Even though he didn’t break his now five-year winless streak in February, Crute said he “couldn’t have been happier” with how he expressed himself against Bellato.
“I don’t care about the results in this,” he said. “It’s just about performances and enjoying it. We only get one life, so we’re going to go out there and make the most of it, and sitting in hospital(after UFC 312), I was just thinking, ‘Damn, that was fun.’”
WATCH: UFC 318 Embedded
That isn’t to say Crute isn’t working hard in training, nor does it mean Crute doesn’t want to experience that rush after a win, either. Quite the contrary. The Australian, who said he practices visualization regularly, says he thinks about the moment of getting his hand raised nearly every day. The difference is, now, he doesn’t allow the what ifs of the fight game to occupy his thoughts every waking moment until he makes the walk.
Of his last fight, Crute was happy to have gone through a tough 15-minute bout with the Brazilian for his return. The Octagon time gave him plenty of tape on which to make notes, and he believes he and his coaches have addressed everything to set up a “dominant” performancewhere he can “impose his will” on Marcin Prachnio.