Lavar Johnson Suffers 1-Punch KO Loss to Vinicius Spartan in Bellator Debut

Lavar Johnson is known for his longtime allergy to the judges. Win or lose, Johnson has always been somebody who sees fights finished.

Tonight was no different, but he can't like the results. The former WEC, Strikeforce and UFC fighter made his Bellator debut and wound up suffering a shockingly quick knockout at the hands of Vinicius "Spartan" Queiroz. 

After a short feeling-out period, Queiroz threw a straight right, right down the pipe. It landed where the jaw meets the skull, and Johnson literally flopped to the cage unconscious. Queiroz chased him to the ground and landed a half-effort punch before the referee pulled them apart.

Johnson recovered remarkably quickly and protested the decision, but there was absolutely no doubt about the finish.

The fight lasted just 23 seconds.

The bout was Johnson's Bellator debut. He owns a 3-2 record in Strikeforce and a 2-2 record in the UFC. However, a failed drug test following his ugly decision loss to a suddenly resurgent Brendan Schaub sealed his fate, and he was booted from the UFC shortly thereafter.

Recently, Johnson has opened up on the failed drug test, citing TRT use that was not properly reported to the commission ahead of UFC 157.

The bout was part of a four-man heavyweight tournament in Bellator's ninth season. The winner of the bout will face off with the winner of Cheick Kongo vs. Mark Godbeer, and the winner of the tournament will face off with Bellator heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov.

Keep an eye out on Bleacher Report for results from Kongo vs. Godbeer!