Exclusive: UFC 290 star Jimmy Crute makes bold prediction for potential Jamahal Hill vs Jiri Prochazka fight - "Punch the sh*t out of him"

Jimmy Crute is set to take on Alonzo Menifield in a rematch at UFC 290 this weekend following their draw at UFC 284 earlier this year. The Australian has suffered two defeats and a draw in his last three fights, with one of those losses being to the champion, Jamahal Hill.

'Sweet Dreams' defeated Crute via KO in the first round, and Jimmy Crute believes that should Hill face Jiri Prochazka, a similar fate would befall the former champion.

Prochazka's title reign ended in tragedy as he chose to vacate the title several weeks prior to his fight with Glover Teixeira at UFC 282. 'Denisa' had suffered a brutal shoulder injury, and his decision to vacate the title allowed Jamahal Hill the chance to defeat Teixeira at UFC 283 to win the belt.

Jimmy Crute was interviewed by Sportskeeda MMA's Andrew Whitelaw ahead of his bout with Alonzo Menifield at UFC 290 this weekend. The Australian shared his thoughts on a possible fight between Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka, saying this:

"I think that [Jamahal Hill] is gonna punch the s**t out of Jiri. I think he's way too quick for Jiri, and he has the ability to deliver, he has the ability to land. It's sort of hard to explain but he finds the shot really well and I think Jiri is very open to getting hit."

Watch the interview below from 2:35:

Watch UFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez live in India from 7:30 AM onwards on Sunday, July 9, only on Sony Sports Network.

---

Jimmy Crute says it's an "honor" to be part of a stacked UFC 290 card

UFC 290 is set to take place this weekend, and will play host to a number of thrilling matchups. The pay-per-view card will be headlined by a featherweight title unification bout between champion Alexander Volkanovski and interim-champ Yair Rodriguez.

The co-main event will see a bantamweight title fight between Brandon Moreno, the current champion, and Alexander Pantoja, who holds two wins over his counterpart.

Robert Whittaker and Dricus du Plessis will clash in the feature bout, in what could be a title eliminator fight. Lightweights Jalin Turner and Dan Hooker will do battle before them, while middleweight prospect Bo Nickal will face short-term replacement Val Woodburn in the opening bout of the main card.

Robbie Lawler is set to take on Niko Price in the main event of the prelim card, in what will be the final fight of Lawler's career.

Ahead of his clash with Alonzo Menifield, Jimmy Crute described what it felt like to be on the UFC 290 card whilst talking to Sportskeeda MMA's Andrew Whitelaw.

"A big fan of Rob Whittaker, Alexander Volkanovski, all the Aussies. And the Kiwis too, Dan Hooker. Man, this card is stacked. And what an honor to be part of it, I'm just excited to be part of it."