The fighters’ payout from their fights holds great value for them. As such, they put their body on the line just to provide for their family. Recently, former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling revealed how Dana White’s UFC used to be partial to a few fighters while handing out payouts. Interestingly, a young debutant, Sage Northcutt, made more than Sterling back in 2015.
Dana White’s UFC has been one of the top promotions in the world of MMA for over a decade now. With that reputation, everyone expects them to be just for their fighters and treat them equally. However, back in the early days, it was not so. In a recent episode of Verse Us with Eric Nicknick, Aljamain Sterling exposed overpaying some fighters more than their worth.
We were renegotiating and I think maybe that kind of ruffled some feathers little bit since back then that was in like 2015… And that’s when Sage Northcutt was like the next big thing but he just got signed… The money I was offered was half of his.
Aljamain Sterling via Verse Us with Eric Nicksick
Back then, Aljamain Sterling was on a 4-win streak before renewing his contract. Even though he was on a good winning run, he made only around $8,000 for his matches. On the other hand, Sage Northcutt had a hefty salary of $80,000 (+ $80,000 to win) on their promotional debut. Aljo, knowing all this, couldn’t keep it to himself and revealed how there’s a partiality for some fighters in White’s company.
Sage Northcutt was somehow one of the popular fighters back in 2015. The payout he got in his promotion debut might be one of the reasons for that. Interestingly, Northcutt’s debut salary was more than some superstars made in their UFC debut. Current bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley, being one of the most exciting strikers, was on a $22,000 (+$22,000 to win) contract.
Aljamain Sterling says his contract renegotiations in 2015 may have “ruffled some feathers” with the UFC, took issue with Sage Northcutt getting paid $40K/$40K for debut while he made $8K/$8K 💰
“The money I was offered was half of his. I’m not really understanding the… pic.twitter.com/Z05f4fp8H5
— Full Violence ™ (@Full_Violence) August 27, 2024
Not only that, even Ireland’s finest fighter, Conor McGregor, made a less than the popular Sage Northcutt on his debut. McGregor debuted on $8,000 (+$8,000) compared to Northcutt’s $40,000 contract. This leaves everyone wondering about the relationship that the UFC head honcho and the 28-year-old had back in the day. Interestingly, he was shockingly released from the promotion in 2018.
Why did Dana White let go of an exciting prospect like Sage Northcutt?
Sage Northcutt made his UFC debut back in 2015 when he was just 19 years of age. He was one of the youngest fighters in the promotion back in the day. Northcutt’s debut win at the promotion caused quite a stir in the community. As such, even Dana White came in to appreciate his vicious knockout win.
Sage Northcutt fighting at UFC (Image via X)Not only that, he was also one of the hyped fighters in the promotion. Even after such an exquisite start at the promotion, he could not last long there. In 2018, Dana White was unhappy with how Sage Northcutt handled his fights. Per the UFC boss, he lacked the maturity to make a big name for himself.
We let Sage (Northcutt) go. Sage is young and Sage needs some work in one of these other organizations and we’ll see where this kid ends up in a couple of years and maybe we’ll pick him back up again.
Dana White via UFC unfiltered podcast on Sage Northcutt’s release
Following that, Northcutt signed for the ONE Championship. However, he failed miserably in his debut fight as Cosmo Alexandre knocked him out viciously. Interestingly, he has been quite inactive these days. As of now, Northcutt is 28 years old, and it remains to be seen if he will again rise back up to the hype.
