Bellator has a new lightweight champion, although it came with a little bit of confusion.
Brent Primus won the Bellator Lightweight Championship after Michael Chandler appeared to have severely hurt his left ankle a little less than two-and-a-half minutes into the fight.
Chandler’s ankle bent at a very awkward angle after taking a weird step forward early in the first round. Primus then started attacking Chandler’s ankle, which kept bending numerous times throughout the short fight, with various kicks, seemingly turning Chandler’s left leg various shades of red. Referee Todd Anderson stopped the fight so that Chandler can be attended to by doctors. After about a minute of evaluation, the fight was stopped and Primus was awarded the win. Bellator broadcasters Jimmy Smith and Mauro Ranallo, as well as the Madison Square Garden crowd, was confused at the referee initially pausing te fight instead of either stopping the fight for good or letting the fighters continue.
Below is an excerpt from Fightful’s live coverage of Bellator 180 on the fight’s finish.
Round One: The round begins with Primus attacking Chandler with a high kick, Chandler starts popping Primus with a few jabs. Primus also cracks Chandler with a few leg kicks, Primus rocks Chandler with a blocked head kick followed by a knee strike. Primus attacks Chandler with leg kicks and Chandler is hurt badly, Primus continues attacking Chandler with leg kicks. Chandler drops a swinging Primus with a counter right hook, Primus recovers and the referee calls time to have Chandler’s injured leg looked at. The doctor waves off the fight due to the injury.
Official Result: #10 Brent Primus def. Michael Chandler by TKO via injury (2:22, R1) to win the Bellator MMA Lightweight Title
Primus moves to 8-0 as a pro MMA fighter with six first-round stoppages. Primus is 6-0 in Bellator, having won his very first Bellator title.
The fight was the third title fight on the entire Bellator 180 card, with the light heavyweight title also changing hands at the event.
