Brent Primus Supremely Confident in Ground Game Ahead of Bellator 141

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If he can keep an active schedule, lightweight prospect Brent Primus believes he can do some serious damage in mixed martial arts.

Over the years he’s had his share of fights fall through, but Primus hopes things are heading toward a change where he can remain active doing what he loves the most: submitting people.

Primus, who is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Wellington Dias, said he is thrilled to be fighting for Bellator because at least now he’ll have some stability in his career. Though his last bout of inactivity was due mostly because a nagging injury that needed to be addressed, he said he grew weary of playing the waiting game while watching prospective opponents disappear right before his eyes.

Primus, who said he is constantly asked about the famous experimental rock band of the same name (though Brent’s surname is pronounced with a short “I”), is slated to finally compete against Friday night on the Bellator 141 card, his first pro mach in almost 18 months. He is facing tough veteran Derek Anderson, an opponent Primus believes will help catapult him up the ranks.

“He’s a tough guy for sure. He’s exactly what I want right now,” Primus told Sherdog.com in a recent interview. “I want to push myself up the rankings and I think Derek is the perfect guy for me to do it because he’s so experienced. I’m not really worried about anything he does, but I know he’s a good striker. If I go in there and fight up to my full potential, I really don’t see him, going past the first round.”

A win over Anderson is what Primus expects and though he isn’t exactly sure how it’ll unfold, one thing he is banking on is that Anderson won’t go to the ground with him. However, Primus is still holding out hope that Anderson will try to test him on the mat.

“Oh my god, I hope this guy tries to submit me,” he laughed. “To tell you the truth, I would let him start the fight in mount if I could do that. I would really do that. I’m really confident in my ground game and I think it would be a really bad mistake for him if he tried to submit me. But hats off to him if he tries that; that’d be awesome.”

Primus wants to make it clear that he’s not downplaying Anderson -- he’s just supremely confident in his abilities. While Primus says he is treating this fight like a world title is at stake, he doesn’t think Anderson will feel the same. After all, Primus is only just starting to build his resume, while Anderson has already gone toe-to-toe with the likes of Patricky Freire and Marcin Held. With that in mind, Primus has an inkling that Anderson just might be looking past him.

“I don’t think he’ll view me as his biggest threat because I only have five fights under my belt and he’s already taken on some of the top guys in Bellator,” he said. “I hope he takes me lightly because that would be a stupid mistake if he did. One of the guys he fought, Marcin Held, submitted him and I think I have just as good, if not better jiu-jitsu than [Held].”

Primus knows he’s not quite at the championship level yet, but he truly believes that time is just around the corner. And, he said, it all starts with defeating Anderson.

“Once I beat Derek, I hope they throw me the toughest guys in Bellator,” he declared. “I want to prove that I not only belong there but that I am actually the best at 155. I know in my heart that I am one of the best and I can’t wait to prove that.”