Michael Chandler won’t get his chance to avenge a previous loss to Brent Primus at Bellator 197 as originally expected.
According to multiple reports, Primus has suffered an injured knee and has been forced to withdraw from his title defense on April 13 at Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. As a result, Brandon Girtz will replace the lightweight champion and face Chandler in the new Bellator 197 headliner. MMAFighting.com was the first to report the change. Girtz also alluded to the matchup on Twitter:
Fight in 3.5 weeks??!? Fucking Yep!! Let’s go @BellatorMMA
— Brandon Girtz (@brandongirtzmma) March 21, 2018
Primus claimed 155-pound gold at Bellator 180 last June when Chandler suffered an ankle injury in the first round of their bout. He hasn’t defended the title since that victory. Chandler, meanwhile, returned to the win column at Bellator 192, as he earned a unanimous verdict over Goiti Yamauchi.
Girtz halted a three-fight skid with a first-round technical knockout of Luka Jelcic at Bellator 190 on Dec. 9.