Jimmy Crute is pumped to have an opponent and fight date.
We haven’t seen the Aussie light-heavyweight in action since he suffered the most unusual of defeats to Anthony Smith at UFC 261 back in April.
‘The Brute’ ate a kick that immediately put him on unsteady legs. It appeared that Crute was suffering from ‘drop foot’, akin to Sean O’Malley against Marlon Vera, Henry Cejudo against Demetrious Johnson, and Michael Chandler against Brent Primus.
At the end of round one, the bout was waved off despite the fact Crute very clearly wanted to keep fighting. The 25-year-old tells LowKickMMA that he was quickly able to heal up from the injury and says he was back to full training in no time.
“It was just a little bit of nerve damage, which normally takes a long time to heal but I was back to training right away,” Crute said. “Took a few weeks off from sparring, got the green light from the doctor and we’re good to go. We’re all the same as fighters, it’s just one of those where [Anthony Smith] just hit me in the right spot.”
Crute is currently enduring a tough time like many fighters in his region. The ongoing global pandemic has prevented the 25-year-old from getting the fights and training he desires.
“The hardest part of doing camps in Australia is trying to get fights, I wanted to get four fights this year. I barely got two,” Crute explained. “The only enticing thing about going to the states is getting those short-notice fights. The problem is just scheduled to fight. Probably the hardest thing training-wise is seeing your training partners. I wanted to see Rob [Whittaker] but all the travel restrictions have made that tough. We get the work done either way, but I’m really looking forward to when Sydney and Melbourne open up so we can train together again.”
Crute was originally set to fight Hill on October 2, but the fight has since been pushed back to December. An official announcement is yet to be made on the specific fight date, but our sources say Crute vs. Hill is set for December 4 and will most likely take place in Las Vegas.
I’m told Jimmy Crute vs Jamahal Hill will take place on December 4 on a Fight Night card, presumingly set to take place in Las Vegas.
The light-heavyweight duo had originally been expected to square off on October 2.
Such a great fight
pic.twitter.com/KdmIfMde1k
— Jordan Ellis (@JordanEllisUK) September 6, 2021
Whatever the date, Crute is just psyched to have a fight to prepare for. Especially against an opponent like Hill who he believes is in a similar position to him in terms of the 205lb rankings.
“I’m super excited. We’re similar in the rankings, both need a win,” Crute said. “Nothing but respect for the guy, I appreciate his abilities and stuff like that. But this is a fight to determine who’s more worth of moving up the rankings. The fight got pushed back, he got injured and couldn’t fight next month. Fights are hard to come by, so we have a date now at the end of the year.”
Do you think Jimmy Crute will get back to winning ways on December 4?