Jimmy Crute set to take on Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC Auckland

Jimmy Crute will aim to rebound from his first professional loss at UFC Auckland.

The Aussie will take on fellow light heavyweight Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC Fight Night 168 which takes place at Spark Arena in Auckland on Sunday, February 23. The UFC confirmed the matchup on Friday.

In his last outing in September, Crute (10-1) suffered a first-round submission loss to Misha Cirkunov. Prior to that bout, “The Brute” had had a successful introduction to the promotion, submitting Paul Craig with a kimura in December last year and knocking out Sam Alvey in February.

At 24 years old, Oleksiejczuk is just one year Crute’s senior. “Lord” (14-3, 1 NC) will also be looking to rebound from a submission loss in September. The Polish native was submitted by Ovince Saint Preux using his signature Von Flue choke. Also this year, Oleksiejczuk scored knockout wins over Gian Villante and Gadzhimurad Antigulov. Those came following a one-year suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission after testing positive for clomiphene in his UFC debut.

UFC Auckland will take place at Spark Arena on Sunday, February 23. The card will be headlined by a lightweight contest between Dan Hooker and Paul Felder. See below for bouts currently scheduled for the event:

• Dan Hooker vs. Paul Felder
• Tyson Pedro vs. Vinicius Moreira
• Ben Sosoli vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
• Jake Matthews vs. Emil Meek
• Brad Riddell vs. Magomed Mustafaev

Paul Felder promises a ‘stand up war for the fans’ ahead of UFC Auckland