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UFC on FOX Aftermath: The Ugly Reaction to Sage Northcutt’s Loss

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“He had board shorts on and he was all tanned up and we were kind of making fun of the kid going into the fights.”

That was UFC President Dana White’s first impression of Sage Northcutt on the pilot episode of his new reality series, Looking for a Fight, seconds after picking against the young fighter solely because of his appearance.

White’s initial reaction was not dissimilar to how the majority of people saw the 19-year-old fighter from Katy, Texas right out of the gate.

Matt Serra, one of White’s sidekicks on the show, asked if he was an Abercrombie model. Nick “The Tooth” Gullo, the third member of the triumvirate, questioned why Northcutt would fight given his chiseled physique and boy band looks and the table of adults laughed in unison when White joked that it was in order to pay for his tan.

After steamrolling his opponent at the Legacy FC show White and company attended, Northcutt was signed to the UFC and debuted 30 miles from home at the Toyota Center in Houston at UFC 192. He was added to the open workout schedule and instantly became one of the featured fighters on the card, despite being just a handful of fights into his career and still attending classes at the University of Texas, where he was in the Petroleum Engineering program.

Northcutt smiled a lot and called everyone “sir” and “ma’am.” He said “thank you” whenever someone wished him well or praised his performance or the way he was handling the sudden influx of attention. Like the song from The Lego Movie, everything was awesome – being in the UFC, being at open workouts, fighting close to home.

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.

The cynicism took root almost immediately.

There is no way this kid was this perfect and if he really was this humble, earnest, and “aw shucks” wholesome, the prevailing take on the subject was that he was some kind of lab experiment cooked up by his parents – a mixed martial arts Todd Marinovich who was never allowed to do anything other than eat clean, train and do crunches.

When he decimated Francisco Trevino in his debut and instantly became someone the UFC was clearly putting its promotional muscle behind, the critics started flocking to the fresh meat.

Veterans with fights lined up and much further ahead of him in the pecking order lobbied for the chance to fight him on social media. He was called a fraud, entitled, spoiled, undeserving. Everyone wanted the chance to fight him, not because they wanted the benefit of the spotlight that was immediately placed on Northcutt – no, it was strictly because he was given a platform and an opportunity that they felt he didn’t deserve and each and everyone fighter that asked for the opportunity to share the Octagon with the newcomer did so for the greater good; to teach the kid a lesson about paying your dues and putting in the work, not to get their name in print and potentially on the marquee.

His sophomore appearance was booked alongside Paige VanZant on a UFC Fight Pass card in December opposite Cody Pfister, a lower tier lightweight with pretty raw abilities coming off his first UFC win. The pairing was mocked as a lay-up for the newcomer and teaming up Northcutt and VanZant, a 21-year-old prospect in the women’s strawweight division who was enjoying the same kind of push, on the same card drew loud groans.

When it was reported that Northcutt made $80,000 for his December win over Pfister ($40,000 to show plus a $40,000 win bonus), social media got lit as fans, fighters and media didn’t hold back in laying into the up-and-coming lightweight and the promotion for handing over that kind of money to an unproven new arrival when more seasoned competitors on the card – like Ultimate Fighter winner Michael Chiesa – were taking home less. (Chiesa earned $60,000 for his win over veteran Jim Miller)

As the number of articles about the blonde-haired, blue-eyed rising star piled up, so too did the vitriol.

Everything he posted on social media – which largely consisted of him attending different events, smiling and giving the thumbs up – was panned and picked apart. His unflagging positivity and constant smile continued being scrutinized by adults in disbelief that a 19-year-old kid could be so genuinely happy and positive of this cruel, cruel world.

And if that was indeed the case, it was only because he hadn’t experienced enough of life yet, which makes senses, since Northcutt isn’t allowed to use the Internet. Once this cold, hard world gets ahold of him, things will be different; he’ll change, just you wait and see. (Note: contrary to rumour, he has, in fact, been on the Internet.)

Large, vocal chunks of the MMA community – fans, fighters, media – wanted to see him crack and waited to see him fail, ready to capitalize on the attention his name being in the headline would generate either way.

Saturday night on FOX, Northcutt fought for the third time in four months, agreeing to take on Bryan Barberena at welterweight after his original lightweight opponent, Andrew Holbrook, was forced out of their meeting a week prior with an injury. It was a risky decision for Northcutt, who had dominated weaker competition at both lightweight and welterweight, but was stepping in with a tough out from a great camp for the first time.

After winning the first round, but showing signs that he was dealing with something he’d yet to encounter in the cage, Barberena came out in the second and put Northcutt on the canvas and the 19-year-old never made it back to his feet until the fight was over.

First, he grabbed on for dear life, trying desperately to limit his opponent’s movement and force a standup. When that failed and Barberena was able to posture up and start landing blows, Northcutt turned away and covered up, showing no real recognition of how to escape the position and change his circumstances.

As the MMA Lab product worked for an arm-triangle choke, ensnaring Northcutt’s right arm while setting up the hold while working from in half-guard, Northcutt tapped out and the Internet exploded.

Make no mistake about it: Northcutt quit; he got trapped in a hold, didn’t know what to do and took the available exit, tapping even though Barberena wasn’t in the traditional position required to finish the choke.

He likely panicked and in the moment, when he couldn’t discern how to escape the position and change his fate, he gave up, much to the delight of innumerable people that were apparently poised, calm and ready to handle every possible situation they could be thrust into with aplomb when they were teenagers.

Fans and fellow fighters mocked him and reveled in his defeat. His submission was held up as proof that he was a fraud and underserving of his place on the roster. They said he wasn’t worth the money the UFC was paying him, called him a “bitch” and a “pussy” and set off fireworks to celebrate his first professional loss.

Not everyone piled on.

Sergio Pettis, younger brother of former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis and a fellow prospect that experienced his first loss on network television, offered encouragement and understanding.

Khabib Nurmagomedov shot back at his upcoming opponent, Tony Ferguson, who was quick to mock Northcutt’s loss on social media. Michael Bisping tweeted about his potential and the pressure that had been heaped upon Northcutt’s shoulders so quickly.

But for the most part, it was laughter and ridicule, which is disappointing and mostly misguided.

If fighters want to be outraged about Northcutt’s pay, their quarrel isn’t with the 19-year-old, it’s with the UFC and it’s a battle they have very little chance of winning.

The UFC has never once nor will it ever be a meritocracy, so while it’s all well and good to complain about how “unfair” it is that a teenage newcomer makes 40 and 40 when seasoned vets that have been competing professionally for nearly as long as Northcutt has been alive are making less, the reality of the situation is that the UFC doesn’t operate on a length-of-service pay model and neophyte or not, Northcutt moves the needle and that is of greater importance to the organization than how long someone has been on the roster or the quantity and quality of their wins.

Some argued that with pay comes expectation, the suggestion being that because Northcutt took home $80,000 for his last victory, he should perform at a higher level than he exhibited on Saturday night.

The only way to become a better fighter is through experience, plain and simple, and even then there are no guarantees. Turning off the spotlight, stripping away the hype and looking at Northcutt simply on his resume, you see a 19-year-old with seven fights before his loss on Saturday night; a ton of potential and upside, but none of the early signs that had Rory MacDonald earmarked as a contender at the tender age of 20 or that made everyone realize Jon Jones was destined for greatness after his sophomore appearance in the Octagon.

There was a little more sizzle than steak, but none of that falls on Northcutt, who handled his obligations and newfound celebrity status with the kind of tact and manners that all parents should hope their children would exhibit if put in a comparable position.

Additionally, what was he supposed to do – turn down the UFC’s contract offer? Argue for less money? It’s easy to say he’s underserving from the outside, but trade places with him and then see if you would decline those terms because others with more experience, greater seniority were making less and you didn’t feel it would be right to make more than they did.

Everyone is noble and just when it comes to determining someone else’s worth, but would they hold to those same principles if the shoe were on the other foot?

As for applauding his failure and enjoying the fact that he lost, it reeks of jealousy and taking joy in a 19-year-old coming up short is just a bad look in general because honestly, what did Northcutt do to deserve this?

He was respectful and humble every step of the way. He won his fights and took advantage of the opportunity that was being present to him, something any fighter in the same position would do if they were given the chance.

Again, if this is about the push Northcutt has received and the amount of money on his paycheck, those aren’t his decisions, but it’s far easier and probably safer to kick the kid while he’s down than speak out about the larger systemic issue.

The other part of this is that Northcutt got this push and those dollars because he gave the UFC a reason to invest in him on both fronts. He captured fan interest from Jump Street and was happy to put himself out there, something not all fighters are capable of doing. He made himself marketable and carries an “It Factor” that not all athletes have and faulting him for making the most of it is petty and misguided.

Yes, some of that derives from the UFC deciding to put its promotional muscle behind him and showcase him, the same way they have fighters like VanZant, Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey, but not all fighters are created equal and the ones that have “it” are always going to have it better than those that don’t resonate with the fans in the same way.

Did Saturday’s loss to Barberena show that Northcutt is still green and has serious holes in his game that need to be addressed? Absolutely, but then again, there are very few 19-year-olds that arrive on the biggest stage in this sport or any sport fully formed and without flaws.

The ironic thing was that no one was saying Northcutt was the exception to that rule; he was just a good-looking, talented kid that was in the right place, at the right time and enjoying the ride for as long as he could.

Apparently, that’s unacceptable or unfair to some and seeing him struggle brings them joy and a sense of satisfaction, which says more about them and the greater issues plaguing this sport than it does about the 19-year-old who froze up and quit when he didn’t know what to do on Saturday night.



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