Bellator 51: Recap & Analysis

Jon Jones defeats Rampage Jackson by submission to retain his UFC light heavyweight belt.

Matt Hughes gets knocked into retirement by Josh Koscheck.

And finally, the Red Sox lose...again.

Now that you got your sports update from yesterday, let's talk about what you missed: An explosive night of bantamweight fighters looking to claw their way to a shot at Zach Makovsky's bantamweight title, including Joe Warren, looking to make history.  

Bantamweights always bring excitement in any organization, and this night wasn't any different.

Bellator 51: Ed West Decisions Luis Nogueira

Round 1 

Ed West began the fight very busily with jabs and outside leg kicks.  

Luis Nogueira used a flurry to close distance, but West utilized head kicks to push back to use his length advantage.  Nogueira was very fiery at the weigh in and looked to carry over that intensity into the fight.  Nogueira hit West with a right hand, but West recovered for a takedown.  

West applied pressure and fired shots from full guard.  Nogueira is very powerful and compact and West showed throughout the round that he doesn't want to eat any of his punches.

Round 2

West started the round looking to establish his range with kicks.  

West tied up into clinch which played into Nogueira's strategy.  Nogueira was clearly stronger, however West is known as a better ground tactician.  Nogueira wanted to make the fight a slugfest, but West wouldn't stay still long enough for that.  

Nogueira finally conceded to take the fight to the mat and took West down.  After scrambling to his feet, West attempted a flying switch kick, but it didn't land.  

At the close of the round, West landed a solid flying knee and Nogueira tried to answer with the same technique at the bell. 

Round 3

West showed great cardio and still looked fresh and bounced around like he did in the first round.  Nogueira got the clinch and forced the fight to the cage.  

Nogueira threw a plethora of foot stomps that looked very painful. West worked his distance by throwing more kicks and connected with his best one in the entire fight.  Nogueira hadn't connected with a solid shot at all.  West employed the Dominick Cruz school of fighting model for this fight. 

West wins by unanimous decision and it appears that he can use great cardio and solid ground skills to push him further in the tournament.

Bellator 51: Marcos Galvao Best Chase Beebe in a Close Fight

Round 1

Marcos Galvao closes distance quickly with strikes and secured a takedown very early on, and rolled into a rear naked choke attempt.  

Galvao showed off his Brazilian jiu-jistu prowess in converting the rear naked into a triangle attempt as Chase Beebe tried to fend him off.  Not to be outdone, Beebe reversed into a guillotine attempt of his own, but couldn't finish.

Galvao then reversed Beebe and went for armbar.  Beebe once again reversed Galvao and launched another guillotine attempt.  

An exciting first round concluded with both men weary from ground submission attempts and eager for the bell.

Round 2

Beebe looked visibly tired from the first round Brazilian jiu-jistu clinic.  

Galvao dictated the pace and seemed to be the only one initiating any offense.  Beebe turned it on and started landing right hands, but none of them power punches. Beebe exploded into a takedown attempt, but Galvao moved the fight to the cage.  

Galvao reversed position and got a takedown where he fired ground and pound from side control.  

Round 3

Galvoa continued to dictate the fight from stand up with Beebe not connecting on any solid shots.

Galvoa got the better of the all the exchanges, and continued to land the right hand.  Beebe showed a lack of conditioning, but no lack of heart.  He dictated the last few minutes but it wasn't enough.

Galvao wins the fight via decision as he just appeared to be the busier of the two fighters.  Chase Beebe should do more cardio work to be more effective in later rounds.  

Galvao should get off to a faster start in round one as he advances to the next round.

Bellator 51: Eduardo Dantas KO's Wilson Reis with a Flying Knee

Round 1

Both fighters jab to feel out the distance and timing of the opposing fighter.  

Wilson Reis tried to close distance early and showed a very busy fighting stance.  Eduardo Dantas appeared very relaxed and conserved his energy by picking his shots carefully.  Dantas threw a flying knee that didn't land and to counter Reis looked for a takedown but was stuffed.  

Reis closed the distance and pushed the fight to the cage.  Reis threw knees to thighs of Dantas while on the cage, but there wasn't enough activity for the referee, and he re-set the fighters.

Reis threw shots from a lot of angles, but they never did any damage.  

Round 2

Both fighters threw a few strikes, then Dantas connected with a front kick to push Reis back.  Reis is very scrappy, but when Dantas sees an opening after a failed attack he smashes Reis with a flying knee that connects square on the chin.  

A few seconds of ground and pound and Reis' night and run in this tournament was over.

Dantas is from the school of Jose Aldo, actually as a fellow Nova União fighter.  He throws his strikes and looks for openings just like the UFC featherweight champion.  

He is extremely dangerous for whomever he draws in the next round.  

Reis, a two time tournament challenger in Bellator, will look to shore up the holes in his game for his next performance.

Bellator 51: Alexis Vila Shatters Joe Warren's Dreams with a KO Victory

Joe Warren, the baddest man on the planet, entered the cage with utmost confidence, stemming from his run to capture, to retain the Bellator featherweight title.  

The titleholder looked to capture a belt in a different weight class similar to Randy Couture, B. J. Penn, and Dan Henderson.  The former Greco-Roman wrestling champion entered the bout undefeated in his Bellator career. 

Alexis Vila has some skins on the wall also.  

Vila is a Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling at the 1996 summer games.  Undefeated in his MMA career, the 40-year-old brought "big-game" experience into the fight and isn't easily rattled.

Round 1

What some would call the main event of the night started off at a frenetic pace.

Vila landed a solid head kick early on that didn't hurt Warren.  Warren tried to find the range with jab, but couldn't connect with any shots.  

Vila connected on Warren with a solid right that stunned him.  Warren tried to tie him up and Vila broke away and launched another brick of a left hand and Warren is out on his way down.  

If you looked at Vila's MMA record, you could've seen this happening:  A brutal knockout victory.   

Alexis Vila showed that he can't be overlooked as he brings explosive power and finishing ability to the next round.

Joe Warren will pick up the pieces of his dream and steady himself for a title defense in the featherweight division.