Watch: Primus wins Bellator lightweight title after Chandler suffers ankle injury

Brent Primus is your new Bellator lightweight champion, and it couldn't have happened in more bizarre fashion.

Incumbent titleholder Michael Chandler appeared to have Primus hurt in the first round of their bout at Bellator NYC on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, only to lose his belt moments later when an ankle injury left him unable to continue.

Because of the ruling, the bout was called off at the 2:22 mark of Round 1 and Primus was awarded the Bellator championship in just his eighth professional fight.

It's unclear exactly when Chandler suffered the injury, though his ankle appeared to bend at an awful angle after he wobbled Primus with a right hand:

There was much confusion when it looked like referee Todd Anderson paused the action to check on Chandler's injury. Typically, such a stop only happens when a fighter needs time to recover from an illegal blow, but in this case Anderson permitted Chandler to sit on a stool while doctors entered the cage to check on him.

The pause alone should have meant that Primus was the victor, but any controversy was averted when he officially became the winner by TKO (doctor stoppage) just moments later.

It was a bitter end for Chandler's second run with the lightweight title and eerily similar to a November 2014 loss to Will Brooks. That fight ended with Brooks rocking Chandler with strikes, and a disoriented Chandler appearing to ask the referee for a break in the middle of the round. It was instead ruled that he was the loser by knockout.

Chandler sees his Bellator record fall to 13-4, but given the dubious nature of Primus' win, it's possible that this one will be run back in the future.