Bellator Europe 2: Primus vs Wilde 5/04/19 Odds, Preview and Prediction

Bellator MMA returns to Europe for Bellator Europe 2 on May 4, 2019 at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, U.K.

Fighting in the main event will be former Bellator Lightweight World champion Brent Primus who will be facing England’s own Tim Wilde. The bout will be Primus’ first since losing the belt to Michael Chandler and it will also be Wilde’s first at the Bellator MMA promotion.

Let’s preview the main event for Bellator Europe 2:

Getting Back On Track

Brent Primus suffered the first loss of his professional MMA career when he was defeated via unanimous decision by Michael Chandler in their rematch last December 14, 2018 at Bellator 212. In their first meeting at Bellator NYC in June 2017, Primus won the Bellator lightweight world championship via TKO after Chandler injured his left ankle in the first round of their bout.

The 34-year old Primus has a professional record of 8-1 with two knockouts and four wins by submission. He stands 5-10 and has a reach of 73 inches. The Eugen, Oregon native made his MMA debut at the BKP: Springfield Throwdown 1 in 2010 and  fights out of the Sports Lab in Portland. He has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, earning the said rank in just six years.

Primus signed with Bellator in 2013 and quickly won four straight bouts via rear-naked chokes. After his fifth straight stoppage victory, a TKO of Chris Jones at Bellator 111 in 2014, he’s gone the full route in his bouts except the first fight with Michael Chandler which was halted due to injury. This is Primus’ first fight since the setback and he will be looking to get back on track against a virtual unknown.

Fighting On The Big Stage

The 31 year old Tim Wilde has a professional record of 12-3 with six knockouts and 1 submission victory. The Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England native stands 5-11 with an undisclosed reach. He will be making his Bellator debut after fighting mostly in the U.K. regional scene.

He has won his last three fights after getting knocked out in the first round by Alexander Jacobsen at the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 80 in February 2017. In his last bout, Wilde scored a second round knockout of Anthony Dizy at the Golden Ticket Fight Promotions Fight Night 9 last April 21, 2018.

Wilde will be fighting for the first time in 13 months and he will be fighting in his homeland. Known as “The Experiment”, Wilde took up karate as an eight-year old to deal with bullies. Now the former electrician is fighting on Bellator’s Europe main event facing  a former world champion.

Controversy Against Chandler

When you take a look at their records, Wilde has logged in more bouts but he’s fought mostly in the regional circuits of England. Meanwhile, Primus has been throwing down at Bellator since 2013 and has fought better opposition in fewer bouts. Although some would call his win over Chandler a fluke due to the circumstances of the bout.

Chandler appeared to have tweaked his ankle early in the bout and it got worse as the round continued. However, he still got the better of their exchanges as he even dropped Primus twice to the canvass, the second of which came right before the bizarre finish. Chandler insisted that he could continue but the referee waved the fight off.

During the rematch, Chandler literally mauled Primus to become three-time lightweight world champion. He beat Primus via unanimous decision with the score 50-45 across all judges’ scorecards. The only time Primus threatened was early in the second round when he dropped Chandler and nearly submitted him with a rear-naked choke.

Who Wins?

The odds for the Bellator Europe 2 event aren’t out yet but most probably, Despite his controversial reign as Bellator Lightweight champion, Brent Primus is going to be a massive favorite against an unknown fighter in Tim Wilde who is making his Bellator debut.

Wilde is known as the “Experiment” because of his unorthodox fighting style. I’ve seen a couple of his fights and I would say he is experimenting on moves during those fights. I have nothing against electricians but unlike Primus who earned his BJJ black belt, Wilde said he “stumbled” upon an MMA gym, gave it try, liked it and quit being an electrician to pursue his MMA ambitions. Read our MMA betting guide before placing your bet.

Wilde has decent striking because he has a background in karate and boxing but he doesn’t have the ability to match Primus on the ground, the latter being a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt who has won half of his bouts via submission. Both these men are of the same size and I think Primus takes Wilde down right away and try to choke him out.

Primus just has to be careful not to get caught because as his record shows, Wilde has punching power. If Primus can get a hold of him before they engage in a lengthy striking battle, it will be better for him. Once on the ground, I think it’s a no-contest.

Prediction: Brent Primus via submission

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