British striker Paul Taylor met Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and The Ultimate Fighter season five contestant Gabe Ruediger in the third preliminary fight on the UFC 126 undercard on Saturday night. Despite Taylor's 3-5 record in eight appearances with the promotion, bad judging and bad luck has kept Taylor in the good graces of Dana White along with a move down to 155 pounds. A controversial split decision loss to Sam Stout in his debut in the weight class has left Taylor on a rough skid.

Taylor put an end to that skid as he battered Gabe Ruediger with superior striking skills over the course of two rounds. Taylor's footwork and kicking ability kept Ruediger at a distance for most of the fight, causing Gabe to eventually lunge for single leg takedowns in desperation. Taylor easily fended off the attempts and continued a tactical gameplan of striking from a distance. One minute and forty seconds into the second round, Taylor landed a beautiful combination that ended with a chin-cracking head kick, instantly downing Ruediger and ending the fight after a couple more punches.

Taylor's run of bad luck finally ends, and he could be in the running for a knockout of the night bonus if the main card doesn't produce the results the undercard has tonight.