That was the first Sage fight I've seen and . . .

[bambammccoy]

Well he is young and undefeated at 155.

I dont think alphamale is the right camp for him though. He needs a camp that compliments his striking style better.

Maybe ATT or Greg Jackson's. I wish his dad would have let him stay at tristar but he didn't like the sparring there.

You can definitely see the lack of sparring time in his fights. Late reactions and not pulling his head off centerline when he strikes. Not worried enough about the return strikes.

 

[cherryzero]

Somebody in another thread had a good point that he should go to wonderboy's camp. I can see that working out better for him.

I agree with this. Isn’t Scoggins out of the same camp as well?

They seem to really know how to adapt that karate background to mma where Alpha Male tends to focus on boxing. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but it’s a different game,

 

[MMAFanatic86]

Kid can't order a beer yet. Relax. By the time he's 26/27 he's going to be a problem.

The only thing I see derailing him is if he starts accumulating a lot of damage/miles early. Damage shortens careers.

But if he stays injury free and keeps progressing it's very easy to see him being a perennial top 10 guy for a decent amount of time

Once his first beer hits his system, his chin will begin to harden, and his punching and kicking power will be off the charts.

 

[Goatenstein]

He flat out lost to Gouti who appeared to stop pressuring when he could have for odd reasons. Enrique Marin dominated a round against Sagie Boi too.

 

[chillyoo]

He’s young, they want to groom him it is what it is. He’s got some real talent, I just think he’s too much of a nice guy right now. He’s going to have to be a mean killer if he ever wants to climb the ladder against good opposition

 

[TUFNewb]

He should be fighting low level guys in Bellator, and not low levels guys in the UFC.

I think he is getting better, but will probably never be as great as the UFC wants. That's ok, not everyone gets to be a Jon Jones level talent at age 21.

WTF was Gouti doing in the third lol? Went from trying to take his head off like a savage to the patented Johny Hendricks head in crotch strategy.

 

[91 seconds]

I wouldn't know the name Erick Silva if it wasn't for hype trains. This time we have a surfer dude with a six pack with a Gile haircut. I think it will be his same fate.

 

[ImNotSurpisedDonks!]

The only "hype" for Sage is on Sherdog.

Breh, this place literally hyped up CM Punk and then Mickey Gall. Sherdog is the last place you look for reality concerning any form of fighting.

 

[bigconan]

im not sayin hes top 15 or 20. im not sayin hes a future champ. but if he wants to make some good money and win some ufc fights then good for him.

He's making good money now...his looks alone will get him alot of money..

 

[HelloJapan]

Nsync got gifted a home town decision. A small Frenchman beat him :/ ONLY stat he won was volume of strikes. French dude had the more effective strikes, did more damage (to Sage's face, knock downs), had more TD's, had more "control" time, etc.

 

[truthisfreedom]

What hype machine? Only weak minded simpletons buy into the so called 'hype' machine. Guess you'd know. And I'd be honored to be Sage's boyfriend if only to make you jealous for my sweet meats.

 

[Dogo1]

Erik Silva is 52 years old and is still the best young prospect in the sport. Sage has 20+ years to develop.

 

[Squall10]

Developing baby GOAT.

 

[KlNG]

He's gotta leave alpha midget and join a real camp...Also his shady (living through my kids) dad needs to go fuck off somewhere.

 

[Jarvan]

Guy is 20 bro, he's the future GOAT, give him some time

That's what in saying. We gave Erick Silva 17 years to fulfill his, and we're still waiting.

 

[Dirge]

I have two words for you.... Michael McDonald.

Another insanely young fighter that came into the UFC at age 20 with a 11-1 record. Won 4 in a row including a win over Torres. Then he loses to Barao (not a big deal), but still a young guy with tons of potential.

Then he loses to Faber and Lineker and exits the UFC.

The point is, Sage is 21 years old. By the time Mayday was 21 he had 16 pro fights.

Sage has only recently joined Faber's camp. Give him a couple of years training with top fighters and he may very well become a decent fighter.

I believe his biggest limitation was being trained by his father. The karate background doesn't help either. The only two guys that it has worked for are Machida and Wonderboy and both of them can be inexplicably inactive during fights.

 

[KinG]

Wait until he gets his grown up strength , i still have hope for him

 

[Maroli]

Nah he's just calling it like it is, and the fact that you're so triggered by the truth means you're either a shill, or Sage's boyfriend.

Noone is upset at him personally. He seems like a respectful good mannered kid, props to him for pursuing something he likes. The resetment is in the fact that the UFC hype machine is behind him full force, doing everything in their power to try to prop him up.

Stop trying to help him with favorable matchups just because you think he''s "more marketable", and give him a fair shake like any other fighter on the roster.

Agreed, he seems like a very nice guy and represents the sport well. He definitely seems to be lacking the 'x factor' for fighting though. Some people have all the physical attributes but lack the final thing, whereas others have the opposite case (Damien Maia).

 

[mma_genius]

I actually like the guy...he's super respectful to everyone...never a bad word to say...but as far as fighting goes...he doesn't seem to have a good chin...he got rocked multiple times in this past fight...gets taken down pretty easily...If he doesn't make some huge improvements, he will never be in the top 10. training at alpha male, should definitely help his wrestling though.. but he didnt look good in this past fight...

How is training with midgets going to help him?

 

[DamonX]

I don't see him ever being top 10. Ever. Never. I thought he would be better.
Dude is far more a product of hype than actual skill.
I'm all for bringing up a fighter with caution, but damn, that has to be the most padded, weakest 5-2 UFC record of all time.
I predict a loss every single time he steps up in competition. Yeah, he is young, but I just don't see him competing well against top grapplers OR top strikers. He seems to be a average AT BEST at both.
Gatekeeper at best, but the UFC will keep him around as long as they can.
And if he ever starts to have a hard time making 155, he will get crushed at 170.

I have a hard time understanding why you people keep bitching about Northcutt.

He's a bottom tier 155er. Out of the ~90 fighters at lightweight this current win puts him around 66th in the rankings.

He was the first fight on the main card of a Sunday Fight Night. It's not like he's headlining payperviews.

He has an endorsement deal with Reebok, so the UFC has to give him some exposure to justify it. It's a business decision.

Should he have been given more time to develop against lower competition? Yes. This is why the UFC needs a feeder league.

But he's here now, and he's still undefeated at lightweight. (Even though I think he actually lost this last fight).

So do you think the UFC should cut him, piss off Reebok and then have Bellator snap him up?

Or keep him around and let the 21 year old kid develop while fighting lower tier guys on prelims and Fight Nights?

There are almost 100 fighters in the 155 lb division. Are you saying that there is no point to having anyone below the top 20 sticking around? Do you want to cut 70-80 fighters?

I am continually amazed at how all these supposed "hardcore fans" still don't understand how things work.