LAS VEGAS -- Demian Maia never quite got to the top of the UFC as a middleweight. Will he be able to make a run at welterweight?

Maia needed less than a minute to win his welterweight debut at UFC 148 on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Korean standout Dong Hyun-Kim was injured on a trip by Maia, giving the latter a TKO victory in 47 seconds.

Kim landed awkwardly on the trip, reaching out to try to break his fall but landing on both his ribs and his neck. After Mario Yamasaki called a stop to the fight, Kim clutched his ribs, and he was still doing so when he left the cage.

"I wasn't sure if I should throw him, I know he was a judo guy," said Maia. "When I took him down, he fell really hard on his neck."

Maia (16-4) snapped a string of seven fights which ended via decision with the win. Kim has dropped three of his past four fights.