A staple of the
Bellator
MMA promotion for the better part of a decade,
Brent
Primus assured himself of at least one more run in the
spotlight.
The 38-year-old Oregon native will toe the line against
Mansour
Barnaoui when their lightweight grand prix quarterfinal serves
as the co-main event for
Bellator 296 on Friday at Accor Arena in Paris. Primus has lost
twice in his past three appearances. He last fought on June 24,
when he succumbed to punches from
Alexandr
Shabliy in the second round of their Bellator 282
confrontation.
As Primus approaches his high-stakes showdown with Barnaoui at 155
pounds, a look at five of the many moments that have come to define
him:
1. Eye-Opening Entrance
Primus made his promotional debut as part of the Bellator 101
undercard and did not disappoint, as he took care of
Scott
Thometz with a first-round rear-naked choke on Sept. 27, 2013
at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. The end came 3:48 into
Round 1. Thometz, who wrestled collegiately at Boise State
University, pressed for takedowns without regard for his opponent’s
counterattacks. Primus threatened with a kimura and an armbar and
eventually scrambled to the back. He secured himself with his legs,
flattened Thometz into a hopeless belly-down position, patiently
worked the blade of his forearm under the chin and laced his arms
in a figure four to produce the tapout. Primus was just three pro
bouts into his career at the time but forced Bellator to take
notice.
2. An Unexpected Turn
Though the undefeated Primus laid claim to the Bellator MMA
lightweight championship in a stunning upset of
Michael
Chandler, he did so with an asterisk attached. Chandler
suffered an ankle injury while dodging a low kick that left him
unable to continue in first round of their Bellator 280 co-feature
on June 24, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York. He did all
he could to move forward, but it became clear he was compromised,
necessitating an anticlimactic stoppage 2:22 into Round 1. The
technical knockout resulted in an unexpected change at the top of
the 155-pound weight class and brought Primus a whole new level of
fame.
3. Order Restored
Chandler became the first-ever three-time Bellator MMA champion
when he reclaimed the lightweight crown with a lopsided unanimous
decision over the Sports Lab product in the Bellator 212 headliner
on Dec. 14, 2018 at the Neil S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. All
three judges scored it 50-45. Primus never seemed comfortable
outside of a second-round exchange in which he advanced to the back
and threatened to cinch a rear-naked choke. Chandler executed
takedowns in the first, third, fourth and fifth rounds, maintained
advantageous positions for minutes at a time and applied his
ground-and-pound whenever possible. By the time it was over, there
was little doubt regarding the outcome.
4. Toe Meet Table
Primus stubbed his proverbial toe and wound up on the wrong side of
a split decision against
Professional Fighters League veteran
Islam
Mamedov in a three-round Bellator 263 showcase on July 31, 2021
at The Forum in Inglewood, California. All three judges struck
29-28 scorecards: Bryan Miner and Marcel Varela for Mamedov, Sal
D’Amato for Primus. For the American, it was a notable step in the
wrong direction at 155 pounds. Mamedov executed takedowns in all
three rounds, racked up control time and managed to successfully
navigate his opponent’s active guard. Primus attempted a number of
submissions from his back, including an omoplata, a kimura and an
armbar. All of it went for naught.
5. A Meaningful Notch
Superiority in the scrambles and airtight submission defense
spurred Primus to a unanimous decision over former
World Extreme Cagefighting and
Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder
Benson
Henderson in their Bellator 268 lightweight attraction on Oct.
16, 2021 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. Scores were 29-28,
30-27 and 30-27. Primus denied repeated takedowns and outmaneuvered
the
MMA Lab cornerstone in a majority of their grappling exchanges.
He tied a bow on another high-profile victory with a strong third
round, where he spent more than two minutes on Henderson’s back.
Primus did not do much in terms of meaningful damage, but he
managed to bottle up an all-time great and coasted to the finish
line.