Brad Pickett blames late start for his first-round loss to Iuri Alcantara

As soon as Brad Pickett found himself on the back foot against Iuri Alcantara, he never looked likely to turn things around.

The British bantamweight lasted just two minutes before suffering a first-round submission at the hands of his Brazilian opponent. And 'One Punch' - who won on his last outing against Francisco Rivera at UFC London in February - thinks the late start may have played a part in his defeat. Pickett entered the Octagon at around 2am UK time, with the start pushed back later than London to accommodate American pay-per-view audience, and never really looked like getting the better of Alcantara. The veteran, who now holds a 34-7 (1) career MMA record, connected with a flurry of punches before ultimately securing victory via submission. https://twitter.com/UFCEurope/status/784930243916083200 "I think the late night maybe affected me a little bit," said Pickett, who admitted to being "absolutely gutted" with the result.

"He started out how I expected him to. He was quite aggressive and he came forward. "I need to watch the fight back. I knew he was going to be a fast starter, but I wanted to try and weather the storm but I wasn’t able to."

Pickett has now lost four of his last five bouts, leaving him with a 5-7 record in the UFC. Catch up with the latest episode of Football Friday Live: