LAS VEGAS – Jimmy Crute’s in-fight injury at UFC 261 was one of the weirdest of 2021. You remember it.
Crute absorbed a hard leg kick in the first round against Anthony Smith, which immediately dropped him and forced a takedown, keeping the fight on the canvas. Crute made it to the bell, but it was apparent just how severe the damage was by the way his ankle grotesquely kept rolling while he tried to walk.
“I look back on it now, and I wouldn’t change it honestly,” Crute said Wednesday during UFC on ESPN 31 media day. “Sort of got taken to school on the job a little bit. I held my own. I felt like if the fight kept going, it could’ve gone a different way. But why live with regrets, man? Just learn from it and move on.”
And so he did. Crute said he suffered only a “little, tiny bit of nerve damage” in his left foot. He said he flew back to Australia after UFC 261 and did his mandatory two weeks quarantine in a hotel, and he was back in the gym sparring afterward.
Now he can’t wait to get on the right track Saturday when he meets Jamahal Hill Crute and Hill in a light heavyweight bout at the UFC Apex, which airs as part of the UFC on ESPN 31 main card.
“Super stoked. It’s a great fight,” Crute said. “… I’m super excited for this fight. It’s a good fight for both of us. It’s gonna be fireworks. I know I’m gonna get my hand raised, but it’s gonna be a fun fight while it lasts.”
Crute and Hill (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) originally were booked to fight Oct. 2, but the fight was later rescheduled for Saturday after Australia’s COVID-19 protocols made it impossible for Crute to fight sooner.
The matchup pits the No. 13 (Crute) and No. 14 (Hill) fighters in the official UFC rankings, so from that standpoint it makes sense. The challenge is a big reason why Crute is looking forward to it.
“He definitely has his specialties,” Crute said of Hill. “Striking is his forte, and we’re gonna be prepared for that range he possesses. At the end, it’s just another go at it. I have to work it out when I get in there.”
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