Bryan Barberena discusses his upcoming battle with Sage Northcutt on big FOX this weekend.
UFC welterweight Bryan Barberena is stepping up on short notice against 19-year old phenom Sage Northcutt on the main card of UFC on FOX 18 this weekend. Northcutt’s original opponent, Andrew Holbrook, pulled out of the fight with an injury.
How did he find out he’d be leaping from FOX Sports 1 prelims against Jonavin Webb to opening up a “big FOX” card against a potential future star? Let’s just say, he woke up to the good news.
“I was actually sleeping, I had a long day of training and I was pretty tired and went to bed early,” Barberena told MMAjr Radio. “Got the call from my manager, and he offered me the fight. I said, ‘are you sure it’s at 70 and not 55?’, and he’s like, ‘it’s at 70.’ I was like, ‘okay, I’ll take it.’ So I called my coach, and they said it’s a great opportunity and we talked about it. It’s a great opportunity and a great matchup so we went ahead and went with it.”
With the fight scheduled for this weekend, “Bam Bam” has little time to prepare for a tough test in Northcutt. And even though this is the first time he’s fighting inside the Octagon on short notice, he doesn’t have an issue with being a late replacement.
“No, I’m not worried about it. I was getting ready for my fight in February against Jonavin Webb,” he said. “Definitely different styles but I’m not worried. I was getting ready for that and I felt good going into camp anyways, I was already in shape, so I feel good about taking this one on short notice and being in good shape.”
Barberena doesn’t have anything against Northcutt personally, but, like several fighters, he questions Northcutt’s hype and the money he is making as such a young and inexperienced up-and-comer.
“As a person, I don’t know him, we just see what we see on TV,” he said. “Skill-wise, he has skills, he’s trained traditional martial arts for his whole life. He seems to be getting better. I don’t even think it’s him — it’s partially him I guess, but I think it’s unfair how things have played out, and how he’s up on a pedestal and getting special treatment. It is what it is, it’s his road, I have nothing really against him.
“That’s a ton for a guy who’s 2-0 and just getting into the UFC,” he said, when asked about Northcutt making $80,000 for his second UFC outing in December. “I’ll take that money, give me his money. Why don’t I have that money?”
Barberena has a major opportunity on Saturday night. He has the opportunity to be a dark horse and deliver the first loss to a surging prospect’s career. “Super Sage” has the eyes on him leading into this matchup, but Barberena expects it to be the other way around after it is all said and done.
“He has the hype around him that puts him up a little higher, people think of him greatly. But everyone has their holes, everyone has their openings, so I’m excited to take advantage of that.”