Sage Northcutt has finally had some normalcy during a training camp at welterweight.
“Super Sage” spoke to MMA Junkie about his fight with Zak Ottow tomorrow night (Sat. July 14, 2018) at UFC Boise. It will be Northcutt’s third attempt at picking up a win in the weight class. As for why his first two attempts went so poorly, Northcutt points to a few medical issues that barred him from living up to his full potential:
“Not to complain or anything, but I was extremely sick with strep throat (and) ended up going to the hospital (prior to my first welterweight fight),” said Northcutt. “Next fight at welterweight, I had my tonsils taken out. It was crazy.”
Now fully healthy and no longer having to worry about being a part-time student, Northcutt has had a full training camp with Team Alpha Male without having any side distractions to hinder his performance:
“Really, if you take a look at the training, I was in high school and college all my fights,” he said. “Now, the last two fights, I’ve been at Team Alpha Male. So this is my third fight getting trained consistently with the team.”
Being at his natural weight, Northcutt feels great fighting at 170 pounds. Unless a 165-pound division opens up in the future, it looks like welterweight will be Northcutt’s home for a while:
“Kind of like Donald Cerrone,” Northcutt said. “How he fights and puts on a great show all the time. Fighting down at 155, that weight-cut is so extreme. For my body, I walk around very lean all the time, and it’s hard to lose that weight. I think 170 will be good for me.”
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