Brent Primus who? Bellator 197's Michael Chandler focused on 'scary, dangerous' Brandon Girtz

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. – Michael Chandler has accepted the fact he’s not fighting for the Bellator lightweight title Friday, and that means he’s turned focus completely off champ Brent Primus.

Primus (8-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) took the 155-pound belt from Chandler (17-4 MMA, 14-4 BMMA) last June, and the organization has been trying to book a rematch since. It was supposed to happen at Bellator 197, but the champion suffered an injury and was forced to withdraw. He was replaced by Brandon Girtz (15-7 MMA, 7-5 BMMA) in a non-title fight.

Chandler, 31, has only said negative things about Primus since their fight, and the mere mention of his name causes some visible irritation from “Iron.” If Chandler beats Girtz in the Bellator 197 headliner, though, booking the rematch only seems logical. Chandler, however, said he’s not into it.

“I couldn’t care less about him,” Chandler told MMAjunkie. “If I never hear that name again I’ll be 100 percent great. It would do the whole MMA world a great deal of favor if we never had to worry about him again. He’s a part-time fighter. He’s a Dillon Danis. These people aren’t real fighters. If you fight one time every 16 months, you’re not a real fighter. This will be my 22nd fight in the amount of time he’s had in his career. I’m not really worried about that. I’m tired of talking about him.”

Bellator 197 will take place at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. The main card, headlined by Chandler vs. Girtz, will air on Paramount following prelims on MMAjunkie.

Although Chandler has no problem unleashing a verbal assault on Primus, his tone about Girtz is something entirely different. Chandler said he holds his replacement opponent in high regard, and despite his status as an overwhelming favorite, Chandler’s aware there’s no such thing as a gimme in combat sports.

“He’s probably one of the toughest guys in the lightweight division,” Chandler said. “Am I better than him skill-wise and better than him on paper? Am I supposed to win? Of course. But I know a good competitor when I see one, I know a tough man when I see one. I’ve watched all his fights, I’ve seen all his fights, even before I knew I was going to fight him. I knew I was going to fight him eventually. I didn’t know it was going to be under these circumstances, but he’s a scary, dangerous guy.

“I’m supposed to beat him, I can beat him, and I’m better than him in every aspect of the game, but I’d be kidding myself if I didn’t realize that you’ve got to take every single fight seriously and realize that there’s a ton of risk no matter who you’re fighting. You’ve just got to embrace that and hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”

Chandler has dealt with a lot of turbulent waters in his career (including opponent changes), so there’s not much about the Bellator 197 situation that rattles him. Of course, he would prefer if the original plan of rematching Primus for the title had worked out, but he said he’s learned to take the positives out of the situation and is locked in on his current reality.

“Every fight that I have is a fight that I want,” Chandler said. “At some point you have to realize that you’re not in control of who steps in the cage with you; you’re not in control. The promoters can do what they want; the fighters can do what they want as far as being your opponent. You’ve just got to be ready to step in the cage, bite down on your mouthpiece and fight. That’s what I’ve always done.”

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