Sage Northcutt came into the UFC after making a name for himself in the first ever episode of Dana White’s Looking For A Fight. He made his promotional debut at only 19 years old and has since put together an impressive 6-2 record. We saw him last knockout Zak Ottow back in July of this year, now riding a three fight win streak.
Now ready to step back in the octagon, Sage Northcutt is in search of his next opponent. He called out someone on Twitter, this being a surprise to many knowing his typical demeanor. However, this name is one you would never expect: Logan Paul.
You hear that right; Logan Paul, the internet celebrity who rose to fame with his YouTube channel and acting career. He is not signed to any mixed martial arts promotion and has never competed in a professional MMA fight. On August 25th, Paul did square off against rival YouTuber KSI in a six-round white collar boxing match. KSI came in as the “YouTube Boxing Champion (YBC),” and because the two fought to a draw, he retained the YBC belt.
The boxing match was Paul’s first in that particular martial art, not having much to any prior experience in training. However, he does come from a wrestling background, having qualified in high school for the 2013 Division 1 Wrestling Individual Championships in Ohio.
Before the fight with KSI, conversation began that Paul had shown interest in one day competing in MMA. He took to Twitter after the fight, responding to the matter of this and one day fighting under the UFC banner:
the thought of securing a fight in the @UFC is exciting… could finally use my wrestling background… but i hear some other celebrities/athletes want to catch these hands first? ?
— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) August 29, 2018
Many others, including myself, never would have imagined that a currently signed UFC fighter would consider a fight with Paul. However, Sage Northcutt proved us all wrong this evening:
Let me know when you wanna catch these hands ??
— Sage Northcutt (@sagenorthcutt) August 31, 2018
Logan Paul responded not long afterwards:
BRING IT ON NORTHBUTT pic.twitter.com/TA1JIWCcOx
— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) August 31, 2018
The final two tweets of conversation came from Northcutt:
IT HAS BEGUN…..
— Sage Northcutt (@sagenorthcutt) August 31, 2018
@LoganPaul when he sees me on the other side of the ring lol pic.twitter.com/KY3eL5ibfc
— Sage Northcutt (@sagenorthcutt) August 31, 2018
There are many questions we must ask about this. Does this look bad for the sport? To some (and many), yes. Does this do good for the sport? Likely, yes. Is there a chance Paul will one day compete in the UFC? Who really knows. Is Northcutt serious about a potential fight with Paul? Again, who really knows. And most importantly, is Northcutt actually trash-talking? It is a step towards that direction. We will have to wait and see where this conversation goes between Northcutt and Paul. Likely, this beginning could also be the end.
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