November - 2015
SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
34
UFC Letting It’s Young
Stars Shine Bright
Article By: Jay Anderson
With the addition of newcom-
er Sage Northcutt — the nine-
teen year old who made a blis-
tering debut at UFC 192, and
who was seen working out at
TriStar of late — to UFC Fight
Night 80, it looks as if the UFC
is setting the event up to be a
potential sleeper hit with MMA
fans. Headlined by Paige Van-
Zant, the hottest talent in the
women’s strawweight division,
it seems like the UFC is looking
for a chance to let their young
stars shine bright.
That’s a fantastic approach.
Northcutt and VanZant are,
frankly, the future of the pro-
motion, just as much as Conor
McGregor and Ronda Rousey
are the present. And it seems
like the UFC has finally learned
to put fights over the compa-
ny itself, something that for a
long time it seemed loathe to
do, with Dana White all too of-
ten being the face of the UFC.
What a welcome change. No
one (in their right mind, any-
way) is going out and buying
merch with Dana White’s im-
age on it, but plenty of fans
will plop down cash to buy
VanZant and Northcutt shirts if
they continue to shine.
For Northcutt, it seems as if
the UFC will also use VanZ-
ant as a blueprint, and move
him slowly but surely towards
stardom. Just as 12 Gauge is
getting her first headlining gig
at UFC Fight Night 80, North-
cutt is getting his first co-main,
which is relatively speedy —
but the level of competition
he’s facing is pretty much what
it should be. Cody Pfister isn’t
a name a lot of casual MMA
fans will know, and Kevin Lee
campaigned hard for the fight,
but at the end of the day, the
12-4 Pfister, who is 1-1 in the
UFC, is exactly the sort of fight
Northcutt should be getting at
this point (if he wins it, Lee can
be in the conversation moving
forward). You can call that pro-
tecting an investment, or you
can call it allowing a fighter to
develop. It’s all in the eye of the
beholder, really, but the fact is,
looking at any other sport, you
work your way up. There’s a
reason for that. You want to
see the best vs. the best, not a
lopsided beat-down of a fight-
er who wasn’t yet ready.
In any case, UFC Fight Night
80, coming as part of a three-
events-in-three-nights stretch,
just became a much-see ap-
pointment. In addition, VanZ-
ant and Northcutt aren’t the
only young stars on the card.
Canadian TUF champ Elias The-
ordorou also makes an appear-
ance (which means we’ll be
without his Twitter banter that
evening, unfortunately). The-
odorou, who is undefeated in
his career (11-0, 3-0 UFC) thus
far, has all the marketability of
VanZant and Northcutt, but is
looking for a signature win to
get fans talking. If he can find
it, he may be the next fighter
to break out.
With fighters like JimMiller and
Tim Means on the card as well,
it’s hard to pass this one by. In
fact, it’s feeling a lot like a spot-
light for the younger stars, so
here’s to hoping they seize the
moment.
(Dave Mandel/Sherdog)
