Bendigo ‘Brute’ wins Las Vegas UFC contract
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Four-and-a-half minutes was all it took for Bendigo fighter, Jim Crute, to win an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fight in Las Vegas on Tuesday night, propelling his career into the limelight.
The short fight on Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series saw Crute knockout his opponent in the first round, which landed him a UFC contract.
Apart from a bit of facial bruising the 22-year-old said he is feeling "pretty good" about his win in the popular sport that attracts millions of viewers.
"I caught him clean," Crute said.
With his father looking on from the corner of the ring, Crute said his use of speed and angles gave him victory over his experienced American opponent, 31-year-old Chris "The Big Buck" Birchler.
"I knew he was going to be a tough guy, I knew he was no joke, so I had to perform at my best," Crute said.
ABC journalist and mixed martial arts aficionado, Isaac Nowroozi, said Crute won due to his style and tactics.
"He's quite aggressive, he's quite explosive — he's quite exciting to watch," he said.
Mr Nowroozi said the win will gave Crute a huge amount of exposure.
"He could be fighting on Fox Sports in front of millions of people on a Pay-Per-View [channel]," he said.
"Lots and lots of people watch the UFC. It's a sport that is growing very, very quickly and if he can impress on that stage the sky's the limit."
Crute said he is just getting started in his career and plans to take one fight at a time with his next televised fight scheduled for Adelaide.
Favourite fighter of the night
UFC president Dana White, described Crute as the "favourite fighter" of the night and said he managed to balance both skill and entertainment.
"I think for Jimmy to go out and beat him is quite impressive, especially the way that he did," Mr White said.
Mr Nowroozi said Crute's straight-left hook knocked out his opponent while he was still on his feet.
"His opponent Chris Birchler was completely wobbly and the referee just stepped in and stopped it before he could take any more damage," he said.
Mr Nowroozi said while the contest might seem short, some games have been known to end in 10 seconds if the right punch lands.
"Four-and-a-half minutes is about the average time, given the weight class, given the punching power he had," Mr Nowroozi said.
No fish-hooking allowed
Mr Nowroozi said to the untrained eye UFC might look like fighting, but it is more nuanced.
Started in the United States over 20 years ago with minimal rules, the full-contact sport pits people from mixed martial arts against each other to see "which one prevails".
"If you put these guys on the street they would beat up anybody," Mr Nowroozi said.
The sport sees kickboxers taking on boxers, who take on jujitsufighters and wrestlers and so on.
"You have to be an all-rounder," Mr Nowroozi said.
"You have to be good at everything to compete at this sport."
UFC contests all take place in a ring or fenced off area, with each bout lasting five rounds of no more than five minutes duration, and the outcome is decided by three judges.
Mr Nowroozi said to best explain the sport it was easier to list what was not allowed: no biting, no fish-hooking (where you put your finger into someone's mouth like a hook), no eye-poking, no groin strikes, and no shots to the back of the head.
"You have to have a fist at all times, and when your opponent is on the ground you cannot kick them," Mr Nowroozi said.
It is very rare for a fighter to be disqualified, instead they may take a short break to recover.
"If the fighter can resume then the fight resumes, otherwise depending on how far into the bout you are, they'll either call a decision there, or they'll call it as a 'no contest' or a disqualification if they think it's done on purpose," Mr Nowroozi said.
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