Joe Warren entered Bellator 51 with all the bravado of a superstar, but exited with a whimper. The Bellator featherweight champion fell just 64 seconds into the opening round of Saturday's bantamweight tournament quarterfinal fight, knocked out cold at the hands of 40-year-old Alexis Vila. The now 10-0 Cuban defector started early, clipping Warren with an immediate overhand right before a swarming left hook sealed the deal. The impressive performance was Vila's sixth straight knockout, and just the second loss to stain Warren's record.
Elsewhere in the tournament, rising 20-year-old prospect Eduardo Dantas made short work of Wilson Reis, crushing the American with a jumping knee midway through round two for his fourth straight win.
Fellow Nova Uniao trainee Marcos Galvao stunned former WEC champion Chase Beebe for the better part of three rounds, claiming a split decision win (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) on the heels of a relentless jiu-jitsu attack augmented by looping overhand rights.
Lastly, Bellator season three tournament runner-up Ed West kicked off another run to the finals in dominating fashion, taking a unanimous decision victory (30-27, 29-28, 29-29) over Brazilian up-and-comer Luis Alberto Nogueira.
Complete Bellator 51 results:
Main Card:
Alexis Vila def. Joe Warren via KO (punch) at 1:04 of round 1.
Eduardo Dantas def. Wilson Reis via KO (strikes) at 1:02 of round 2.
Marcos Galvao def. Chase Beebe via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
Ed West def. Luis Nogueira via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).
Preliminary Card:
Frank Caraballo def. Dustin Kempf by TKO (Knee Injury) at 1:19 of Round 1.
Jessica Eye def. Casey Noland via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
Jesse Riggleman def. Farkhad Sharipov via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27).
Dan Spohn def. Dane Bonnigson via KO (knee) at 0:09 of round 1.
John Hawk def. Allan Weickert via TKO (retirement) at 5:00 of round 2.
Joey Holt def. Clint Musser via KO (flying knee) at 4:07 of round 1.