Barberena Reacts To Sage Northcutt’s Strep Throat: Excuses Don’t Look Good
Unheralded UFC welterweight Bryan Barberena unceremoniously put an end to touted prospect Sage Northcutt’s hype train on the main card of last Saturday’s UFC on FOX 18 from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, finishing ‘Super’ Sage with an arm triangle choke that many believe was not fully locked in.
The hate and backlash that Northcutt has received (mainly from the fellow fighters who believe his salary is too high) was brutal and even reaching disgusting, yet the 19-year-old sport karate phenom perhaps didn’t do himself any favors by saying that he was suffering from a serious strep throat virus that, after rearing its ugly head for a third time during fight week, prevented him from breathing from the choke hold in question.
The excuse, whether true or not, hasn’t been met with the warmest response from Barberena, who revealed that Northcutt specifically asked for and was granted a fight with him after his original opponent, lightweight Andrew Holbrook, was forced out due to injury.
This week, Barberena took to social media to discredit Northcutt’s excuses for what is still viewed as a submission loss that lacked the heart necessary to dominate the highest levels of the UFC.
Hop to the next page to see what ‘Bam Bam’ blasted Northcutt’s excuse with…
Understandably gifted with a whole new influx of newfound fame, Barberena used an aperance on MMA on SiriusXM to discredit Northcutt’s excuse talk, noting that all fighters go into a fight with some kind of ailment, and they can certainly fight again to clear up any doubt about his victory:
“Everybody goes into fights with something. Any given day, I don’t care, we can do it again.” – @bryan_barberena on Sage having strep throat
— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) February 1, 2016
Barberena posted a much simpler response on his own Twitter account, stating that excuses ‘never look good’ on people with the hashtag that Northcutt actually picked him:
Excuses never look good on people. #youpickedme #BamBam
— BRYAN BARBERENA (@bryan_barberena) February 2, 2016
It looks like Barberena isn’t buying any of Northcutt’s reasons for the loss, and the truth may be that ‘Super’ Sage simply has a lot of growing up to do in terms of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and submission skills. A full-time move to TriStar should help that, but as many have said since the loss, ‘you can’t teach heart.’
Still, time is obviously on Northcutt’s side, and his otherwordly athletic ability can’t be denied even if coming out with excuses this early in his career may not be a good look. Will he rebound and rise up the UFC ranks, or will he be the latest hype train to fall?
