Mega prospect Sage Northcutt explains how he deals with the criticism surrounding his early success in the UFC.
Sage Northcutt is en-route to becoming one of the most successful stars in the UFC. At just 19-years-old, the lifelong martial artist has amassed a 7-0 professional record and has won both of his UFC fights via stoppage.
His squeaky clean image and extraordinary athletism have won over many fans — Northcutt’s post-fight speech and backflip celebration at UFC 192 netted over 1.4 million views on YouTube — but the early success has also attracted many detractors.
An enthusiastic Northcutt fielded questions from reporters ahead of his welterweight bout with Bryan Barberena at UFC on Fox 18 and explained how he deals with the criticism.
“I don’t think it’s difficult,” Northcutt said, per Chuck Mindenhall of MMA Fighting. “I actually think it’s kind of funny, too. A lot of times anything that somebody tries to say negative it’s actually kind of funny, and I actually don’t listen to any of the negative stuff. So anything that’s positive, that’s the stuff I’m listening to. That’s kind of like what brings you up, so there’s always a positive side, and there’s always a negative side, and you choose which one to listen to.”
The karate world champion made a name for himself on Dana White’s Looking For A Fight YouTube series after quickly disposing of Rocky Long at Legacy Fighting Championship 44. Northcutt dazzled in his UFC debut against Francisco Trevino — earning a first-round TKO — and continued to impress at UFC Fight Night 80 against Cody Pfister. The Texan submitted Pfister with a guillotine choke in the 2nd round.
Northcutt was originally expected to face Andrew Holbrook tomorrow evening but the Indiana native was forced to withdraw after suffering a broken foot. Sage will make the jump to 170 lbs. to take on late-replacement Bryan Barberena at UFC on Fox 18 on Jan. 30 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.