MMAjunkie Radio co-host and MMAjunkie contributor Dan Tom breaks down Bellator’s top bouts. Today, we look at the main event for Bellator 212.

Bellator and USO Present: Salute the Troops” takes place Friday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The event airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMAjunkie.

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Brent Primus (8-0 MMA, 16-0 BMMA)

Brent Primus at Bellator NYC weigh-ins. (MMAjunkie)

Staple info:

• Height: 5’10” Age: 33 Weight: 155 lbs. Reach: 73″
• Last fight: TKO win over Michael Chandler (June 24, 2017)
• Camp: Team Oyama/Gracie Barra (Portland, OR.)
• Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing
• Risk management: Fair

Supplemental info:

+ Bellator lightweight champion
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt
+ 2 KO victories
+ 4 submission win
+ 6 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Steady pace and pressure
+ Shows improved striking
^ Coming forward or off the counter
+ Strong inside the clinch
+ Serviceable takedown game
+ Underrated wrestling ability
+ Excellent transitional grappler
^ Works well from topside
+ Deceptively flexible from bottom

Michael Chandler (18-4 MMA, 15-4 BMMA)

Staple info:

• Height: 5’8″ Age: 32 Weight: 155 lbs. Reach: 69″
• Last fight: Submission win over Brandon Girtz(April 13, 2018)
• Camp: 365 Hard Knocks (Florida)
• Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing
• Risk management: Fair

Supplemental info:

+ Former Bellator lightweight champion
+ 4x NCAA Division 1 All-American wrestler
+ 7 KO victories
+ 7 submission wins
+ 9 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Aggressive pace and pressure
+ Improved footwork and fundamentals
+ Dangerous right hand
^ Coming forward or off the counter
+ Excellent wrestling ability
^ Explosive level-changing takedowns
+ Good transitional grappler
^ Effective ground strikes and submissions

Point of interest: Revisiting kicks and counters

Michael Chandler (red gloves) and Brent Primus at Bellator 180. (Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports)

With the Bellator 212 main event featuring a rematch for the lightweight title, both combatants will find themselves having to revisit the early fires that caused the ending to their first outing back at Bellator 180.

For two-time former champion Michael Chandler, I will be curious to see how he manages the aggression that has shown to cost him crucially at times.

An inherent pressure-fighter, Chandler can seldom be found taking a back step. Carrying over his athletic ability and explosiveness that he demonstrated as a wrestler on the Mizzou mats, we saw Chandler’s boxing technique make impressive strides back in his Bellator tournament run, which in turn helped him earn his first world title.

From his upgraded punch mechanics to little details like rolling under his crosses, it was clear that Chander’s trajectory was upward. And despite a few bumps in the road, the former champion seems to be firing on all cylinders as he continues to improve.

Now under the tutelage of Henri Hooft, Chandler appears to be furthering his fundamentals and footwork, moving much more fluidly in combination and even adding in leg kicks of his own. That said, it was Chandler who was on the wrong side of leg kicks in his last title defense, causing – what I would wager – was the most costly cramp of the 32-year-old’s athletic career.

Delivering the well placed shot was none other than now-champion Brent Primus, who wasn’t shy about sharing what ended up to be somewhat of a master plan.

Anticipating Chandler’s aggression, Primus knew that the former champion’s boxing-centric stance caused him to put a disproportionate amount of weight on his front foot, especially when loading up for his patented right-handed bombs. With that in mind, Primus smartly prioritized leg kicks, as well switch-kicks to said right side, landing with each before Chandler began to show signs of being compromised.

To Chandler’s credit, he did appear to be recomposing himself (as best he could), even measuring some heavy right-handed counters that found their mark on an attacking Primus. Unfortunately for both men, the situation was not allowed to play out to its complete fruition, which has subsequently left the door open for unfair speculation all around.

Regardless, both men will need to come in with a clear mind to this contest, particularly Chandler.

Not only does the former champ have to show answers for the kicks coming his way, but he also must be ready for whatever improvements Primus brings to the table. With a tricky sample size that has seen the current champ average one fight a year since 2013, Primus tends to show up sharper, with news skills attached that Chandler cannot afford to underestimate.

Next point of interest: Grapplers at heart