CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - On a night when Kimbo Slice made his professional MMA debut, KJ Noons stole the show with a first-round TKO over heavily-favored Nick Diaz to capture the EliteXC Lightweight World Championship.

 The event, which took place at The American Bank Center Arena, was presented by Gary Shaw Productions, LLC in early November.

In other televised bouts, world-ranked Jake Shields, who signed a longterm deal with EliteXC, earned his ninth win a row with a hard-fought first-round submission (rear naked choke) over Mike Pyle.

Plus, Antonio "Big Foot" Silva won his first fight in nine months via an opening-round submission (rear naked choke) over Jonathan Wiezorek and Kyle Noke, the bodyguard of the late "Crocodile Hunter," Steve Irwin, took his EliteXC debut with a second-round TKO over "Dr.'' Seth Kleinbeck due to orbital cut.

"This was a terrific show for EliteXC, SHOWTIME and the fans in attendance,'' Shaw said. "It is unfortunate that the Noons-Diaz fight had to be stopped, but fans need to understand that doctors stop fights for the health and safety of the fighters.

 "KJ was simply outstanding. He is the No. 1 lightweight in the world. He beat the guy who was considered the best lightweight, so he is No. 1. Kimbo showed that he is going to be a superstar. I believe we've got the best heavyweight in the world in Silva and the best welterweight in the world in Shields. They are going to be world champions. Noke was impressive against a tough fighter. All and all, it was a great night.''

NOONS
Noons (kjnoons.proelite.com), a native of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, is also a professional boxer. He used a combination of strikes to cut Diaz above both eyes and drop him during an action-packed first round. At the conclusion of the session, the bout was stopped by Dr. Rob Williams.

"You can't be happier than I am now,'' Noons said. "I feel great. I put in a lot of hard work for this and it paid off. No one gave me a chance. I knew I was a big underdog. But I made the best of this chance, and that is what it is all about.

"This is just the first of many belts for me. Winning a world title in boxing is next.''

Diaz (nickdiaz.proelite.com), of Stockton, Calif., was the aggressor at the outset. Before long, however, his face was a bloody mess.

"He landed some good shots (to cause the cuts)," said Diaz (15-7), who was incensed by the doctor's decision and stormed out of the ring. "But he was such a small guy. I couldn't get a grip on him. He doesn't hit that hard. I knew I should have boxed him more.''

Kimbo (kimboslice.proelite.com), aka Kevin Ferguson, was clearly the crowd's favorite. Each time his name was mentioned or a video of him was shown, they cheered.

The legendary street-fighting Internet legend didn't give them a lot to watch, however, as he dispatched Bo Cantrell in just 19 seconds.
"I wanted the fight to go a little longer so I could maybe show a little more, but it is good to get this one out of the way,'' Kimbo (1-0), of Miami, said. "There was a little tension but now I can relax and sigh a little bit.

"I was prepared for anything he was going to throw at me. I envisioned it all so what he did at the start was no surprise.
"I am looking forward to fighting again, next week, tomorrow, it doesn't matter.''

Said legendary trainer Bas Rutten:  "I am happy for Kimbo, but he needs an opponent that is going to push him a little. I think he can handle it, but I want to see how he does when he has to face some adversity and go a full round or two.
"Really, Kimbo got nothing out of this fight tonight - except for a nice payday.''

- EliteXC