Brent Primus was shocked he didn’t get his hand raised against Islam Mamedov at Bellator 263.
Although Primus spent the majority of the fight on his back, he was the one doing all the damage. He was landing heavy shots from the bottom while Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protégé was just holding him down and not landing anything significant.
When the bell rang, the commentators/analysts including John McCarthy and Josh Thomson, who is Mamedov’s teammates said they thought Primus should get the nod. Yet, when the scorecards were read, it was Mamedov winning by split decision which Primus doesn’t understand.
“Yeah, I thought I had it won,” Primus said to BJPENN.com. “They always say never leave it to the judges but once he got me to the ground, he wasn’t trying to advance positions, he wasn’t trying to hurt me or finish the fight. I just felt like he was defending. My offense off my back was too much for him and he wasn’t doing anything. It sucks for sure that I didn’t get the win.”
After the controversial decision, Primus made it clear he wants to run it back with Mamedov. However, after the fight, the Dagestani native made it clear he had no interest in the rematch. For the former Bellator champion, he believes that is because Mamedov knows he lost the fight.
“I didn’t want to fight this guy in the beginning as I never heard of him. I wanted a top-10 guy but this is who they offered and I needed to fight. Now, after the way it ended, I want the rematch. I have been bugging my manager to get the rematch but now apparently he doesn’t want to,” Primus explained. “Most people thought I won the fight. It makes sense to run it back but now apparently he doesn’t want to fight me. I feel like he doesn’t want to fight me again because he knows he couldn’t dominate me and run through me like he thought he did. He knows I’m the better fighter and he knows I’d finish him if we rematched.”
If Primus doesn’t get the rematch, he wants to return as soon as possible. He just recently re-signed a new six-fight deal with the promotion and the goal for Primus to stay active and work his way back up to the belt.
“I’m just looking to be active. I want to fight again as soon as possible, as I’m already back in the gym and awaiting the next fight,” Primus said.
Who do you think Brent Primus should fight next?