Five powerful words: Sage Northcutt shines in Boise

Saturday’s UFC’s Fight Night card in Boise was perhaps the greatest assembly of easy-to-get-along-with fighters ever constructed, many of whom were coming back from long hiatuses or facing unofficial do-or-die fights. Cat Zingano needed a win in the worst way against Marion Reneau, and got it. She cried on the mic afterwards, because it had been nearly four years since she’d had her hand raised. Chad Mendes got a first-round TKO of Myles Jury after two-and-a-half years away. To celebrate, the little carnivore said he was off to drink beer and eat some brisket.

And Junior dos Santos — the gentlest giant the sport has ever known — persevered for five rounds against Blagoy Ivanov (who himself has persevered for six years after being stabbed in the heart in Bulgaria), and emerged once again towards the top of the heavies. After the decision was read in his favor, he very courteously mentioned that a third fight with Stipe Miocic would please him greatly, if the UFC would be so good as too consider it.

Then there was Sage Northcutt.

Holy shhh…

As a young maxim starting out, “kill them with kindness” couldn’t have known it would have these kinds of takers. Especially in the grim trade of fighting, where B.J. Penn used to lick the blood off his gloves. After beating Zak Ottow in the co-main event via TKO, and scoring his very first victory as a welterweight, Northcutt did what Northcutt does — he turned on the moral high beams to the point that everyone around him wilted like filthy sinful flowers.

You could see his halo glowing from as far away as Kennewick as he told Jimmy Smith that, “words are powerful,” and went on to explain, “I think that we all got to have respect for each other. And we could all be more careful with the things we say. But I’m so excited, thanks you guys!”

The nervous giggle at the end was the last straw — “Super” Sage Northcutt is quite possibly the most well-meaning human being to ever want to smash holes in another man’s face. Some fighters need to be censored as they curse like heathens on live air; Northcutt just wants people to be nicer to each other. After all, why be mean? Why be so negative? Northcutt knows figuratively what Mendes suspects he knows literally — that there is tasty marrow waiting to be sucked out of life.

But back to the “power of words,” the new philosophical ideas that have dawned over Katy — the truth is, there’s some fun new curiosity to be found here. Northcutt, now at 22 years old, said before his fight in Boise that he felt better at 170 pounds, not having to so thoroughly drain himself with the cut to lightweight. And it showed versus Ottow. Though he got sacked early with a shot and spent the first half of the opening round on his back, Northcutt eventually demonstrated how naturally he’s come to embody his bigger frame. His speed caught up to his intentions, and his explosive athleticism showed up in the second round when he ransacked Ottow with strikes and wrestling. His time at Team Alpha Male has helped him learn to let things unfold.

It was a couple of hammerfists that ended the fight, which tells you something about the kind of power he has in his hands — a power that accessorizes well with the power of words.

“What I said in the Octagon about words being powerful was meant for a couple of different things,” he explained backstage. “One, I feel like there is too much negativity in the world and I think a great thing that martial arts teaches you is to be respectful. We should be more thoughtful with what we say to each other.

“Two, I feel the power in words that you can turn into reality. Just like Conor McGregor says he will knock his opponent out and does, I did tonight. Know your words are powerful and use them wisely.”

How is that for selective perception? Conor McGregor, who showed up dressed as a pimp for the Brooklyn leg of his world tour with Floyd Mayweather and later tried to throw a dolly through a bus in that same borough, is a beacon of positive energy for Northcutt. Northcutt only sees Mystic Mac, the man who calls his own shots, where so many others see McGregor tweeting, “These fools pull out more times than I do with my dick.”

Bless his heart.

That kind of positivity in the fight game is rare. Northcutt’s mission seems to be to A) kick a fair amount of ass, B) spread some preternaturally positive vibes while doing it, and C) take selfies of himself as a kind of surf-born Lothario at every stop along the way. With a record of 6-2 in the UFC, and finally to the point where he’s living up to the hype, he’s just now coming into his own. The one thing he’s kept through it all is his sunny-side up attitude, which he hopes is infectious. Naïve? Sure! Trying to get people to be nice is like trying to mop a lake.

But there’s something novel in seeing “Super” Sage try.