diabate, who beat Luiz Cane last time out, was dropped twice and showed great heart to battle through a fearful pounding before eventually tapping.

In the opening bout of the night, Fabio Maldonado recovered from a first-round battering to defeat England's James McSweeney via third round TKO. Maldonado had to have a cut checked by the ringside doctor at the end of the first stanza, but a second-round body shot sucked the life out of McSweeney, who eventually crumpled against the cage as the referee stepped in.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.