Paul Taylor shines brightly in Vegas

Cannock's Paul 'Relentless' Taylor shone under the bright lights of Las Vegas with an impressive stoppage win on the undercard of UFC 126 at the world-famous Mandalay Bay Resort.

A vicious assault from Taylor on Gabe 'Godzilla' Ruediger forced female referee Kim Winslow to stop the fight two rounds into the three-rounder in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The 30-year-old started strong against the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black belt, his crisp combinations showing a clear advantage in the striking department.

Ruediger quickly tried to get the fight to his area of expertise, by clinching and attempting to take down the two-time world kickboxing champion.

But Taylor showed improvement in his wrestling, an area that has been acknowledged in the past as a weakness, and survived repeated takedown attempts.

The West Midlander again showed his striking prowess at the end of the first round, with quick combinations that appeared to hurt his opponent.

The second round opened with Taylor again firing punches at Ruediger, shaking him and forcing the American on to his back.

However, Taylor chose not to follow up and his opponent was stood up by the referee. Ruediger again attempted to clinch in the hope of securing a takedown.

It would prove his undoing, as Taylor managed to break free of the clinch and fired a combination of straight punches that set up his opponent for a devastating left kick to the head.

The shot was enough to end the bout at one minute and 42 seconds of the second round.

By Matt McLean