Sage Northcutt joins fellow UFC rising star Paige VanZant on Fight Night card
By Ryan McKinnell
Cagewriter
After a wildly successful UFC debut (and a pretty sweet post-fight front flip), 19-year-old UFC newcomer Sage Northcutt is already getting set for his first co-main event.
Northcutt will meet Cody Pfister at UFC Fight Night 80 on Dec 10. The event will be broadcast via the UFC’s streaming service, Fight Pass.
The night’s main event will feature a strawweight showdown between former model-turned-fist fighter Paige VanZant and Joanne Calderwood.
That’s going to be a whole lot of pretty inside one cage.
Northcutt made his UFC debut earlier this month when he dispatched of Francisco Trevino via first-round knockout at UFC 192 in his native Houston. The victory, coupled with Northcutt’s boy-band good looks, put the teen on a fast track to MMA superstardom.
The flashy striker has drawn his fair share of criticism since his debut. Despite a wicked performance, some fans were displeased with the amount of coverage a no-name newcomer was receiving.
A first co-main event before he even hits his 20s probably won’t help.
In his debut, Nortcutt faced off against Francisco Trevino, a 1-1 UFC fighter coming off his first promotional loss. Pfister is a bit of a different story, though. He has the same 1-1 UFC record, however, he is coming off a victory over Yosdenis Cedeno.
UFC Fight Night 80 will kick off the most action-packed week in UFC history.
Northcutt’s fight on Thursday, Dec. 10, will be followed on Friday by "The Ultimate Fighter 22" finale card. Finally, that Saturday will be highly anticipated UFC 194, featuring the featherweight unification fight between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor.
And in case you were wondering: Yes, all this will be happening in Sin City.
Both Northcutt and VanZant have received backlash from fans and media for their favorable placement on fight cards in 2015. And kicking off the biggest fight week in UFC history isn’t going to quiet the haters. What it will do, though, is give two hungry prospects the chance to perform on their biggest stage yet.
Do they deserve it? Probably not.
But sometimes that's just the type of motivation a young fighter needs – even if that fighter (or fighters) already has plenty of motivation for being labeled "just a pretty face."
We’ll find out just how pretty Nortcutt and VanZant can keep themselves come Dec. 10.
By Ryan McKinnell
Cagewriter
After a wildly successful UFC debut (and a pretty sweet post-fight front flip), 19-year-old UFC newcomer Sage Northcutt is already getting set for his first co-main event.
Northcutt will meet Cody Pfister at UFC Fight Night 80 on Dec 10. The event will be broadcast via the UFC’s streaming service, Fight Pass.
The night’s main event will feature a strawweight showdown between former model-turned-fist fighter Paige VanZant and Joanne Calderwood.
That’s going to be a whole lot of pretty inside one cage.
Northcutt made his UFC debut earlier this month when he dispatched of Francisco Trevino via first-round knockout at UFC 192 in his native Houston. The victory, coupled with Northcutt’s boy-band good looks, put the teen on a fast track to MMA superstardom.
The flashy striker has drawn his fair share of criticism since his debut. Despite a wicked performance, some fans were displeased with the amount of coverage a no-name newcomer was receiving.
A first co-main event before he even hits his 20s probably won’t help.
In his debut, Nortcutt faced off against Francisco Trevino, a 1-1 UFC fighter coming off his first promotional loss. Pfister is a bit of a different story, though. He has the same 1-1 UFC record, however, he is coming off a victory over Yosdenis Cedeno.
UFC Fight Night 80 will kick off the most action-packed week in UFC history.
Northcutt’s fight on Thursday, Dec. 10, will be followed on Friday by "The Ultimate Fighter 22" finale card. Finally, that Saturday will be highly anticipated UFC 194, featuring the featherweight unification fight between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor.
And in case you were wondering: Yes, all this will be happening in Sin City.
Both Northcutt and VanZant have received backlash from fans and media for their favorable placement on fight cards in 2015. And kicking off the biggest fight week in UFC history isn’t going to quiet the haters. What it will do, though, is give two hungry prospects the chance to perform on their biggest stage yet.
Do they deserve it? Probably not.
But sometimes that's just the type of motivation a young fighter needs – even if that fighter (or fighters) already has plenty of motivation for being labeled "just a pretty face."
We’ll find out just how pretty Nortcutt and VanZant can keep themselves come Dec. 10.
