Following Sage Northcutt’s disastrous ONE Championship in May, Dana White raised eyebrows throughout MMA, by saying he thinks the 23-year-old should retire. Well, now, several months later, Northcutt has finally responded to the UFC President’s comments.
Northcutt’s brutal loss at “Enter The Dragon”
After completing his UFC deal last July with a three-fight winning streak, Northcutt ended up signing with ONE Championship. In May, Northcutt made his promotional debut against Cosmo Alexandre, and he was brutally knocked out in the opening round. In addition, Northcutt’s face was broken in multiple places in the fight, and the American had to undergo extensive surgery.
In June, White reported that he would “like” to see Northcutt retire, and he also claimed fighting “isn’t for” the former UFC fighter.
Northcutt responds to White’s comments
Well, recently Northcutt spoke with MMA Fighting, and not surprisingly, he was asked to weigh-in on White’s comments. Here’s what he had to say:
“For him to say something like that, after that injury, I don’t understand the exact logic of why he would say something like that,” Northcutt said. “Before, he was wishing me to do great in everything I happened to do in the future, and (to) say something like that is totally different.”
“I’m sure he’s had a few fighters from the UFC go to ONE Championship and I’m sure he—I’m not sure what exactly he wants to see from those fighters, but I’m sure he would like them to be fighting for his league,” Northcutt said. “Me fighting for ONE Championship is great, and I think I’m gonna accomplish great things.”
White’s comments did seem to draw a mixed reaction. On one hand, seeing Northcutt suffer that devastating of a loss did prompt some to question whether he’ll be able to launch a successful comeback. There was also extensive debate about whether Northcutt should have been booked to fight a dangerous and very experienced striker like Alexandre.
But, on the other hand, Northcutt had won three straight fights before exiting the UFC. In his last UFC outing, he finished the powerful Zak Ottow in the second round. At the time, White wasn’t publicly questioning Northcutt’s future in the sport.
All this aside, now it will be interesting to see when Northcutt returns to the cage and or ring. It certainly seems clear that he has no intention of hanging up the gloves.
Northcutt went 6-2 during his run with the UFC, and he currently carries an overall record of 11-3.
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