Brent Primus is the Bellator lightweight champion whether Michael Chandler or the fans like it or not.

There have been a lot of changes in the life of Brent Primus. From a guy overcoming adversity, fighting in teeny cages at nightclubs and bars, to getting the opportunity to fight Michael Chandler at Madison Square Garden for the Bellator lightweight championship, winning the title and becoming a dad. Primus has had a lot of great things happen to him.

Primus defeated Chandler via doctor’s stoppage, due to an ankle injury, in the first round at Bellator NYC back in June to capture Bellator gold for the first time. The way that he was able to get the win has been met with controversy and negativity, mostly from Chandler and some by fans. At the end of the day, Primus said he would shock the world and win the title. That’s exactly what he did.

Chandler has been very vocal since losing the title to Primus, asking for a rematch for a title he has been synonymous with over the years. While the doctors were checking on Chandler after the ankle, Chandler was getting ready to sit on the stool, which then got pulled out from under him causing the former champion to hit the canvas. Primus has heard the negativity and has seen the viral video that spread after capturing the belt.

Ha… They just pulled the stool out from Michael Chandler before he went to sit down, causing him to crash to the canvas, then he gets TKOd pic.twitter.com/9cjAQp9SH1 — Fury's Fight Picks (@FurysFightPicks) June 25, 2017

“At first I felt bad for him but then after I heard him talking and being totally disrespectful, blaming it on rolling his ankle, I totally lost 100 percent respect for that dude,” Primus told FanSided MMA via the SFLC Podcast. “He was complaining about how he wanted to fight and the stool was out there, which got pulled out from under him. But if he really wanted to fight at that moment, why would he sit down? If you really wanted to fight and you’re ready, you wouldn’t sit down. You would be like, ‘Let’s do this, I’m ready.’ He was injured. I don’t understand how he thinks he could fight going on like that. He reminded me of a newborn calf that couldn’t walk. But that guy talks a lot of crap. I thought he was much more respectful than he really is. They say a true champion is humble in defeat and in victory; that is not the case with Chandler.”

For such a great moment, it was met with a bit of a sour taste. Primus had a lot more riding on the fight with Chandler than just winning and attempting to capture a title belt. With his family life about to change with a new addition, this was the biggest fight of Primus’ career for a number of reasons.

“Oh man, it was such a crappy thing,” Primus said. “Just walking into that cage was a crazy obstacle. I was walking in with many injuries and it was really tough, I was broke. I was so excited and it really was the best feeling in the world. I literally could’ve crapped myself in front on national television, in front of millions of people, and I would’ve been totally fine with it. All I was thinking about was, ‘I’m going to be able to pay all of my bills. I won’t have to think about any of that.’ I had a baby coming in about a month and kept thinking about how I’m going to pay for diapers and clothes, we need to make a nursery, so I was really excited.

“I had no idea that the fans and everybody thought that he rolled his ankle,” Primus continued. “As soon as I kicked him I knew that something was wrong. I immediately saw it in his eyes and he started dragging his foot. As soon as I kicked him I could hear my corner yelling out, ‘His leg’s broken, his leg’s broken.’ That’s when I knew to start kicking the crap out of that leg. I threw a couple of head kicks and he stepped back and the first kick killed the nerve, they call it drop foot, so when you lift up your leg your foot just drops. The first kick killed the nerve and everyone thought he rolled his ankle. The fight happened the way I was training for. I knew he would come at me. He has a solid, explosive right hand so when he comes out, he puts all of his weight on his front leg to throw that right hand. For three months I was practicing leg kicks and timing so that as soon as he tried to throw that right hand, I would chop him with leg kicks. It went down the way we planned to a T; way better than I thought it would.”

As MMA fans are accustomed to, they let their opinions fly about the way the fight came to its conclusion. The words ‘fluke’ and ‘lucky’ seemed to be thrown around towards Primus, but that’s totally fine by him.

“I know it was not exactly what the fans wanted to see but I was kicking him to stop the fight and that’s what happened. I know it wasn’t a knockout, but it is what it is. I’m the world champion so screw all of those guys. Everyone was saying, ‘Oh Brent, you got knocked down, you got dropped, you were dazed.’ I was not rocked at one point in that fight. If you watch it, I was throwing a switch kick and I was on one leg leaning back and threw a cross. It caught me off-balance and I just dropped but at no point was I rocked in that fight.”

The lightweight division in Bellator continues to become very interesting. On Saturday night at Bellator 183, a big lightweight main event took place between Patricky Pitbull and former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson. Pitbull would win a split-decision and did what he was supposed to do, he called out the champion. Following the headliner, Primus and Pitbull had engaged in a conversation on Twitter. Chandler decided to jump into the thread.

Thanks! I have to promote the fight. Let's do this! Good luck with your baby 👊🏻 — Patricky Freire (@PatrickyPitbull) September 24, 2017

thanks man🙏 being a dad is the best thing on earth But I'm down to throw down👊 #fireworks #nojudges #ready @BellatorMMA — Brent Primus (@brentprimus155) September 24, 2017

you two can fight it out for title of "never heard of that guy" and "chokes under pressure" — Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) September 24, 2017

“It doesn’t surprise me. I think of Chandler as just a punk,” Primus said. “He just wants to talk crap and try to belittle everybody. That’s cool. Some people like to be jerks and try to bring people down and some people don’t. He just felt like he had to get up in there.”

Primus has understandably decided to take a little time off since winning the title to enjoy fatherhood. The Bellator lightweight champion is hoping to defend his title for the first time in December or early 2018. So the big question is, will it be Michael Chandler or Patricky Pitbull?

“I would say Chandler deserves it, but I don’t think he does,” Primus said. “He literally is just making up excuses, hiding behind the instant replay and the fans that he rolled his ankle. He knows, just as well as I do, that he did not roll his ankle. I just think it’s a super cowardly thing. Scott Coker even said that it was the kick that killed the nerve. That’s what Chandler said, that’s what the doctor said. The dude is a coward. At the same time, I don’t think he deserves it because of all the excuses about the loss, but I do want to fight him because of the controversy behind the fight, people saying I got lucky and everything. I want to prove everybody wrong and that’s why I want to fight him. Pitbull is a better martial artist and a cooler dude than Chandler’s punk ass. But definitely want to fight Chandler to prove everybody wrong, that’s for sure.