Everyone loves a good comeback.
Five years ago, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight Jimmy Crute was ranked the No. 1 fighter in ESPN’s prestigious ‘Top 25 Fighters Under 25’ and had all of the hype a young fighter could have.
But his hype quickly disappeared. Crute went on to lose three straight fights and was finished in all of them (there was also a draw in there). And in his last outing, after being stopped by Alonzo Menifield (watch highlights), he seemingly retired at 26 when he left his gloves inside the Octagon.
After a few weeks, Crute decided not to retire but instead needed time off to “address a lot of things.”
Crute revealed what he was through in a recent interview with ESPN Australia.
“I felt like I kept having one injury after the next. I was never truly injury-free. My mind was very scattered, and I felt like I didn’t really truly know myself,” Crute said. “So, when you’re trying to be someone else in a sport like this, you get found out pretty damn quick. So, now I’m just myself, and that’s all I have to be.”
Crute’s coach, Sam Greco, also detailed what was happening behind closed doors.
“He wasn’t in a good place. To continue and not be in a good place is quite dangerous. It’s dangerous enough as it is. He accepted that and went off,” Greco said. “He went to the dark side for a while then, but again, mental health is a big thing in today’s world. He sourced help, and he’s come back to a family, and he’s enjoying this family environment.”
Now injury-free, Crute returns to active competition at UFC 312 this weekend (Sat., Feb. 8, 2025) against fellow knockout artist Rodolfo Bellato inside Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and is very excited to fight again.
“I’m going to just be happy to be back in the Octagon,” Crute said. “I’m in a really good place now, but I wasn’t beforehand. It was a lot of work to get back here, so I’m going to enjoy every minute of being back in there…I’m going to knock him out. I’m going to go in there and go to war. That’s it.”
LIVE! Watch UFC 312 PPV On ESPN+ Here!
MIDDLEWEIGHT REMATCH! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) continues its 2025 pay-per-view (PPV) schedule on Sat., Feb. 8, with a rematch between 185-pound kingpin, Dricus du Plessis, running it back against the man he lifted the belt off little more than one year ago, Sean Strickland, in the five-round main event. In UFC 312’s championship co-headliner from inside Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, women’s Strawweight roost-ruler, Zhang Weili, will defend her belt against undefeated (and oft-injured) 115-pound contender, Tatiana Suarez. UFC 312 will also feature a hard-hitting Heavyweight battle between Justin Tafa vs. Talisson Teixeira, alongside a Light Heavyweight showdown with Jimmy Crute facing Rodolfo Bellato, and so much more! UFC 312’s start time is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET (“Prelims” undercard) and 10 p.m. ET (PPV main card).
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 312 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN2/Disney+/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 312: “du Plessis vs. Strickland 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
