New Orleans — After taking off all of 2024, light heavyweight Jimmy Crute returned to action in February, only to fight to a draw with Rodolfo Bellato.
It wasn’t the comeback Crute, winless since 2020, wanted, instead dropping him to 0-3-2 across five fights. That changed this past Saturday at UFC 318, however. Finally getting a particularly nasty monkey off his back, Australia’s Crute (13-4-2) put away Marcin Prachnio with an arm-bar.
“I’m happy to be alive every day, so victory is just the cherry on top,” Crute told media outlets including Cageside Press following the bout. Though he’d soon admit the win mattered more than he was letting on.
“This week was a roller coaster for sure. The nerves were up and down. I sort of played it off before, but getting a victory does mean a lot. Because I put so much work into this. I really put everything into this. Every waking moment, I’m training or I’m thinking about training. So for it to pay off, it’s nice.”
Crute is still just shy of 30, and didn’t have all that much experience prior to landing in the UFC. As a result, he’s done most of his growing on MMA’s biggest stage.
“I’ve been learning on the job. I had one amateur fight, seven pro wins, and outside of that I had like fifty jiu-jitsu matches on the regional scene in Australia. No striking matches,” noted Crute. “So I’ve been learning on the job pretty much in the UFC. I don’t have much experience in the way of fights, so I feel like it’s my time to shine now.”
With a win under him and now in his prime, Crute is starting to see bigger things moving forward. “I see a world title in my future for the first time in my career. I’ve never been able to visualize it.”
After his win on Saturday, he called out Dustin Jacoby, who he referred to as a “crafty dude.” It’s just the name that came to mind, he explained. “I just think it’s a good fight for both of us, it’s a good test for both of us.”
Watch the full UFC 318 post-fight press conference with Jimmy Crute above.
