Bellator champ Brent Primus apologizes to everybody but Michael Chandler for title-fight withdrawal

Bellator lightweight champ Brent Primus claims to have done everything in his power to remain in next month’s Bellator 197 main event, but ultimately he had to pull the plug on his rematch with Michael Chandler.

After winning the title from Chandler (17-4 MMA, 14-4 BMMA) at Bellator NYC in June, Primus (8-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) was supposed to return to action for a rematch and his first title defense at Bellator 197, which will take place April 13 at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., with a main card that airs on Paramount and prelims streamed on MMAjunkie.

A knee injury was the culprit behind Primus’ withdrawal, and currently there’s no timeframe available for when he will be able to return to action. The 155-pound titleholder said he tried to work through the situation but after realizing it wasn’t possible, was officially forced to withdraw earlier this week.

News surfaced on Tuesday that Primus won’t be fighting at Bellator 197 and would be replaced by Brandon Girtz (15-7 MMA, 7-5 BMMA) in a non-title bout. Today, Primus released a statement on the situation (via Instagram):

This sport is full of ups and downs. This past week has been a real low. I've trained and faught through injuries multiple times but this time was different. I tried moving around and shadow boxing after taking a week off and it just wasn't possible. I would really like to apologize to @bellatormma, all my coaches that put so much work in with me, all my sponsors, all my family and friends that bought airfare and tickets. There's not a man in this world that I would rather fight than @mikechandlermma. It's going to happen sooner than later! @teamoyama @gbportland @performancemartialarts @badboybrands @bellatormma @iridiumsports • • • #injuriessuck #fml?? #bebacksoon #summer2018 #rematch #mytime #andstill

A post shared by Brent Primus (@brentprimus155) on Mar 21, 2018 at 12:07pm PDT

This sport is full of ups and downs. This past week has been a real low. I’ve trained and faught through injuries multiple times but this time was different. I tried moving around and shadow boxing after taking a week off and it just wasn’t possible. I would really like to apologize to @bellatormma, all my coaches that put so much work in with me, all my sponsors, all my family and friends that bought airfare and tickets. There’s not a man in this world that I would rather fight than @mikechandlermma. It’s going to happen sooner than later!

The latest setback for Primus continues his run of battling through an inconsistent fight schedule. The 32-year-old made his MMA debut in September 2010 but has had just eight fights in his more than seven-year career.

Primus has not fought more than once in a calendar year since 2013, and given the severity of his injury, his timeframe to compete this year continues to shrink.

For more on Bellator 197, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.