Michael Chandler entered Bellator 180 as the lightweight champion, but would walk out of Madison Square Garden without a belt and an injured ankle.
Despite the fact that he lost the gold to Brent Primus, the former champion still believes that he is the real lightweight champion.
?I would have finished him,? Chandler said on The MMA Hour. ?If this was the 18th century, and we were in the middle of a field, and it was me and Brent Primus, and I had one leg to stand on, I win that fight 100 times out of 100. That?s the funny thing. I?m still the champion. Let?s be honest. An injury took me out of the fight. Brent Primus can wear his Hugh Hefner jacket and wear that fake belt around his shoulder.?
Chandler entered the fight as a heavy betting favorite and with a huge experience advantage, but still lost the gold to the undefeated prospect.
To make things even worse for the former champion is that his ankle, which was once thought to be broken, isn?t actually broken.
?Nothing?s broken,? Chandler said. ?I went straight to the ER, the doctors at Bellevue ER, I got in, they X-rayed it, nothing broken. It?s a good thing. I could be just getting out of surgery right now with a rod in my leg. Luckily, I?m not.?
When the fighter does return to action, the former champion will most likely get a rematch against Primus, according to Bellator MMA President Scott Coker.