Sage Northcutt: 19-Year-Old MMA Fighter Set To Make An Impact At ‘UFC 192: Cormier Vs. Gustafsson’
In less than two days, Daniel Cormier will receive his first test as UFC light heavyweight champion when he goes one-on-one against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 192: Cormier vs. Gustafsson. Dana White hopes this UFC premier pay-per-view will make up for major losses at the last one, UFC 191: Johnson vs. Dodson 2. White is doing this by having fewer fights on the card – as way to cut costs – compared to the last two premier events but to feature fighters MMA fans are willing to watch besides “DC” and “The Mauler.” This includes Ryan Bader, Jessica Eye, and Julianna Pena.
There is one prospect on the UFC 192: Cormier vs. Gustafsson card that a lot of people are noticing. That prospect is Sage Northcutt, and he is set to make an impact in his UFC debut that night.
For those who are unfamiliar with Northcutt, he is a specimen to behold. According to Bleacher Report, many believe he might just be the future of UFC. At 19-years-old, Northcutt is 6?-1? tall, a lean 155 pounds, and a lifetime of training backed up behind him. Starting at the age of five, his father pushed Northcutt to do 250 push-ups and sit-ups every day. Two years later he was able to do 1,000 of each. As for his diet, Northcutt ate chicken, fish, rice, and egg whites. Sweets were out of the question. As a result, Sage Northcutt was one ripped kid as shown in the tweet below.
#tbt to when I was 4 years old pic.twitter.com/T3jqpKT8Gc
— Sage Northcutt (@sagenorthcutt) September 12, 2014
Despite all the medical issues thrown Sage Northcutt’s way, the results cannot be argued. As a matter of fact, his father says he can run a five-minute mile without training or run a 4.5 40-yard dash.
On top of the Adonis physique, Sage Northcutt has plenty of promotional potential due to his professional modeling and acting experience. But the money-maker is easily his face with his bright smile and spiked hair, a look that can easily be marketable. For UFC, that means a lot of money.
However, being a marketable figure in UFC can only happen if said figure is able to be entertaining in the Octagon as well as stack up wins. Sage Northcutt does not lack in this area either because he comes from a martial arts family, as reported by SB Nation. His father is a black belt in karate. His older sister, Colby, is an amateur kickboxing champion. As for Northcutt himself, he has numerous awards and trophies from martial arts competitions around the world starting at an early age. Northcutt believes his lifelong discipline and training will make up for his lack of experience.
“I started doing martial arts from the time I was four-and-a-half years old. So by the time I was seven I’ve been traveling, competing all around the world, Russia, Croatia, Ireland, Mexico, so many times, everywhere you can think of, I’ve been in front of large crowds since I was little, so I guess that’s part of it. The bigger the crowd, the more I feel comfortable.”
Before UFC 192: Cormier vs. Gustafsson, Sage Northcutt will be 5-0-0 on his professional record. His upcoming fight will be his debut fight in the UFC as he takes on Francisco Trevino who has an impressive record too at 12-1-0. It should be noted that Trevino vs. Northcutt is technically in the early preliminaries on the card, which start at 6:15 p.m./3:15 p.m. ESPT. Therefore, Northcutt’s debut can only be seen by those who have a subscription to UFC Fight Pass.
[Featured Image via Sage Northcutt’s Official Facebook Page, Post Image via Sage Northcutt’s Official Twitter Feed]
