Light heavyweight action kicked off the UFC 284 main card in Perth, Australia, as Jimmy Crute faced off with Alonzo Menifield.
Australia’s own Crute would have the crowd behind him, and was badly in need of a win having lost two straight. Menifield was on the opposite trajectory of late, having won his last two fights by KO/TKO.
The X-factor in the fight was arguably Crute’s time off, as he missed all of 2022, while Menifield picked up his two wins.
The light heavyweight duo opened the fight trading, wasting no time slinging leather. Crute ducked a punch and blasted through a takedown a little under 90 seconds in, though Menifield quickly got to one knee. He could not make it all the way up, however, as Crute piled on with knees to the thighs and continued to control his opponent, finally moving back to a single-leg takedown, planting Menifield on his back.
In a scramble, Menifield made it back up, leading to Crute changing levels again. This time, Crute used a well-placed trip to get the job done. When Menifield again returned to an upright position, it wasn’t long before the crowd erupted as another takedown from Crute was landed. Crute then went after a choke; Menifield popped free, got up, and landed a hard left hook, hurting Crute! A kick from Menifield was blocked, but Crute wound up going down off a slip. Menifield began landing some bombs as Crute covered up on his knees. Crute would make it up with all of 15 seconds remaining — which turned out to be a bad idea.
Crute landed a head kick that didn’t phase Menifield, but Alonzo landed a bomb that dropped Crute! Technically, an elbow, right hand, and a couple more shots! All heavy. While eating hammerfists, Crute somehow landed a desperation takedown, surviving the round.
How compromised was Jimmy Crute heading into round two? He went down in the opening exchange, rocked. He immediately went into a single-leg shot, but Menifield stuffed. He looked for an opening as Crute scrambled to the fence. Crute made it to one knee, powered up, but ate an elbow in the clinch. Crute fired a knee, and pushed off his opponent. Menifield landed a jab, and another. A left landed for Menifield. Crute backed up to the fence, changed levels, but looked to be in slow motion. Crute landed a knee, and a head kick, getting in his own shots, but Menifield showed them no respect.
Menifield’s every punch landed with power, and Crute was a tired, cornered animal. Crute did his best to clinch up and earn some recovery time. He did just that, landing a massive takedown with just over a minute remaining. This time, it was Crute controlling Menifield along the fence. With one hook in, he wrapped up a rear-naked choke, but lost it almost immediately. The thirty seconds remaining in the round were not enough to get the job done, as Menifield gave the thumbs up on a second choke attempt.
Round three opened with both men winded; the round was going to test who had more in the tank, and who wanted it more. Crute moved in for a takedown, and Menifield used the fence to stay upright. That led ref Marc Goddard to take a point from Menifield, a decision that seemed to take the wind out of Menifield’s sails. The fight restarted in a 50/50 position along the fence, allowing Crute to once again pursue a takedown. Menifield would reverse, but Crute hung on to a leg, getting his opponent down a good ways away from the fence.
With half a round remaining, Jimmy Crute went to work in half-guard. He soon passed to mount, and Menifield turned, but reclaimed the half-guard position again. Again, Crute moved to mount. Menifield sat up, trying to scramble, with no success. Crute looked for a keylock, also with no success. Menifield worked to his knees, but Crute was able to take the back, controlling with his grappling while dropping punches.
Ultimately Jimmy Crute could not put Alonzo Menifield away. And when it came to the scorecards, with the point deduction in mind, two judges ruled the fight a draw.
Official Result: Jimmy Crute vs. Alonzo Menifield ends in majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
