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After 19-year-old blue chip prospect Sage Northcutt suffered his first pro defeat on Sunday, the UFC fan base – mostly consisting of fully-grown adults – celebrated like there was no tomorrow.
Northcutt, the youngest active fighter under UFC employ, looked to make it three-for-three in his Octagon campaign when he faced Bryan Barberena, a largely unknown Minnesotan who doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page.
The teenage prospect was initially pencilled in to face Andrew Holbrook in a lightweight contest, but that fight was scrapped after his opponent suffered a broken foot in training. Instead, Northcutt agreed to pack on a few extra kilos and fight in the welterweight division against Barberena on just eight days notice.
Northcutt shined in the early stages of the fight, winning the stand-up exchanges with his varied arsenal of strikes and pinpoint accuracy, but by the second round, his inexperience reared its ugly head.
Barberena was able to get the fight to the canvas, which was where things began to rapidly go downhill for the previously unbeaten Texan.
The three-to-one underdog smothered Northcutt on the mat, raining down a combination of punches and elbows before locking up a comically weak-looking arm-triangle choke to finish the fight in the second round.
In the blink of an eye, the ‘Super Sage’ hype train was derailed. And before you could blink again, UFC fans and fighters alike were rapidly typing away on their phones to punch out their best jokes at the youngster’s expense.
Here are a few of the least curse-filled and downright offensive examples fit for public consumption:
Wow, we got a new president of the quick tap club.
— Mike Brown (@mikebrownmma) January 31, 2016
Sage Northcutt showed a tremendous amount of heart in his fight!!
That choke was so tight ! Lol
— TJ Grant (@TJ_Grant) January 31, 2016
@joerogan says “wow he tapped in half guard” that’s @UFCONFOX lingo for wow he is definitely a pussy. He’s young but I agree with you Joe.
— Justin Gaethje (@Justin_Gaethje) January 31, 2016
Meanwhile the Sage Northcutt hype train is like… #UFConFOX18 pic.twitter.com/xz3edbFqMv
— Submission Radio (@SubmissionAus) January 31, 2016
It’s surprising to see how much disdain the hardcore fight community has for Northcutt – seemingly all for a bunch of reasons outside of his own control.
Many loathe the youngster for looking like an incredibly muscular Backstreet Boy – with Hollywood movie star good looks, frosted tips, and a chiseled frame.
A bunch of fans and fighters dislike how the UFC has marketed the lifelong martial artist, shoving him down consumers’ throats as a future superstar of the sport before he even picks up his first noteworthy scalp in the elite MMA promotion.
The most common reason half the UFC roster is a card-carrying member of the ‘Sage Northcutt Hate Club’ is his shocking salary, though – as he current pockets $80,000 each time he gets his hand raised ($40,000 to show, $40,000 to win).
For many UFC veterans, Northcutt’s expensive purse is seen as a slap in the face. UFC light heavyweight journeyman Tom Lawlor has been one of the most vocal fighters since the part-time fighters salary was revealed.
Sage Northcutt makes more than me. FML
— Tom Lawlor (@FilthyTomLawlor) December 12, 2015
Lawlor later added that it “makes him in the mood to f***ing quit.” And I can understand his frustration. Lawlor has been in the UFC since 2008, has won more than he’s lost in the big leagues, and generally been an entertaining fighter, in and out of the chain-linked fence.
The 32-year-old veteran has every right to be discouraged by an untested fighter with a handful of wins netting a bigger pay cheque than him. But his anger should be directed at the UFC for paying out that sum, not the fighter for signing on the dotted line to accept the rich contract.
Truth be told, the reason Northcutt is the highest paid rookie in the UFC is because company president Dana White has dollar signs in his eyes every time he looks at the energetic up-and-comer.
White has already compared the burgeoning fighter to UFC featherweight champion and company poster boy Conor McGregor: “If you look at Conor McGregor – Conor McGregor is different than anybody who’s ever been here,” White told UFC.com “And Sage Northcutt is different than anybody who’s ever been here. I think people who are different stand out.”
Northcutt isn’t likely to be carrying UFC gold like the Irishman anytime soon, but time is on his side. The karate stylist isn’t even old enough to legally drink a beer in the US, and could someday blossom into a cream-of-the-crop lightweight contender.
At 19, though, Northcutt is an unbelievable athlete with a flashy striking arsenal, and little else. He’s green-as-grass and hasn’t yet developed a wrestling or submission game worthy of the UFC’s standards.
It showed in his fight in New Jersey on Sunday. The unseasoned grappler made a rookie mistake, got trapped in a bad situation and swiftly tapped out.
These errors are bound to happen when developing fighters are competing in pressure-cooker situations.
Unlike most, though, Northcutt won’t be given the chance to develop his craft on a smaller stage, all of his shortcomings are on display for an international audience of millions.