Ex-lightweight champ Brent Primus continued to work his way back to divisional relevance with a second consecutive submission win, this time at Bellator 240 over Chris Bungard.
What a wild ride these Bellator Europe cards can be. Bellator 240’s prelims kicked off nice and early at 11AM, promising an evening of freedom for fans who would prefer to tune into the Wilder vs. Fury 2 boxing spectacle, or who just plain wanted to go out for the evening.
But wait! With nothing ever that simple, the main card of Bellator 240 aired on Paramount Network at 10PM ET via tape delay, an excruciating wait given that the “other” main card, Bellator Dublin (Bellator Europe 7) actually streamed live starting at 5PM.
What a muddled mess. While DAZN was expected to save Bellator from things like tape delays, they’re still a very real hurdle in 2020, as the promotion continues to rely on Paramount Network, which aired Bellator 240 on Saturday.
None of that is a comment on the fights themselves, however. Saturday’s Bellator 240 main event featured former lightweight champion Brent Primus, continuing what one might see as a journey for redemption. Primus’ title win over Michael Chandler at Bellator NYC in 2017 has oft been written off as a lucky break. And while there is skill involved in any mixed martial arts contest, a TKO win via injury is no way to win a title. That Primus was then out of action for over a year, only to eventually lose the title back to Chandler in a rematch, didn’t help raise his stock any.
💪💥Big elbows from "The Bad Guy" to kick off round 1️⃣ of our main event!#Bellator240 pic.twitter.com/31tpP3FRuK
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 23, 2020
Saturday night in Dublin, however, Primus made it two straight wins, and two straight submission finishes, with a rear-naked choke of Chris Bungard. It didn’t take long. Bungard, who took the fight on three weeks notice, found himself trapped in the submission just over two minutes in. That was all it took, as Primus topped a night that realistically could have been wrapped up well before Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder were walking out to the ring.
Phenomenal technique from @BrentPrimus155 in our main event of the evening tonight at #Bellator240. pic.twitter.com/PS7YBIaVa4
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 23, 2020
Official Result: Brent Primus def. Chris Bungard by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 1:55
