Alcantara taps out Pickett to highlight UFC 204 preliminaries

Bantamweight Bout: Iuri Alcantara def. Brad Pickett via 1st-round submission (triangle choke)

Iuri Alcantara put his entire arsenal on display in just under two minutes of work.

"Marajo" rocked Brad Pickett with a spinning back elbow and nearly finished him with strikes before finishing the job with a triangle choke to spoil Pickett's return to his native England.

The Brazilian threw the kitchen sink at Pickett early, smothering him with a mixed bag of strikes that had everything behind them. Alcantara rained fists on "One Punch" after dropping him with the elbow, but resorted to his vaunted jiu-jitsu when the stoppage wouldn't follow the onslaught. Pickett found himself trapped in an armbar just as quickly as he was dropped, and rolled out of the submission, only to have Alcantara convert it to a triangle choke for his eighth UFC win.

Pickett didn't land a single strike in what's been rumored to be his final dance in the Octagon - in front of his fellow Brits, no less. The longtime bantamweight's UFC record now stands at 5-7.

Bantamweight Bout: Damian Stasiak def. Davey Grant via 3rd-round submission (armbar)

In a fight between two grapplers, it was Damian Stasiak's jiu-jitsu that proved to be superior.

Stasiak patiently wore down a scrappy Davey Grant for three rounds before finishing with a nasty looking armbar with just over a minute remaining in the bout.

Stasiak won for the second time in three UFC appearances, and for the second time by submission.

Grant was taken down early and repeatedly found himself on the wrong end of the grappling scrambles as the action continued. That forced him to change strategies.

The former "Ultimate Fighter" finalist's superior length helped him to turn the fight into a striking contest in Round 2, and he started to rack up points with combinations and kicks from distance.

But Stasiak answered back in the third round, taking Grant down and staying busy even when Grant managed to reverse positions to regain top control. Stasiak utilized his dangerous guard to throw his legs up and attack Grant's arm, which led to the fight-ending submission despite Grant's best attempts to escape.

Grant falls to 1-2 in the UFC.

Welterweight Bout: Leon Edwards def. Albert Tumenov via 3rd-round submission (rear-naked choke)

Leon "Rocky" Edwards didn't exactly do his moniker justice, but that doesn't make his finish of Albert Tumenov all that impressive.

The Birmingham native rode his wrestling to take Tumenov to the canvas and trap him in a rear-naked choke for his second straight victory. Edwards' boxing skills left much to be desired, as he threw little more than his snappy jab against a lethal striker in Tumenov, but he exposed the Russian's lackluster grappling acumen to earn the finish with just under two minutes to go in Round 3.

Edwards took the opening frame with his trusty wrestling, scoring points with takedowns and by grinding Tumenov against the cage. The fighters stayed standing in the second round, with "Einstein" overcoming his fear of returning to the ground to land some stiff blows and briefly turn the tables.

Tumenov replicated his approach in the final round, but Edwards reverted to his grappling midway through. The Brit ditched his jab to land a hard-fought, single-leg takedown before promptly taking Tumenov's back for the tap-out.

"Einstein" has now dropped two straight after mounting a five-fight win streak that landed him in the welterweight division's top 15. He's now 5-3 in the Octagon.

Lightweight Bout: Marc Diakiese def. Lukasz Sajewski via 2nd-round TKO

With Britain's greatest UFC fighter defending his title in the main event, Marc Diakiese did his best to show that he's got next.

The Yorkshire, England native got off to a rocky start against Lukasz Sajewski in the UFC 204 preliminary opener, but eventually settled down and showed off the striking skills that have him pegged as a top lightweight prospect. In Round 2, Diakiese pinned Sajewski against the cage and blistered him with punches and knees until the fight was waved off at the 4:40 mark.

An ecstatic Diakiese celebrated his first UFC win with a backflip before laying face down on the mat.

Sajewski was actually ahead after one round. The grappling-minded Pole immediately took down Diakiese as the 23-year-old fighter charged in to open the bout. Sajewski was able to stay in top control for the majority of the round, except for Diakiese picking him up and slamming him to the mat at one point.

Unfortunately for Sajewski, taking this fight on less than a week's notice as an injury replacement appeared to take its toll on him and he visibly faded in Round 2. That fatigue allowed Diakiese to find the range, piece him up, and find the finish.

Despite doing the UFC a favor by saving this bout, Sajewski's future with the promotion could be in jeopardy. In his three Octagon appearances, he has yet to get his hand raised.