Australian prospect Jimmy “The Brute” Crute (10-1, 4 KOs, 3 SUBs) will meet knockout artist MIchal “Lord” Oleksiejczuk at UFC on ESPN+ 26 on Saturday, February 22 at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. The card streams live starting 7pm ET.
Australia’s Jimmy Crute will get a chance back to bounce back from his first career loss in front of a friendly New Zealand crowd. This Saturday, “The Brute” Meets Michal Oleksiejczuk in a compelling light heavyweight contest.
Just 23 years old, Crute is the rare young talent in an aging, thinning division. Signed in 2018 after a win Dana White’s Contender Series, Crute won his first two fights against Paul Craig and Sam Alvey. But in his last outing, he was tapped out by Misha Cirkunov in just one round, succumbing to a Peruvian necktie - the first in UFC history. We’ll give the young buck a pass on that: he got caught with an unorthodox submission in a fight where he was doing some serious damage.
Pitting the Aussie against Oleksiejczuk is excellent matchmaking. The Pole is only a year older at 24, and he’s already one of the more entertaining fighters in the division. He’s the type of fighter that puts full trust in his knockout power, and wastes no time trying to smash through his opponent. That approach worked against Gian Villante and Gadzhimurad Antigulov, but he was exposed by Ovince St. Preux in his last outing.
Any fight with Oleksiejczukis gonna feature some fireworks, so get ready. Let’s take a look at the UFC odds at BookMaker.eu and go over your best betting values. Live UFC betting at the online sportsbook is available if you want to make any bets during the fight.
UFC Odds at BookMaker.eu
Jim Crute +118
Michal Oleksiejczuk -141
Fight goes/doesn’t go to decision: +185 / -265
Significant Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Crute 1.14 / Oleksiejczuk 5.43
Striking accuracy: Crute 44% / Oleksiejczuk 59%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Crute 3.57 / Oleksiejczuk 3.68
Striking defense: Crute 51% / Oleksiejczuk 69%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Crute 1.01 / Oleksiejczuk 1.81
Takedown accuracy: Crute 100% / Oleksiejczuk 66%
Takedown defense: Crute 57% / Oleksiejczuk N/A
Submission average: Crute 4.04 / Oleksiejczuk 0
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Crute has been a pleasant surprise early on in his UFC career. Though he’s not the most physically gifted fighter, he’s showed great fight IQ despite a lack of experience, figuring out the best ways to beat Paul Craig and Sam Alvey. Against a much more skilled fighter in Misha Cirkunov, Crute flashed some nastiness, cutting open the vet with vicious GNP before getting caught. Perhaps he will develop into something more than just the typical mid-level grit guy - he certainly has time to add layers to his game.
Like Crute, not much was expected from Oleksiecjzuk besides a few slugfests on the prelims. However, he’s shown that his hand speed might be a problem at 205 pounds. Against a bigger, more experienced OSP, the 24-year old fearlessly bombed away in search of a finish. But his inexperience showed as OSP weathered the storm and earned a shoulder choke stoppage. Had Oleksieczjuk conserved his energy, it seemed like a winnable fight.
The question here is if Crute can get this to the mat, where his opponent will be out of his element. OSP was able to ground the Pole, but only after he had exhausted his gas tank. If Olkesiejczuk keeps evolving, his 66% takedown defense will steadily improve. He’s not a big 205-pounder, but he is a fast one. The ceiling for him is to become the Kelvin Gastelum of light heavyweight.
UFC Odds Pick: Oleksiejczuk to win at
We lean towards the physical tools here, as Oleksiejczuk is faster with more explosive power. The clear advantage he has in the striking will be the differencemaker, although we’d keep an eye on his stamina. If he starts to slow down at any point in the fight, we’d take advantage of the live UFC betting and hammer the updated lines on Crute.
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