Karl James Noons brought the thunder on Saturday, as he dispatched the first challenger to his EliteXC lightweight throne in less than a minute.

Noons floored Yves Edwards with a short but destructive right hand and then swarmed in for the finish against the American Top Team veteran in the main event at Elite Xtreme Combat: Return of the King at the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu.

The match lasted a mere 48 seconds, as Noons forced the stoppage with close to 20 unanswered rapid fire blows on the ground.

"He's a great competitor," Noons said. "In MMA, that's what happens. You get caught with a shot."

Noons speaks from experience. In February 2007, Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett spoiled his EliteXC debut with a one-punch knockout, though that embarrassing low seems like a lifetime ago. The 25-year-old Noons, competing on his native Hawaiian soil for the first time in nearly two years, posted his third straight win by technical knockout. His homecoming was sweet.

"I had my first fight here, and I got to defend my title here," Noons said. "This is the best place to fight."

Edwards staggered Noons in the bout's opening seconds but got caught pursuing his former sparring partner. Only Rumina Sato had stopped the 31-year-old sooner. Edwards had nothing but praise for Noons, the first man to finish him inside one round in more than eight years.

"He's the man," Edwards said. "There's not much I can say. He just whooped my as*. He dropped me, and I was out."

Noons was afforded little time to savor the win, however, as he was confronted by Nick Diaz inside the cage. Words were exchanged between the two sides, and a melee nearly resulted. Security quickly restored order, and EliteXC will almost certainly use the altercation as the catalyst for a rematch between the two. Noons defeated Diaz for the vacant lightweight title in November.

Source: msn.foxsports.com