Jimmy Crute Looks To Show How Great He Is In Rematch

The change gives you the impression that Crute has done some soul searching ahead of his fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“I don’t enjoy being on social media; I’m at this point where actions are going to talk louder than words.” said Crute. “I’m in a position in my career where my words don’t have much weight anymore; I’ll prove myself by going out there and getting a win.”

Now ranked number 14 in the UFC’s light heavyweight division, that seems like a harsh self-assessment from Crute.  The native of Bendigo, Victoria, Australia has a 3-3-1 record in the UFC, with one of those losses coming to former title challenger Anthony Smith, and another to current champion Jamahal Hill.  

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But it’s clear the 27-year-old fighter feels he has not yet shown his full potential inside the UFC’s Octagon.  Clearly, Crute is after more than just proving he belongs in the UFC, which he has already done.

The shakeup in Crute’s approach goes beyond his social media accounts.  While Crute stresses that he remains on good terms with his old coaches, which include Sam Greco and UFC veteran Dan Kelly, he has prepared for this camp with an entirely new team, Combat 1 in Victoria.  He has also had a recent stint in Thailand, honing his Muay Thai skills.  

“I’ve been doing the same thing with my career for a long time now, so a little bit of diversity and mixing it up a bit has been great, I feel really refreshed.”

Crute’s first fight in the UFC came in December 2018 with a submission victory over Paul Craig.

When asked to reflect on the biggest takeaways from his UFC journey so far, Crute says he has not always been true to himself, and his own judgment about the right choices to make in the Octagon.  

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Crute, an alumnus of Dana White’s Contender Series, says he has learned not to second-guess himself. Some fighters never seem to get a handle on the mental aspect of the game but, at 27, there is ample time for Crute to come into his prime.  With examples like Michael Bisping, Jan Blachowicz, Charles Oliveira and Brandon Moreno, it is clear that a road through the UFC with some bumps is not fatal to title hopes.

“I have been doing this all my life, I know how to fight better than nearly anyone, so, for me, it’s just sticking to what I know,” said Crute. “It’s just about having a little bit of belief in myself and knowing I do have the capacity to make the right choices in the fight.”

According to Crute, he made the wrong choices in the first round of his fight with Alonzo Menifield in February at UFC 284: Makhachev v Volkanovski, and that cost him dearly. The black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, who commenced martial arts training at age 12, says he entered the first fight without a clear game plan in mind.  Crute believes that Menifield was able to take advantage of that inertia.

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“I was very torn (on what approach to take) going into that fight, I really didn’t make up my mind how I was going to fight, I just sort of went in there and let it play out. And the thing with this game is you can’t allow anyone to get a lead on you; you have to stamp your authority from the beginning,” said Crute. “I didn’t do that with Alonzo. I let him into a fight he should never have been in. I’m not disrespecting Alonzo in the slightest, but there are levels to this game and I’m levels above Alonzo.”

While Crute had his moments controlling the grappling exchanges in rounds one and two, he was seriously wobbled by strikes by Menifield in both rounds.  

The fight swung Crute’s way in the third, with his control time on the mat, and a point deduction against Menifield, ensuring the final stanza was scored 10-8 his way.