Bryan Barberena derailed the Sage Northcutt hype train tonight at UFC On FOX 18, tapping the much talked about teenage star with an arm triangle submission from half guard.
Round One:
Northcutt with an early right hand. He misses on a leg kick attempt, as does Barberena. Northcutt with a flurry of left and rights as he closes the distance and looks to clinch. He’s hoping for a takedown, but it doesn’t work out and Barberena turns him around against the cage.
They break apart. Northcutt with a kick and Barberena is knocked off-balance slightly. Not hurt though. Two-piece combo from Northcutt and Barberena’s legs buckle. He rights himself and pushes into the clinch against the cage.
Northcutt moves free then is immediately back in close with his opponent, looking to take him down and then looking to latch himself onto Barberena’s back. Barberena stays standing with his back almost against the cage, and eventually the two men part ways.
Solid punches from Northcutt tagging his opponent’s face, then ducks into a takedown attempt. He brings Barberena down, but he soon pops back up again. Northcutt pressing him against the cage still, then they break.
Punch to the midsection for Northcutt. He lands a kick now. They clinch and Barberena is able to muscle Northcutt to the mat, pressed close up against the cage.
Northcutt kicks him away and stands back up. Barberena is bleeding from a cut to his face. Northcutt steps into range, but gets caught with a punch. Solid blow from Barberena and Northcutt takes a couple of steps back after that one.
Barberena swinging for the fences as the round comes to an end and Northcutt is throwing some heavy leather too and there’s generally a little more accuracy with his strikes.
Round Two:
Leg kick for Northcutt, punch for Barberena. Barberena missing with a leg kick. Northcutt with a short flurry, nothing landing particularly effectively. Northcutt looking to load up on a punch and staggers as he misses and is forced to roll onto his back.
Barberena gets on top in his full guard. Elbow from him. A few punches and elbows from Barberena as he starts to work on the mat. Northcutt lands a punch from his back, but Barberena moves to half guard immediately afterwards and lands some short punches to his head.
A few solid elbows drop down now. Half the round to go and Barberena lands another elbow. Northcutt has a cut to his left eye. Barberena looks to set up an arm triangle, but he’s still in Northcutt’s half guard and needs to get free of that to really lock this in.
Wow, Northcutt suddenly taps from that position. That’s it, the fight is over at 3.06mins of the second round! That seemed like an early tap from Northcutt, but Barberena’s not concerned about that, he’s just become the first man to defeat the much hyped teenager.
In hindsight Northcutt’s eagerness to get a number of UFC fights under his belt before his 20th birthday was a case of too much too soon as he’s clearly still rough around the edges. There’s absolutely no need to rush, so the smart move now would be too retreat from the spotlight and put in at least six months solid training at a gym like Tristar before even considering a return to the Octagon.
