Preview: UFC 290 Prelims

Light Heavyweights

Jimmy Crute (12-3-1) vs. Alonzo Menifield (13-3-1)
Odds: Crute (-120), Menifield (+100)

These two combined for a three-round war that was one of the highlights of UFC 284 back in February, so it's hard to complain with the promotion booking an immediate rematch when that fight ended in a draw. Jimmy Crute's UFC career has been a bit of a rollercoaster thus far; the Australian was a bit of an afterthought upon making his promotional debut at 22 years old, but impressed early with wins over Paul Craig and Sam Alvey, each the type of tricky veteran test that figured to fell such a raw prospect. That led to Crute earning a considerable amount of hype, at which point his next few fights showed a clear ceiling - Crute's offensively varied but defensively void level of aggression was able to run over some opponents, but was just as prone to march him directly into a finish. His February fight against Menifield was a chance to regain some momentum, particularly after a lost 2022, but it was the type of mixed bag you'd expect from a draw; Crute ate a ton of big offense, but was able to come back from the brink repeatedly and find his own holes in Menifield's defense. From Menifield's standpoint, the draw is a bit more frustrating, as an outright win was there for the taking, and would've been a big result for a fighter that came into the sport on the older side. "Atomic" came into the UFC as an extremely raw prospect in his own right, but he's developed some consistency over the years, enough so that he can be described as consistent to a fault; Menifield hasn't rounded out has game much outside of his power punching, but his combination of athleticism and cardio makes him a threat for fifteen minutes unless an opponent can do something to change his mind. The first time around, Crute was seemingly able to find a takedown at will whenever things started to go south, so that seems like an obvious path for the Australian to take from the jump in this rematch in order to salt away a win - but it's unclear if he has any appetite to fight a safe fight, and there's a chance that Menifield knocks him out cold even as he tries to do so. The lean is that Crute can gut his way to a win here, but there's a reason this was a draw the first time around and could just wind up being relatively even madness for as long as it lasts; the pick is Crute via decision.

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