Khabib Nurmagomedov offers words of encouragement to Sage Northcutt following his loss on Saturday and ridicules Tony Ferguson for making fun of the 19-year-old.
The hype train for Sage Northcutt came to a screeching halt at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Bader on Saturday night. Northcutt, 19, was being hyped as a mega-prospect by the UFC but was submitted by Bryan Barberena in a shocking upset to kick off the main card.
The lifelong martial artist impressed in the first round but seemed to run out of gas by the 2nd. Northcutt succumbed to an arm-triangle choke from half guard and was subject to ridicule by fellow fighters on Twitter.
One of the lightweights who mocked the 19-year-old was top contender Tony Ferguson, who called Sage a “little bitch” and uploaded a celebratory video on social media.
Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is expected to face Ferguson in a five-round title eliminator at UFC on Fox 19, slammed “El Cucuy” and offered Northcutt some words of advice.
Woo!!! Tapped like a little Bitch & Tried to tel the Ref Different!! @sagenorthcutt VonFlu/Got You @bryan_barberena pic.twitter.com/xO4jNshOtq
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) January 31, 2016
talk shit about 19 year old you’re jealous of him because he makes more money than you you are a bum @arielhelwani https://t.co/1LhYwOhogq
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) January 31, 2016
Hi @sagenorthcutt don’t worry about all this jealous people keep working hard @ufc @arielhelwani RT
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) January 31, 2016
Northcutt was originally scheduled to take on Andrew Holbrook at lightweight but decided to make the jump to 170 lbs. after his opponent pulled out with a broken foot. It marked the first loss of Northcutt’s professional career and the karate world champion will look to reestablish himself as a serious contender.
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson is expected to headline UFC on Fox 19 on April 16th in Tampa, Florida.