Sage Northcutt capturing attention after UFC debut victory

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has made its name on blood and guts, but its executives are keenly aware that looks sell too.

The latest example is 19-year-old lightweight Sage Northcutt, who made an impressive debut Saturday at UFC 192 in Houston.

The preliminary-card outcome, a first-round technical-knockout victory over veteran Francisco Trevino in 57 seconds, was followed by a burst of Northcutt traffic on social media.

Northcutt (6-0) displayed incredible power and fiery violent striking to dominate Trevino (12-2), causing referee Herb Dean to stop the attack.

Northcutt, a Texas A&M freshman, began his mixed martial arts career less than a year ago and has been generating continued hype on social media.

He’s the youngest fighter on the UFC roster, and is the third-youngest fighter to ever appear inside the octagon.

The native of Katy, Texas, stole the undercard show in front of his home crowd with his performance and with his back flips, which have gone viral on Twitter and Facebook.

Nicknamed “Super” Sage, he’s trained in martial arts since the age of 4 and began competing in international tournaments a year later. His older sister, Colbey, is a Legacy FC kickboxing champion, and his father holds a black belt in karate.

Northcutt’s film-star looks and spectacular physique have already garnered him some unsolicited negative attention and drawn comparisons to women’s strawweight fighter Paige VanZant, some calling Northcutt “Sage VanZant,” or the Ken to her Barbie.

The prospect also boasts academic strengths. He’s a student in Texas A&M’s petroleum engineering program.

“He looked unbelievable,” UFC President Dana White said on Fox Sports 1. “Trevino was saying, ‘I’m going to smash this hype train.’ Trevino was 12-1 and Sage looked unbelievable tonight. The crowd went crazy. Really fun fight.”

Northcutt said he hopes to keep the momentum rolling and get back into the octagon soon.

“I want to fight as soon as I possibly can. I know there’s [November] cards in Australia and South Korea, either of those would be great. I can’t wait. Whatever Dana White and [UFC matchmaker] Joe Silva have planned for me, I’m ready,” Northcutt told reporters after Saturday’s fight.