Jimmy Crute is favored against Anthony Smith at UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2 on Saturday, April 24 in Jacksonville, Florida. This event is one of five fights on the main pay-per-view card. Smith is 34-16 in his career, while Crute is 12-1 in his career. There are a total of five fights on the main pay-per-view card on UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2, with the headliner a bout between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal. There are also a total of eight fights on the preliminary card with four on ESPN/ESPN+ and four on ESPN2/ ESPN+. Let's look at the bout between Smith and Crute and UFC picks.
UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2 Betting
Anthony Smith (34-16, 9-6 UFC)
Smith came into the UFC with a record of 18-9 and he has nine wins and six losses in the UFC. In his last five fights, he has two wins and three losses. He defeated Alexander Gustafsson by rear-naked choke submission and Devin Clark by triangle choke submission; while losing to Jon Jones by unanimous decision, Glover Teixeira by TKO, and Aleksandar Rakic by unanimous decision. Smith has been a pro since 2008 and he has 18 wins by TKO/KO and 13 by submission. He has 17 first round finishes.
Jimmy Crute (12-1, 4-1 UFC)
Crute came into the UFC with a record of 8-0 and he has four wins and one loss in the UFC. He defeated Paul Craig by kimura submission, Sam Alvey by TKO, Michal Oleksiejczuk by kimura submission, and Modestas Bukauskas by KO; while losing to Misha Cirkunov by Peruvian necktie submission. Crute has been a pro since 2016 and he has five wins by TKO/KO and four by submission. He has eight first round finishes.
Crute said this to sportingnews.com about his upcoming fight against Smith, "As much as I respect him, and as much as I'm a fan of Anthony Smith's, I'm going to try and bash him just as bad as if I hated him. I wouldn't say he's more dangerous, but more of a puzzle and definitely more skilled. I'm not looking past Anthony Smith, first and foremost. This is the one thing I'm focusing on, but the goal is to be the number one contender by the end of the year. That's the only thought – number one contender. But there's no other fight other than him. I've got a hell of a challenge ahead of me. I'm not oblivious to that. But I expect to pass this test and pass it impressively. The top five is tough. It's so tough. From Anthony Smith up it's just a bunch of beasts and I'm looking forward to a few good challenges."
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Smith 2.94/ Crute 4.36
Striking Accuracy: Smith 46% / Crute 57%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Smith 4.38/ Crute 2.31
Defense: Smith 42% / Crute 54%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Smith 0.49/ Crute 4.33
Takedown Accuracy: Smith 28% / Crute 75%
Takedowns defended: Smith 51% / Crute 60%
Submission average: Smith 0.7/ Crute 2.4
UFC Picks
Smith has a lot of experience, but he is not an elite fighter. We don't really know yet how good Crute can be, but he definitely has the potential to get into title contention. I can't see a good path for Smith to get the win and I think there is definitely a difference between the class of these two fighters, so I will lay the price and take Crute in this fight.
UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2 Card & Odds
Welterweight - Jorge Masvidal +335 vs. Kamaru Usman -439
Women's Strawweight - Rose Namajunas +173 vs. Zhang Weili -210
Women's Flyweight - Jessica Andrade +322 vs. Valentina Shevchenko -419
Middleweight - Chris Weidman -127 vs. Uriah Hall +103
Light Heavyweight - Anthony Smith +162 vs. Jimmy Crute -196
Bantamweight - Kevin Natividad +154 vs. Danaa Batgerel -186
Middleweight - Karl Roberson +118 vs. Brendan Allen -142
Flyweight - Jeffrey Molina -107 vs. Qileng Aori -117
Women's Strawweight - Na Liang +162 vs. Ariane Carnelossi -196
Lightweight - Rodrigo Vargas +201 vs. Zhu Rong -250
Welterweight - Alex Oliveira +134 vs. Randy Brown -162
Welterweight - Stefan Sekulic +200 vs. Dwight Grant -245
Bantamweight - Jamey Simmons vs. Johnny Munoz
Featherweight - Patrick Sabatini -225 vs. Tristan Connelly +184
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