It wasn't the traditional way to win a title, but Renato "Babalu" Sobral will take it. The Brazilian captured his first major MMA championship, winning the Strikeforce light-heavyweight belt after a doctor stoppage following the first round.

The cut that caused the stoppage came with just seconds left in the round. After almost the entirety of the round was spent clinching against the cage, Sobral caught Southworth with a short left elbow that opened a nasty gash over the right eye. The ringside doctor checked the cut and allowed the fight to continue, and Southworth came out with a newfound aggression, landing a punch that put Sobral on his back, but the round ended seconds later.

Between the rounds, doctors at San Jose's HP Pavilion re-checked the cut and ruled that Southworth could not continue, giving Sobral the win.

"I'm thankful to be the champion," he said shortly after capturing the belt. "He was a true champion in the light-heavyweight division in Strikeforce. I'm here now, though. It's my belt. Come and take it."

The crowd rained down boos on Sobral, whose opponent is a popular local fighter. Sobral (31-7) told the audience he'd be willing to offer Southworth a rematch "anytime, anywhere."

Despite the presence of that title fight, the main event actually featured a middleweight fight between heavy hitters Scott Smith and Terry Martin.

It took Smith just one straight right and 24 seconds to show off his one-punch knockout power and drop Martin for good in a highlight reel finish.

"I knew this fight wasn't going to go long," said Smith, who lost to Robbie Lawler in an EliteXC middleweight title fight last time out. "As soon as we engaged, I felt it. I knew this fight was going to end soon."

In a 164-pound catchweight fight, Duane "Bang" Ludwig won a close unanimous decision over Yves Edwards.

Edwards controlled the first round, scoring an early takedown and keeping Ludwig on his back for the duration of the round. Still, he did little damage as Ludwig neutralized him and kept himself in good defensive positions. Ludwig, known for his striking, was able to create a little more space for himself to land punches in the second, connecting several times with head shots and knees, but Edwards weathered the storm and managed to bring the fight back to the mat, where he took back control.

Ludwig looked the more energetic of the two in the third, reversing a takedown try and taking down Edwards. Essentially, the judges had to score Edwards' takedowns against Ludwig's striking, and chose the latter.

Edwards was originally scheduled to fight Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson for the title, but Thomson was forced to withdraw from the fight last week after tearing ligaments in his toe, and Ludwig took the fight on short notice.

In a women's division fight, Kim Couture earned her first pro victory, slugging her way to a first-round TKO over Lina Kvokov. Couture, fighting less than a week after her husband Randy lost his UFC heavyweight title against Brock Lesnar, came out strong and landed 28 of 44 strikes in her dominant victory, needing just 1:44.

Two weeks prior to Randy Couture's loss, his son Ryan won his first fight, earning a win in the amateur ranks by first-round triangle choke.

In a welterweight fight, former UFC fighter Joe Riggs scored a second-round TKO over Luke Stewart.

Stewart took control of the fight in the first, scoring a takedown and ending the round in mount position. But he was unable to finish, and paid for it in the second, when Riggs clipped him with a series of shots. Stewart fell to the canvas before referee John McCarthy, in his return to officiating, stopped the fight.