Issue 138
February 2016
FO flew to Katy, Texas, to find out what makes teenage sensation Sage Northcutt look and fight like a superhero
Sage Northcutt
UFC Lightweight
Alias: Super
Age: 19
Team: Gracie Barra Katy
Record: 7-0
After being scouted by Dana White in the pilot episode of Looking for a Fight, Sage Northcutt is being groomed for superstardom as the hottest prospect in the UFC. But then the 19-year-old Texan is no ordinary teenager. He’s trained since he was four years old, won 77 karate world championships, earned black belts in multiple martial arts and begun to excel in jiu-jitsu and wrestling. Oh, and as FO soon discovered, he’s also the most well-mannered and likeable young man in pro sports.
Q. Did your UFC debut flash by, or were you able to appreciate the occasion?
A. It did come around pretty fast, UFC 192, but I’m a pretty level-headed person so I was able to really enjoy the moment too. Walking to the Octagon first helped. I got to have four or five minutes alone in there to relax and really focus on what I was going to do.
I got the chance to walk around the cage and look out into the crowd and wave at a few folks, so it was perfect really. Those few minutes gave me time to digest the moment, then concentrate on what I was there to do.
After the fight, when I got to talk to Mr Rogan over the microphone, and when Mr Buffer called out my name – that was super awesome. I really soaked those moments in as I appreciated beforehand what landmarks they would be in my life.
Q. Did you hesitate about taking the fight on short notice?
A. No way. No, sir. No hesitation whatsoever. The UFC is so incredible and they take care of their fighters so there was no way the opportunity was going to pass us by. We were all pumped, so I would have been ready the day after I got the call. The only issue was working out what I was going to do with school.
Q. Your front flip celebration went viral. Do you have anything else to show off?
A. I have plenty more flips to come, don’t worry about that! Everything went to plan – which is always to finish my opponents quickly – and so look out for much more of that too. Finishing fights in spectacular fashion is what I’m all about. I understand we are in there to put on a show for the audience and that’s what I like to do most. So there’s plenty more cool flips that maybe people have never seen before still to come.
Q. What was your favorite finishing move in karate?
A. I liked everything: spinning hook kicks, tornado kicks, 540° kicks, 900° kicks, there are so many incredible kicks that people just haven’t seen in professional fighting yet. And it’s totally possible that I may be able to incorporate something like that into my fights in the future, so watch out! A 540 kick in the Octagon would be amazing.
Q. Some, like Ronda Rousey, march to the cage, scowl and stomp their feet, but you appear happy and unperturbed. How do you flick the switch to finish fights?
A. Some people need that, including Ronda, and she’s great. Without her, women’s fighting wouldn’t even be in the UFC. And I love her approach and the way she marches out. It’s really cool and interesting for the fans. But I’m a little different, I guess, because, for me, that’s the fun stuff. I’ve dreamt and worked so hard my entire life to fight in the UFC that now I’m there, in the Octagon, I plan on enjoying every second of it. That’s why I can’t stop smiling.
Q. Are you surprised UFC lightweights are calling you out so early in your career?
A. I take it as a compliment, not much else. I don’t understand why any fighter would be calling out a kid fresh out of high school in the UFC. I consider myself at the bottom in the UFC right now so everybody else should just be focused on working their way up too. I don’t quite get what anybody thinks they may achieve by fighting or even beating me right now. They should be looking up the rankings, not below.
Q. Does your impact in the Octagon and your karate achievements mean you have a target on your back?
A. Sure, there is always going to be people who want to fight you, people who may be jealous or not like you. But in MMA it’s just one opponent scheduled usually a few weeks out. In karate you would have a bracket of people to beat over the course of an event or even one night, so it’s different in that regards. But I’m just taking it one fight at a time.
Q. Does your future lie at 170lb?
A. I could see that. Right now I’m at 155lb but I’m only 19 and my body’s still growing. Maybe I’ll move up to welterweight in four or five fights as I may be much bigger in a year or two’s time. I wont rule anything out. I would naturally weigh around 180lb outside of competition.
Why have you chosen to do some of your training at Tristar?
A I’ve always looked up to Georges St Pierre and I loved his style, and I got to train with him when I was last there. He has a super explosive takedown, one of the very best in the history of MMA, so to go up there and train with him, Rory MacDonald and the rest of the team is awesome. They’re all just so knowledgeable and so driven.
They were also all very nice to me, so I felt welcome from the moment I arrived. And as for Mr Zahabi, he’s just such a technical coach – he’s a super genius – and it was great learning directly from him. That’s why I want to go back. But I’m still in school here in Katy, at Texas A&M, so I have to come back to takes tests, do homework and things like that.
Q. Why have you chosen to do some of your training at Tristar?
A. I’ve always looked up to Georges St Pierre and I loved his style, and I got to train with him when I was last there. He has a super explosive takedown, one of the very best in the history of MMA, so to go up there and train with him, Rory MacDonald and the rest of the team is awesome. They’re all just so knowledgeable and so driven.
They were also all very nice to me, so I felt welcome from the moment I arrived. And as for Mr Zahabi, he’s just such a technical coach – he’s a super genius – and it was great learning directly from him. That’s why I want to go back. But I’m still in school here in Katy, at Texas A&M, so I have to come back to takes tests, do homework and things like that.
How do you manage to juggle university life with competing in the UFC?
A It’s a lot of work. But I’ve done this my entire life. Right through junior high, middle school, high school, everything, I’ve always worked on my training as much as my education. So it’s really nothing new to me. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy either. When I was growing up I competed every other weekend, whether it was karate, jiu-jitsu or wrestling, and I was doing schoolwork at the same time, so I’m used to living with both.
Q. What’s a typical day for you?
A. Firstly is my schooling. That remains my priority. My training starts with cardio. I always work my cardio. That’s the cornerstone of everything I do. I’ve been blessed with great cardio my entire life, but I work hard at it as well. Then when it comes to martial arts it’s all about drilling. I practice things over and over and over and that’s how I improve my knowledge and perfect moves too. I still have a lot to learn.
I train two or three times a day. If I have a class or some studying to do, then I’ll get up early and train at the start of the day. I usually train three times a day, with school work and other things like media slotted in between. Generally, I’ll train anywhere between three to five hours every day.
Q. Are you hoping to finish your major before switching to MMA full-time?
A. I’m just going to see how it plays out and take one fight at a time. If all goes to plan, then I might take a break from studying to train full-time.
At home with the Northcutts
Q. Is it safe to say the Northcutts don’t have your typical family holiday feast?
A. That’s probably very true. We’ve all been competing for so long, we’re usually at the karate world championships or readying for some other big tournament and cutting weight, so we would never really have huge feasts at home. We still have all the food, but it’s probably a little healthier than most homes and there’s a lot of stuff that gets put away until after we’ve competed – and it still tastes great.
Q. Who does all the cooking?
A. Mom. She’s a great chef. She doesn’t really train martial arts, but she enjoys watching it. With me, my brother and my sister competing all the time, that’s enough for her. She’s the Team Northcutt nutritionist!
God-given talent
Q. How important is faith in your life?
A. It’s very important because I know God gave me all the talent to do the things I do. Without him and Jesus Christ then I wouldn’t even have the opportunity to fight in the UFC. Especially being only 19, the youngest person in the UFC right now, and competing the way I do. That’s huge for me and it’s all because of my faith.
I attend church as frequently as possible. And if I can’t get to church then I’ll always read my bible. We’re often traveling so it’s not possible to attend church every week.
Q. Is your faith and martial arts spirituality symbiotic?
A. They definitely merge together. My entire life is committed to following Jesus Christ so that obviously includes my martial arts training. Having that support network, and knowing what Jesus went through for us, it means when I step inside the cage to fight it’s nothing compared to what he experienced for us. It’s liberating.
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