In October of 2015, the UFC signed “Super” Sage Northcutt. This 19-year-old kid, a petroleum engineer student in Texas, would quickly become one of the fastest rising stars in the UFC over the next few months. He brought in more accomplishments in combat sports at his ripe age than many competitors have in multi-decade careers; many of us became attracted to seeing how far he could go in the UFC. While many believed he would go all the way – tearing through the competion like a buzzsaw – MMA Lab product Bryan Barberena rose to the occassion on just 8-days notice to defeat “Super” Sage Northcutt with an arm-triangle in the second round. This submission prompted a swarm of Sage Northcutt doubters whom question his ability to make it as a professional MMA fighter.
The fight
Northcutt impressed early on in the first round as he utilized his athleticism and explosiveness to blitz Barberena with lead right straights, but couldn’t quite get much respect from Barberena. Bryan stood toe-to-toe under the intense offensive pressure of Northcutt and even threw back shots of his own, showing that he would not succumb to Northcutt’s intimidating approach. Northcutt couldn’t quite overpower Barberena in the clinch either. If you were to compare body types, you would make the assumption that Barberena would be dramatically weaker, but the strength it takes to move bodies around doesn’t necessarily come in the form of bulging biceps or ripped 6-packs. Barberena stifled Northcutt’s wrestling game with his own defensive skills, and gradually wore on Northcutt’s body and mind with small inside punches and elbows.
The mental game is what everyone has been talking about. Ever since Conor McGregor began emphasizing the mental aspect of the sport, the rise of “armchair psychologists” has gone through the roof as now everyone is looking for windows into fighters’ mental acuity and fight IQ. When Sage Northcutt tapped out to Bryan Barberena’s arm-triangle, social media erupted in unison that Northcutt is mentally inferior and weak. This could be, but the truth is – we don’t know. We don’t know how strong Northcutt’s mental game is or why he chose to tap out, but what we do know is that there are multiple factors that went into play Saturday night.
Why did he tap?
First of which is the submission itself. The arm-triangle Barberena slapped on Northcutt was no ordinary arm-triangle. Barberena didn’t pass over to the side in order to increase pressure on the head and arm, but instead he drove his upperbody (primarily the shoulder) into the neck of Northcutt which turns it into more of a Von Flue choke. Another aspect that came into play is Northcutt’s large amount of muscle around his neck and arms. In a certain situation like that, the more muscle you have, the easier it is for blood flow to be constricted to the brain; the less amount of pressure is required to close off the arteries.
Finally, it could just be that Northcutt gave up because he knew he was trapped and didn’t see it necessary to try and fight out. The “tapout before you blackout” approach is probably not something Northcutt aligns with. UFC commentator Joe Rogan chimed in during the live broadcast to comment that it was a “quick tap”. It definitely was, but I do not believe it was because Northcutt’s mind is weak and he accepts defeat quicker than other fighters. Rather, Northcutt assessed he was stuck in a horrible position, his blood flow to his brain was seizing up, he was bloodied up, and he was not getting his way in the fight as he did in previous outtings. All of this justified giving the quick tap and accepting defeat, accepting perhaps the biggest lesson Sage Northcutt will ever learn.
Moving forward
So where does Sage Northcutt go from here? Well, he obviously needs to work on a few things. Throughout the bout, Northcutt looked very limited. Despite having an illustrous karate background, Sage opted to charge forward with swarms of punches. I’d like to see Northcutt mix his boxing arsenal up a bit, resist bum rushes, and look for openings. Another thing Northcutt has got to work on is his bottom game. In his second bout, Cody Pfister took Northcutt down and roughed him up with relative ease because Northcutt offered very little threat from his back. Turning into a threatening ground fighter is crucial for Northcutt as all three of his UFC bouts have hit the canvas. The athletic gifts Northcutt contains could greatly aid this process as well.
To conclude, it’s all too easy to kick somone while they’re down. Northcutt faced a mountain of adversity in this fight, and unfortunately he folded. However, this loss offers Northcutt something for more valuable than just another win. Northcutt learned what it’s like to lose, and now hopefuly next time he faces adversity he will be a bit more comfortable. Perhaps Northcutt is mentally weak, or perhaps he’s just inexperienced and needs to fine tune his skills. Either way, Northcutt will remain a star. Even in defeat, Northcutt was the most talked about fighter Saturday night.
