Couture Imposes Will on Belfort, Reclaims UFC Light-Heavyweight Title

Also making a successful debut was 26-year-old Justin Eilers, who climbed to the top of the Octagon fencing, smiled a wide smile and embraced the shower of cheers that poured down from inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena after knocking his former college roommate, Mike Kyle, silly with a bomb of a left hook early in the first round of their fight.

Recovering from an early knee to the groin that saw referee John McCarthy deduct a point from Kyle -- even though the knees that followed the initial groin strike landed on Eilers' knee pad -- Eilers moved full force towards his 6-foot-4, 237-pound friend-turned-competitor.

A heavy right connected to the side of Kyle's head, backing him to the cage fencing. The fighters clinched and Kyle, 24, threw a knee strike aimed at Eilers' head. The former Iowa State middle linebacker answered with a bomb of a left hook that clipped Kyle's chin and dropped him to the canvas. Eilers followed to continue the onslaught before McCarthy jumped in at the 1:14 mark.

With the win, Eilers improves his record to solid 9-2-1, while Kyle slips to 11-3-0. Following the fight, it was learned that Eilers had injured his hand and knee during the fight, so he joined Kyle in a local area hospital as a precautionary measure.