Sage Northcutt: Resetting the Clock to Zero

I’m not sure if the term “schadenfreude” ever became more appropriate than the night of UFC on FOX 18. In the opening bout of the main card on the FOX broadcast, the undefeated Sage Northcutt faced a sizable underdog in Bryan Barberena. With a 10-2 record, and having been 1-1 in the UFC, Barberena wasn’t exactly a tomato can, but Northcutt was a heavy favorite going into the fight. Instead, Barberena managed to take Northcutt to the mat in the second round and was able to lock him into an arm triangle choke from the guard position. Northcutt quickly tapped, marking the first loss of his professional MMA career. However, what followed was an amount of marked hostility that was quite disappointing. Was it surprising? Not completely. Northcutt was riding quite a heavy wave of hype and popularity, that it was bound to backlash on him at some point if he were to lose. However, the sheer amount of hatred and hostility he received following the loss was still wrong and undeserved. Not only that, this loss is hardly a career ending defeat.

The reason is not surprising is this is generally how the MMA community is in the US. With fandom, you are only as good as your last fight. A fighter having one bad or underwhelming performance might completely wipe away all the memories and goodwill that fighter built up from a previous classic or a stunning victory. Nortchutt certainly suffered an embarrassing loss that was undoubtedly humiliating, but he does deserve all this hate he’s receiving.

Some of Northcutt’s hate is the perception that he is way overpaid considering his experience overall in the sport and the UFC. He’s a 19-year-old kid who is already getting 40K/40K disclosed payouts for his fights. Other fighters are making this known and putting their discontent with their payouts compared to Sage. Speaking to The Three Amigos Podcast (via MMA Mania), Matt Mitrione stated: “I don’t necessarily agree that it’s going to have to force a trickle down to everybody else because they — the UFC — don’t care. They’re going to say, ‘Yeah, Conor’s making $100 million, so you’re going to take 10 [thousand] and 10 and you’re going to like it, or your just not going to fight and that’s all there is to it. Like Paige [VanZant] and Sage [Northcutt], they get paid more than I do. I’ve had 13 fights in the UFC — should’ve been 14 with [Stefan] Struve — and Paige and Sage both get paid more than I do. That’s ridiculous.” Even lightweight contender Tony Ferguson got in on the action and took a shot at Nortchutt’s loss.

Woo!!! Tapped like a little Bitch & Tried to tel the Ref Different!! @sagenorthcutt VonFlu/Got You @bryan_barberena pic.twitter.com/xO4jNshOtq

— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) January 31, 2016

So other fighters are not happy that Northcutt gets more than them. Then their supporters adopt that viewpoint as well. But if Sage Northcutt is getting paid more than Matt Mitrione, why is that somehow Sage Northcutt’s fault? Northcutt and his management team got him a really good deal apparently better than some other UFC veterans. But if that’s what Northcutt and his team asked for and agreed to, and that’s what the UFC is willing to pay him, why is that bad? If other fighters are playing the game and not able to hold out for a better deal that’s on them.

On some level, I can even understand some of the backlash Ronda Rousey received when she suffered her first loss at the hands of Holly Holm. Rousey was an outspoken figure. She made her views and opinions heavily known. She was braggadocios, and even had no problem sharing views on plenty of other public figures and athletes. Rousey was not afraid to make controversial, buzz-worthy statements. However, Sage Northcutt on the other hand, is exactly the opposite. Sage Northcutt’s personality is not cocky or arrogant at all. In fact, in everything he’s done, he’s been a straight class act. He’s well mannered and polite. He constantly thanks people and reporters he speaks to. He always has a big smile on his face and never has a bad word to say about anyone. He looks like a kid who has hit the jackpot and is loving every second of it. Now maybe people think his attitude is all a charade. But certainly, Sage’s actions don’t warrant all this hostility, other than people really want to see a green young kid get humiliated and defeated.

My belief is that a fighter is truly defined by his losses instead of his victories. Fans might turn on a fighter after a loss, but a loss is what truly tests an MMA fighter. When a fighter loses, that is when you find out what that combat athlete is truly made out of. In this sport of MMA, I believe it is too competitive with too many variables for any fighter to stay undefeated forever. It is through defeat where a fighter’s mettle is truly tested. A loss is what can truly motivate a fighter to get better and improve to a higher level.

First example, Luke Rockhold. In his UFC debut, he was humiliated and embarrassed by Vitor Belfort. Say whatever you want about TRT, but Rockhold suffered a devastating defeat after Belfort gave him a spinning heel kick to the head. That loss might have been the best thing to ever happen to Rockhold. It was through that loss that fueled and drove Rockhold to eventually become the UFC middleweight champion. After that loss, he became an even better fighter and carved a path to Chris Weidman.

Second example, Benson Henderson. Henderson lost his WEC title to Anthony Pettis at WEC 53. Henderson was constantly over-performing after beating the likes of Donald Cerrone and Jamie Varner. But Anthony Pettis was a fast rising superstar. Pettis secured a win by hitting Henderson with the infamous Showtime Kick. It was embarrassing because Henderson was on the receiving end of one of the biggest and most shocking MMA highlight reel moments in history. Henderson arrived in the UFC, and he looked like a different man. He looked like a man with a chip on his shoulder who was not content with his lot in life. Henderson was not content with being a footnote in a highlight reel. He went on his own warpath and won the UFC lightweight title.

https://youtu.be/IHGnXeNA0zo

I would say a similar example to Sage Northcutt is probably a young Rory MacDonald, another young fighter who came into the UFC undefeated and was only 19 years old. MacDonald looked like a scary prospect who could become a future title contender. In just his second UFC fight, he was matched up against Carlos Condit. The fight was held in friendly territory for Rory MacDonald in Canada. Despite Condit being the more experienced, seasoned veteran, MacDonald looked absolutely fantastic in the earlier rounds. He was dominating the fight and looked to be on his way to a stunning victory. However, in the final round, Carlos Condit managed to rally a comeback and with only seven seconds left in the fight, he snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. He walked away with a TKO victory. That was a tough loss for MacDonald, but he still managed to work his way up to the title contendership level after that loss.

Now my point is that Sage Northcutt does not automatically go on a huge winning streak and on his way to a title shot. My point is that the loss is just that. It’s one loss. This is not the end of his career. Sage Northcutt can recover from this. He can work on his game, possibly join a more consistent MMA training camp, and he can become an even better fighter. Northcutt is a UFC rookie who was basically in his third fight in about three months, and he lost. He made a rookie mistake. He’s still young in his career, and he can bounce back from this. So the next time someone thinks about trashing Sage Northcutt on Twitter, maybe give the guy a break.