Jimmy Crute vs Michal Oleksiejczuk UFC Point Spread Picks - 2/22/2020

Jimmy Crute vs Michal Oleksiejczuk

UFC Fight Night 168

Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand

Saturday, February 22, 2020

Jimmy Crute will battle Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC Fight Night 168 in Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday, February 22, 2020. The opening moneyline has Crute coming in at +130 while Oleksiejczuk is at -150.

Jimmy Crute holds a career mark of 10-1-0. The 23-year-old tips the scales at 205 lbs and stands in at 6' 2". The orthodox fighter reaches 74". Michal "Lord" Oleksiejczuk comes in at 6' 0" and is weighing in at 205 lbs. The southpaw fighter will be looking to add a win to his career record of 14-3-0. The 24-year-old stretches 74". With respect to significant strikes, Jimmy Crute is connecting on 4.56 per min while Michal Oleksiejczuk lands 5.39 significant strikes per min. Crute is connecting on 57% of the significant strikes he throws and Oleksiejczuk is connecting on 56%. When it comes to the fighter's defense, Crute absorbs 2.41 significant strikes per min while "Lord" takes 3.23. Crute also defends against 53% of the significant strikes that are thrown his way and Oleksiejczuk is able to defend against 68% of the shots thrown.

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In terms of takedowns, Jimmy Crute is not as effective of a grappler as he takes his opponents to the canvas 0.58 times per 15 minutes. Crute is finishing his takedown attempts on 90% of his attempts and is stopping 60% of takedowns his opponents have tried. Oleksiejczuk is taking his opponents to the canvas on 66% of the takedowns he tries and stopping 75% of all takedowns attempted by his opposition. Regarding going for the sub, Crute is the more skilled fighter by going for 2.3 finishes per 3 rds while Oleksiejczuk tries 0.3 finishes per 15 minutes.

In his last fight, Jimmy Crute squared up with Misha Cirkunov and wound up taking the loss by way of a Peruvian necktie in round 1. Cirkunov landed 22 of 29 total strikes attempted in that contest. Crute ended the night having landed 28 of 45 total strikes. In terms of significant strikes, Cirkunov ended up landing 6 of 10, which gave him a percentage of 60%. He finished the fight landing 4 of 8 significant strikes directed at the head. On the other side of the cage, Crute landed 60% of the significant strikes he threw by landing 21 of 35. Of all the significant strikes, he was 19 of 33 aimed at the head. 16% of the significant strikes connected on by Cirkunov and 9% of them landed by Crute were done at distance.

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In the last fight for Michal Oleksiejczuk, he faced off with Ovince Saint Preux and was defeated via a choke hold from side control in round 2. Preux connected on 78% of his significant strikes at distance and Oleksiejczuk connected on 86% of the significant strikes he attempted from distance. Oleksiejczuk landed 47% of his significant strikes attempted by landing 37 of 78. He landed 23 of 59 significant strikes to the head. Preux ended up connecting on 14 of 48 significant strikes in that contest. In regard to the placement of these significant strikes, he landed 5 of 36 directed at the head. Discussing the strikes he fired off in this contest, Preux was 20 of 54 and Oleksiejczuk was 39 of 80 total strikes.

Other bouts to watch out for

Another fight to keep an eye on is when Maki Pitolo battles Takashi Sato. Pitolo comes into this bout with a record of 12-5-0. The 29-year-old records a weight of 170 lbs and stands in at 5' 10". The orthodox fighter has an arm span of 75". Sato stands 5' 10" and will fight at 170 lbs. The southpaw fighter holds a career mark of 15-3-0. The 29-year-old has a reach of 73". In the grappling category, Maki Pitolo is averaging a takedown 0.40 times per 3 rds while Takashi Sato takes his opponents to the canvas 0.82 times per 3 rounds. When it comes to striking, Pitolo lands an average of 5.42 strikes per minute and connecting on 45% out of all the strikes he attempts. The other fighter in this bout is Takashi Sato, who tags his opponent on 36% of the strikes that he throws and is connecting on 3.13 per min.

If you're into fun fights, you're going to want to see when Marcos Rogerio de Lima is set to clash with Ben Sosoli. Sosoli will be looking to add a victory to his record of 7-2-0. The 30-year-old will fight at 265 lbs and stands 5' 9". The southpaw fighter has a wingspan of 72". Rogerio de Lima stands 6' 1" and steps on the scale at 253 lbs. The orthodox fighter steps into the Octagon with a record of 16-7-1. The 34-year-old has an arm span of 75". When it comes to takedowns, Ben Sosoli defends against 10% of the takedowns his opponents attempt and is finishing his takedown tries on 10% of the times he tries. Rogerio de Lima is taking his opponents to the mat on 60% of the attempts he tries and is able to thwart 36% of all takedown attempts. With regard to striking, Sosoli is absorbing 3.56 strikes/minute and he is dishing out 2.22 strikes per min. Rogerio de Lima, at the same time, is absorbing 2.61 strikes per min and connects on 3.55 per min.

Who will win tonight's UFC match against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take Michal Oleksiejczuk (-150)

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