The UFC has decided not to re-sign Sage Northcutt to another contract according to Dana White. The 22-year-old is a free agent after fighting out the terms of his contract with the company.
Northcutt was a much-heralded star coming into the UFC as he was one of the fighters “discovered” on Dana White’s YouTube reality show. He entered the company with much promise and was pushed as the next great fighter. His salary started out higher than most fighters coming into the company and he was given central spots on televised cards. His good looks and down-home attitude made him a marketer’s dream.
But he failed to live up to expectations despite going 6-2 during his UFC stint. But, his losses to Bryan Barberena and Mickey Gall showed the lack of experience on the ground for the striker. Even with a purple belt in BJJ, the submission losses exposed clear flaws in his game.
White, on the UFC Unfiltered podcast stated that Northcutt’s contract was up and the UFC let him go. White noted that Northcutt needed some work to do and that the company may take a look at him in the future.
Northcutt will not be without suitors to sign him. He has mentioned being interest in signing with ONE Championship. In fact, this twitter post makes more sense now with the news of Northcutt’s departure.
At the One FC MMA awards banquet in Singapore with Chatri Sityodtong.. what an awesome event pic.twitter.com/c8y0l5522J
— Sage Northcutt (@sagenorthcutt) November 9, 2018
Payout Perspective:
Northcutt’s last reported purse was for $60,000 and another $60,000 if he won which is above-par for fighter’s similarly situated. Clearly, the UFC took a gamble on Northcutt with the hope that he would improve quicker than he would. In my opinion, I don’t fault Northcutt for not living up to the expectations. The good news is that there are options for Northcutt and it’s clear we’ll see him in ONE or Bellator. He’s also very young so there’s a lot of time for improvement.
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