It’s the hottest ticket in town. The only problem is you can’t buy one yet.
Trans-Tasman sports fans are eagerly awaiting the official announcement for the UFC middleweight title fight between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya later this year, which ESPN understands is all but certain to take place in Melbourne in early October.
With featherweight contender Alexander Volkanovski also in line for a title shot – against the winner of the Max Holloway–Frankie Edgar bout — as the co-main event on the same day, the Australian MMA scene is poised for its biggest day ever.
And just like the fans who will be scrambling for tickets when the announcement is eventually made, Australian and New Zealander fighters will also be doing whatever they can to earn a spot on the card.
Jim Crute, a graduate of Dana White’s Contender Series, has just booked a showdown with No. 15-ranked light-heavyweight Misha Cirkunov at UFC Vancouver on ESPN+ on September 15. But don’t think for a minute the likely three-week turnaround will be too tight, Crute wants to punch Cirkunov into a ‘loss of consciousness’ and his ticket to Whittaker-Adesanya at the same time.
“If I come through unscathed, touch wood, I think they’re aiming for three weeks after, I’m the first person to put my hand up,” Crute said of a spot for the rumoured Marvel Stadium event. “Anyone in the top 15, top 10, you wanna rumble? I’m your guy.
“Three weeks’ notice; all these guys want to talk about staying ready so you don’t have to get ready, blah, blah, blah; well, here’s your chance to prove it because technically I’m the easiest match in the division. So if you want to come and get a piece I’m ready.”
Crute is hopeful the UFC will secure a stack of Australian/New Zealand fighters for the event to highlight the growth of the sport Down Under. But where those bouts may have been booked merely for the local support base in the past, he says the quality of fighter on the card would speak for itself.
“It’s going to be massive and what’s even more impressive is they’ve got the potential to stack it with Aussie and New Zealand fighters, which is really cool,” he said. “Back in the day when I first starting watching the UFC, I think there was two Australian fighters, if that. So to be able to fill a whole mega card with Australian fighters [would be awesome].”
Crute hasn’t fought since his first-round TKO victory over American Sam Alvey at UFC 234, coincidentally also in Melbourne, the 23-year-old taking the opportunity for his first holiday in four years.
But he has since returned to training and now has the benefit of a fight to prepare for, even if it’s almost three months in the distance.
“We’re cooking up some stuff. I think what we’re working on, I’m going to leave him absolutely starching and twitching on the floor,” Crute said. “That is my goal; that is my primary goal, just to leave him unconscious on the floor. I know that’s not always how it works, but I’m prepared to do that and I’m prepared to go three hard rounds, no question.”
At 2-0 in the UFC, and 10-0 overall, Crute is riding a wave of momentum and the confidence that comes with it. But he also wary of Cirkunov’s abilities, despite the fact the Latvian has dropped three of his last four fights.
“I’m starting to get to know his patterns, his movements, what he does repetitively but the more you look into Misha Cirkunov the more you realise how good he is,” Crute said. “He does what he’s supposed to do 90 percent of the time; he’s been caught three times in his last four fights but that doesn’t do him any justice, he is a very, very good fighter.
“He moves well on his feet, he is a very slick grappler; so there’s no question about that from my end. So I’ve got to be the best Jimmy Crute I’ve ever been to take him out on September 14, and I’m prepared to do that.”