Born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, Primus attended Sheldon High School, where he played soccer and helped the team tie South Eugene High School for the co-state title. He later began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, earning his black belt in only six years.[4]
Primus had a tumultuous childhood and teenage years, having never seen his real father outside of a prison, except for catching him on an episode of “Cops” once as a child. At the age of 13, he found himself homeless after being kicked out of the house by his step father. After this, he bounced around from home to home until he began selling pounds of weed to finance himself. At 15, Primus had his own house from these proceeds. At age 16, his home was raided by rival gangsters, with Primus held up at gunpoint. At 18, his home was raided by police and Primus was sent to jail. During this time, Primus was partying and finding himself in fights on a weekly basis, leading to one of Primus’ friends to sign him up for an amateur fight, which lead him onto his career in MMA.[5]
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Primus compiled an amateur record of 5-1 before making his professional debut in September 2010, defeating Chris Ensley via first-round submission. In his second pro bout, Primus defeated Roy Bradshaw via submission in the first round on May 12, 2012.
Bellator MMA
Primus signed with Bellator in 2013. He made his debut for the organization on September 27, 2013, at Bellator 101 against Scott Thometz. Primus won via rear-naked choke submission at 3:48 in the first round, improving his record to 3–0.[6]
Primus had his second bout with the organization on November 22, 2013, at Bellator 109. He defeated Brett Glass by rear-naked choke submission in the first round.[7]
In his next bout, Primus faced Chris Jones at Bellator 111 on March 7, 2014. Primus won via TKO in the first round, which marked the first time Primus had finished an opponent that was not by rear-naked choke.[8]
After nearly a year-and-a-half away from the sport, Primus returned to face Derek Anderson at Bellator 141 on August 28, 2015. He won the fight by split decision.
Primus next faced Gleristone Santos at Bellator 153 on April 22, 2016. He won the fight by split decision.
Bellator Lightweight World Champion
With an undefeated streak of five wins in Bellator, Primus faced Bellator Lightweight champion Michael Chandler at Bellator NYC on June 24, 2017. At 2:22 in the first round, the bout was temporarily halted by the referee to check on Chandler, whose left ankle was visibly injured. The bout was stopped in favor of Primus via TKO, awarding him the Bellator Lightweight World Championship and pulling off one of the biggest upsets in Bellator history.[9][10]
Primus was expected to make his first title defense against Chandler in a rematch at Bellator 197 on April 13, 2018. However, he pulled out of the fight due to a knee injury. As a result, Brandon Girtz stepped in as a replacement.[11]
The rematch between Primus and Chandler finally took place in the main event of Bellator 212 on December 14, 2018.[12] Primus was out-wrestled for the better part of the fight, and despite landing similar leg kicks to those that stopped Chandler in their first fight and dropping Chandler with a punch in the second round, Primus was defeated by Chandler via unanimous decision.[13]
Post-title era
As the first fight after losing his title, Primus faced Tim Wilde at Bellator: Birmingham on May 4, 2019. He won the fight via gogoplata in the first round.
Primus was expected to face Peter Queally at Bellator 240 on February 22, 2020.[14] However, Queally was forced to withdraw from the bout due to knee injury and was subsequently replaced by Chris Bungard.[15] Primus won the bout via neck-crank submission in the 1st round.
On April 17, 2021, Primus announced signing a new 6-fight contract.[16]
Primus faced Islam Mamedov on July 31, 2021, at Bellator 263.[17] He lost the bout via split decision.[18]
In the semifinals, Primus faced reigning championUsman Nurmagomedov on 7 October 2023, at Bellator 300.[26] He originally lost the fight by unanimous decision but that result was overturned by CSAC when Nurmagomedov tested positive for prescription drug that contained a banned substance.[27][28]
PFL
Primus started the 2024 season with a bout against Bruno Miranda on April 12, 2024 at PFL 2.[29] He won the fight due to a rear-naked choke submission.[30]
Primus next faced Solomon Renfro at PFL 5 on June 21, 2024[31] Renfro would miss the Lightweight limit weighing in at 157.4 pounds. [32] Primus would win the fight via submission in the third round and thus secure himself the top seed for the playoff section of the PFL Lightweight tournament.[33]
