After one of the most frantic, skyrocketing, and some would say, contrived hype trains in UFC history, touted 19-year-old prospect Sage Northcutt saw his momentum come crashing down to a shocking halt when relatively unknown welterweight Bryan Barberena submitted him on the main card of last weekend’s (Saturday, January 230, 2016) UFC on FOX 18 from Newark, New Jersey, with an arm triangle choke that didn’t appear to be quite locked on.
Northcutt promptly received what many viewed as undue hate from many of his fellow fighters; mainly those that were miffed he already earned a pay split of $40,000 to show and $40,000 to win in a time when many of them are struggling to make ends meet.
But the boyishly good-looking ‘Super Sage’ didn’t do himself any favors when he came out and revealed he had a nasty case of strep throat going into the fight, which, whether true or not, just serves to discredit Barberena’s win in an arena that Northcutt just didn’t appear comfortable in.
Regardless of that loss, however, the jury is obviously still out on Northcutt in a major way, and there are some big reasons why he could easily bounce back and become the elite fighter he’s been hyped up as since his UFC debut last October. There are also some reasons why he could end up as the latest failed hype train that perhaps enjoyed some special treatment from the UFC due to his perceived marketability.
Let’s take a look at both sides of the story.
The post Five Reasons The Sage Northcutt Hype Train Will Bounce Back – Or Not appeared first on LowKick MMA.