Exclusive Q&A: Brent Primus looks forward to revenge against Gadzhi Rabadanov

He was due to face Alexander Shabliy but the fight was cancelled due to health problems. Instead, Primus will face Vinicius Cenci, and if he wins the next two rounds, he could meet Gadzhi Rabadanov, winner of the last edition.

The American spoke to DAZN News.

DAZN News: You failed in final of last year's 2024 PFL lightweight world tournament against Gadzhi Rabadanov. He's back again. Is that good news or bad?

Brent Primus: Good news. I want to fight him in the States. I found out the finals are in the United States this year, so I want that fight back. I want it so bad. I have no excuses, but when I fought him, when we fought last, I was so exhausted. I could not get used to the time zone in Saudi Arabia, and I only went there six days before we fought. I was a complete zombie, I felt, when I fought him. I also tore my knee before I fought him. I want to fight him healthy and in good shape in the United States, and I'll be ready this time.

DN: You lost by KO in the final last time. What makes you think you can win this time?

BP: I know I can. When I fought him last time, I tore my knee two months before that fight, and I couldn’t bend my knee. I couldn't shoot takedowns, I couldn't kick. I was going to back out of that fight. Then I had a surgeon who was like, "Don't back out of the fight. I will drain your knee every Friday." He was giving me plasma shots. It was just horrible. When I fought him, I literally couldn't shoot takedowns or kick. I was just boxing. So now, the next time I fight him, it's going to be different. It's going to be the full me. I'm going to be able to wrestle, I'm going to be able to kick. It’s going to be different. I promise you that.

DN: Eight guys, one shot, three fights. What do you think of the roster and format of the tournament?

BP: Oh, I like it. I like it, especially where I'm at. I'm going to go beat this guy on Friday. And then in the bracket, my next fight is either Clay Collard or Alfie Davis. And I feel really comfortable with those guys. They're tough, obviously really tough, but I feel like I can beat them and go to the final. So I really feel me and Gadzhi, we will meet again.

DN: How do you prepare for a fight like that, when you've been preparing for an opponent for months and he changes at the last minute?

BP: Yeah, it’s crazy. I’ve literally been training my butt off for months for Shabliy, and I just found out that he backed out of the tournament last Friday, so seven days before we were supposed to fight. I really haven't had a chance to train specifically for this new guy. Not only that, there's only one fight of his on the internet, so I couldn't really find much footage or stuff like that. Short-notice fights happen all the time, but I'm happy with it. Shabliy is a beast. I'm going to go out there, take care of business on Friday, and move on to the next round.

DN: You have a new opponent, so what do you think of him?

BP: Like I said, I really don't know much about him. I tried to look him up and I’ve only found one fight of his. From what I can see, he's tough, he's long and lanky, he's 6'1", he has a good left hand, a good kick. I know he has six submissions. So if he's planning on choking me — good luck with that. I train with high-level black belts every single day. I haven't been submitted in years. I’ve had really high-level black belts start on my back trying to choke me, and I haven't been choked out in years. So I feel so confident in my jiu-jitsu. If he wants to try to choke me, good luck, bro. Good luck.

DN: Any prediction?

BP: Me by stoppage. I will finish this guy. I'm so confident in it. I saw that he had six rear-naked chokes, so I was like, "Man, maybe I might rear-naked choke this guy, beat him at his game." But I’m definitely going to finish this guy for sure.

DN: So in the final, you want Gadzhi?

BP: Yeah, I want Gadzhi for sure. I like him. He's a humble guy. He's super tough, comes from an awesome camp. Couldn't be a better champion, but I want that fight again for sure.

DN: Your fight against Usman Nurmagomedov was a no contest because he tested positive positive for a banned substance. Have you ever talked about a rematch with the PFL?

BP: No, I haven’t. But I feel like after I win this tournament, then there'll be talk about that for sure, because he is a champ. I know Gadzhi is the PFL champ too, but they're training partners, so I don’t think they're going to fight. After I win this tournament right here, I think there’ll be some more talk about me fighting either Gadzhi or whoever’s waiting for the belt.

DN: Two years ago, you beat a Frenchman in Paris. Mansour Barnaoui. Two years later, another American is going to fight him in Paris. Archie Colgan. Any predictions?

BP: Mansour is a beast. He's tough, really, really tough. I got my money on him for sure.

DN: If you had advice, what would it be?

BP: I'd say just be ready for a tough fight. He's good. I feel like he was good everywhere. So yeah, it's going to be a good, tough fight. Just prepare yourself for a tough fight, man. But yeah, I don't really have anything to say to him. But it's going to be a good fight.