New Bellator lightweight champ Brent Primus believes he broke Michael Chandler's ankle

Newly minted Bellator lightweight Brent Primus sees no accident in the ankle injury that ended Michael Chandler’s night at Bellator NYC.

“I kicked his leg, and I felt his bone, and I really believe I broke that,” Chandler (16-4 MMA, 13-4 BMMA) said after his first-round win at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. “I had him injured, so to all you haters, awesome.”

Primus (8-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) encountered plenty of disapproval as he celebrated his newly acquired title, which was awarded when cageside medical officials disallowed Chandler from continuing. He was immediately booed after taking the belt.

Even a reporter at the post-fight news conference went so far as to ask him how he felt about taking the title when he didn’t win the fight.

“Well, I injured him in the fight to stop the fight, so I feel like I won,” Primus countered. “But I’ve been practicing those low leg kicks for a while, and I’ve been kicking the crap out of my teammates.

“That low kick has really been injuring my training partners, and I’m sorry for all my training partners that I’ve been kicking the crap out of for the last few months. But that low kick is deadly, man, and it hurts people and I showed it tonight.”

The now-former champ had taken several leg kicks from Primus and appeared to be avoiding another one when his left ankle badly rolled and he was suddenly unable to put weight on his leg.

Chandler tried in vain to stay in the fight, even ordering Primus to kick it. Primus obliged, trying to chop Chandler’s legs out from under him.

“I think he knew he was hurt, so I think he was trying to tell me to kick him so it didn’t seem like he was hurt,” Primus said. “But I knew he was hurt; his leg kept buckling.

“I kick people two or three times with that low kick, and they ask me, please don’t kick me again without shin pads. It does the job.”

Although Primus is savoring his accomplishment, he is ready to grant Chandler a rematch. Bellator chief Scott Coker gave no timeline for when that might happen, as the extent of the former champ’s injuries are unknown.

When Chandler’s healed up, however, he no doubt plans to erase the memory of his pay-per-view debut at Madison Square Garden. Primus will look to remind him.

In the meantime, people are making sure the new champ doesn’t forget how he got the belt. But he is adamant he did nothing wrong.

“(The boos disappoint me) a little bit, but I know (Chandler is) the people’s champion,” Primus said. “He’s been Bellator’s poster boy for a long time. People don’t understand – a kick can end the fight just as well as a punch.”

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