Bellator 268: Brent Primus Slams “Politics” Behind Pitbull-Queally Title Fight

Phoenix, AZ — The battle of former lightweight champions (Bellator and UFC) went down at Bellator 268, and Brent Primus came out on top.

Primus (11-2) went the distance with former UFC champ Benson Henderson, picking up a unanimous decision win to improve to 3-1 since losing his Bellator lightweight title in a rematch with Michael Chandler in 2018.

“I’m so excited. I did not want to see two losses in a row on my record,” Primus said following the fight, which saw him bounce back from a controversial loss to Islam Mamedov. “I was willing to do anything.”

The quality of his opponent was not lost on Primus either. “It means so much to me to fight a guy like Benson. It’s an honor just to share the cage with that guy. I respect him so much, in and out of the cage. I feel so blessed, man.”

The win comes at an opportune time for Primus, with the lightweight logjam finally cleared. Patricio Pitbull has at long last vacated the title he claimed in 2019 but never defended. The only catch, he gave up the strap on the condition, confirmed by Bellator President Scott Coker on Friday, that brother Patricky get a title shot.

That doesn’t sit well with Primus, who told Cageside Press ahead of Bellator 268 that Patricky Pitbull vs. Peter Queally, a fight taking place in November with the vacant belt on the line, was a “joke.” It’s a stance he reiterated Saturday.

“No disrespect to Scott Coker and Bellator, but I think Patricky and Queally fighting for the vacant belt, like I said, it’s a joke,” exclaimed Primus, noting that “Patricky’s coming off of two losses. Queally, who the hell has that guy beaten, and who has he fought? He’s fought twice in the last three years. I think that’s a joke.”

“Jeez, if anything me and Benson should have fought for the vacant belt right now, or I could think of few other guys that should be fighting for it besides those guys,” Primus continued. “But I think it’s more a politics thing, Patricio’s like ‘oh I’m going to give it to my brother because he’s my brother and I love him, so I’m going to give him the opportunity.’ I just think that’s a joke. It’s not really what they should be doing. And Queally, I think him just coming from Straight Blast [Gym], and Conor McGregor over there, they’re trying to kind of pump that a little bit. No, they should not be fighting for the belt at all. It’s a joke.”

Watch the full Bellator 268 post-fight press conference with Brent Primus above. More coverage from the event can be found below.