UFC fighter Sage Northcutt flexes his muscles during the weigh in for UFC 192, Oct. 2, 2015 in Houston. Young, good-looking and super-polite, teenage lightweight (Super) Sage Northcutt is almost too good to be true.Juan DeLeon/The Associated Press
Young, good-looking and super-polite, teenage lightweight (Super) Sage Northcutt is almost too good to be true.
The Texas A&M petroleum engineering student debuted in the UFC on Oct. 3 after winning his first five pro fights and being showcased on UFC president Dana White's "Looking for a Fighter" video show.
The 19-year-old did not disappoint at UFC 192 in Houston, stopping Francisco Trevino in 57 seconds, the fourth-fastest UFC lightweight debut ever. Trevino argued it was a premature stoppage but Northcutt outhit him 21-1 when it came to significant strikes.
It's been a whirlwind year for the six-foot Texan, who lives in Katy just outside Houston.
"I'm having a blast," he said in an interview.
Cody (The Fist) Pfister (12-4-1) looks to derail the Northcutt bandwagon on Thursday in a televised UFC show in Las Vegas.
"You know, I just don't think the kid has a chin," the 25-year-old Pfister is quoted on the UFC's "Embedded" show.
"From the looks of it he's like real rich and stuff. He's probably been hand-fed, given everything his whole life. Whereas everything I have, I've worked for. We've got a pretty stacked weight division. He's one of the easier guys I could have gotten. So I'm going to go put him down, show everybody it's a lot of hype."
The Fight Night card is the first of three shows in as many nights in Las Vegas, culminating in UFC 194 on Saturday when featherweight champion Jose Aldo meets interim title-holder (The Notorious) Conor McGregor.
Thursday's main event pits Rose (Thug) Namajunas (4-2-0), ranked third among female strawweights, against No. 7 Paige (12-Gauge) VanZant (6-1-0). Toronto middleweight Elias Theodorou (11-0-0) fights Brazilian Thiago Santos (11-3-0) on the same card.
Northcutt won White over quickly after the UFC boss saw him stop Gage Duhon in the first round of a June Legacy Fighting Championship card in Lake Charles, La.
The moment was documented in the pilot of White's talent-hunting show, which is akin to Anthony Bourdain's "Parts Unknown" series but with an MMA angle.
"I'm looking for the next Ronda Rousey, the next Robbie Lawler, the next Anderson Silva. I'm looking for a world champion and I'm going to go to any small show anywhere in the world to find it," White says in the show's intro.
White and travelling companion Matt Serra, a former UFC welterweight champion, weren't convinced when they saw a photo of Northcutt, complete with spiky hair, tan and six-pack stomach.
"Is that an Abercrombie (& Fitch) model?" said Serra. "Could this guy fight?"
"Why would he fight when he looks like that," chipped in Nick (The Tooth) Gullo, another member of White's posse on the show.
"Because he's got to pay for that tanning bed," joked White.
White changed his tune after watching Northcutt fight and then do a victory somersault in the cage.
"You shut us the hell up, man, let me tell you what," he told Northcutt afterwards.
"They were all extremely nice," Northcutt recalled of meeting "Mr. White" and his crew.
Northcutt is a second-semester freshman at Texas A&M, although he has cut back on his classes to train more. That has led him to Montreal, where he has spent time working at the Tristar Gym.
He started training in martial arts at age four and competing in karate and traditional martial arts at five with his father Mark, a black belt, training him. His older sister Colbey is also an accomplished martial artist while 16-year-old brother Shaun also trains with him.
"I'm going to try my best to show him everything I know," Sage said.
Sage was just nine when he made the cover of Sport Karate Magazine, telling the magazine he wanted to be a UFC world champion some day.