BELLATOR
Long odds in the Bellator 300 main event.
With incumbent lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov, cousin of Khabib, entering the bout as a -1667 favorite, it’s his adversary, Brent Primus, the +700 underdog, who has nothing to lose and everything to gain when the pair enter that cage at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego on Saturday night (October 7, 7 p.m. PST / 10 p.m. EST SHOWTIME).
Bettors may be quick to write the underdog off, picking the undefeated Nurmagomedov, who is looking for the second defense of his Bellator title, but anyone who knows a bit about mixed martial arts, and Primus in particular, might want to consider the upset as a real possibility here.
It was back in June 2017, when Primus was an undefeated challenger, that he stepped inside the cage at Madison Square Garden as a +585 underdog. A massive and imposing lightweight with slick Jiu Jitsu and a top-heavy wrestling game, Primus was cool, calm, and collected inside the most famous arena in sports that night. Capitalizing on an early injury to then-champion Michael Chandler, Primus repeatedly attacked the favorite’s left leg before the doctors eventually stopped the fight midway through the first round. He even withstood a hail Mary knockdown to prevail and claim the Bellator lightweight title that night. It was his finest moment.
But can he do it again?
While the oddsmakers clearly don’t think Primus has much of a chance against Nurmagomedov, it would be foolish to count the former champion out, especially when he’s already demonstrated that he has championship meddle and rises to the occasion in big spots. And let’s make no mistake, the Bellator 300 main event is a big time fight.
In addition to Nurmagomedov’s title, the pair will fight for a spot in the finals of Bellator’s million dollar lightweight Grand Prix, upping the stakes into the seven-figure range. It’s a major opportunity for Primus to prove he belongs amongst the promotion’s top dogs, despite initially being excluded from the field. Again, the disrespect may only serve to fuel Primus’ fire.
Age vs. Experience
Of course, it’s understandable to see why the champion is favored so heavily. Undefeated at 17-0, Nurmagomedov has an 82-percent finish rate and can end the fight anywhere, as evidenced by his eight knockouts and six submission victories. Aside from his famous Dagestani lineage, he’s a well-rounded fighter, dangerous in all aspects of mixed martial arts, and he’s still only 25 years old.
But while youth brings with it a certain air of invincibility, experience coincides with a ferocity that can never be duplicated. And, at 38, Primus has seen deep waters, won world titles, been counted out and come back time and time again, and stylistically, he’s not just a meat and potatoes type of fighter who relies the basics of wrestling and boxing. He’s also a crafty submission artist, as evidenced by his first round gogoplata victory over Tim Wilde back in 2019. This high-level move, which is employed from the back and involves choking an opponent using the shin bone, is of particular importance when considering Nurmagomedov as an opponent, given that, even with top control, the champion is never safe from a potential submission threat.
It’s tough to break down and dissect an entire stylistic matchup based on a single move and finish, but given Primus’ career, resume, and accolades, it wouldn’t be that absurd to consider his chances against Nurmagomedov legit. He’s entered the cage as an underdog on at least four occasions during his career – one of them in a world title fight at Madison Square Garden against the most decorated champion in Bellator lightweight history – so what’s stopping him from doing it again?
Without a doubt, Brent Primus is as live a dog as any, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him shock the world and take Nurmagomedov’s title. He’s just the kind of guy that delivers his best performances when the world writes him off.
Bellator 300 Fight Card
Bellator 300 Main Card (SHOWTIME) 7 p.m. PST / 10 p.m. EST
- Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Brent Primus – For the Bellator Lightweight Title
- Cris Cyborg vs. Cat Zingano – For the Bellator Featherweight Title
- Liz Carmouche vs. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane – For the Bellator Flyweight Title
Bellator 300 Preliminary Card (SHOWTIME SPORTS YouTube | Pluto TV) 3:30 p.m. PST / 6:30 p.m. EST
-
- Davion Franklin vs. Slim Trabelsi
- Henry Corrales vs. Kai Kamaka III
- Sara McMann vs. Leah McCourt
- Ilara Joanne vs. Jena Bishop
- Bobby Seronio III vs. Alberto Garcia
- Romero Cotton vs. Grant Neal
- Sergio Cossio vs. Jesse Roberts
- Mukhamed Berkhamov vs. Herman Terrado
- Doveltdzhan Yagshimuradov vs. Maciej Rozanski
- Chris Gonzalez vs. Dmytrii Hrytsenko
- Bryce Meredith vs. Miguel Peimbert
- Lorrany Santos vs. Jackie Cataline
*fight card subject to change
** all odds current as of time of writing
Dan Shapiro is a writer, editor, musician, and producer currently based in Los Angeles. In addition to covering some of the biggest fights in combat sports history, he’s also hunted down the world’s best sushi, skied the northern hemisphere in July, and chronicled Chinese underground music for publications like CNN, the New York Daily News, VICE, and Time Out. Dan also conjured up a ghost at the Chateau Marmont while out on assignment for RoadTrippers. Follow him on Twitter here.
—
The BroBible team writes about things that we think you want. Occasionally, we write about items that are a part of one of our affiliate partnerships and we will get a percentage of the revenue from sales