It wasn’t exciting or entertaining, but Sage Northcutt earned a unanimous decision victory over Thibault Gouti at UFC Austin.
Opening the main card of UFC Austin on FS1, Sage Northcutt and Thibault Gouti looked to keep up their winning ways. Both fighters were victorious in their previous bouts, and needed to continue to find success in the Octagon. There’s no shortage of talent at 155-pounds in the promotion, and winning is the only surefire way to stick around in the UFC.
Attention always follows Northcutt, who’s push from the promotion is no secret. Whether he’s winning or losing, there’s momentum to be gained for either “Super Sage” or his opponent in each fight.
Heading into UFC Austin, the 21-year-old Texas-native was 4-2 since joining the promotion in 2015. Northcutt’s run in the UFC has been inconsistent. He was 2-2 in his last four fights, defeating Michel Quinones via unanimous decision in his lone 2017 bout. His UFC success has come at lightweight, where he held a 4-0 record. Compare that to his 0-2 record at welterweight, and the road to success seems to make sense at 155-pounds for Northcutt.
For Gouti, a rough start in the UFC finally turned around last September. Gouti earned his first UFC win over Andrew Holbrook in his only fight in 2017. The win ended a three-fight losing streak for the 30-year-old Frenchman. Gouti was 11-0 before joining the promotion, and a win over a marquee name like Northcutt is a great way to get back on track.
The duo traded shots throughout the opening of the bout, before Northcutt powerfully took Gouti down with his first attempt. Northcutt worked for side control, and Gouti’s defense kept him there for more than a minute. Gouti attempted to get up, and paid the price as Northcutt pleased the hometown crowd with some powerful ground and pound. Despite the quality start, Gouti was eventually able to make his way back to his feet.
Gouti responded quickly, rocking Northcutt and working for a choke as the midway point in the first round passed. After pressing Northcutt to the cage, the duo rested, and were striking in the center of the Octagon with 90 seconds remaining. Northcutt stuffed a Gouti takedown attempt with 30 seconds left after trading combos. The high-paced first round ended with neither fighter taking control of the bout.
The second round began with Gouti on the front foot, striking well and stuffing a Northcutt takedown attempt in the first minute. The Frenchman’s quality striking continued as he controlled the center of the Octagon and rocked Northcutt once again with a left-jab, right-straight combo. Gouti then easily took Northcutt to the ground, controlling him and working into mount with the Texan against the cage.
Northcutt stayed patient, and worked his way to his feet, giving the crowd in Austin some life. But it was short lived, and Gouti had Northcutt back on his butt with a little more than two minutes remaining in round two. Gouti had top control for around a minute, as Northcutt once again patiently worked to his feet. Eventually, the duo were separated and stood up in the center of the Octagon. Northcutt came out more aggressive after the break, but was unable to turn it into anything of significance. Gouti’s solid round gave him the edge going into the final frame.
The third round began in strange fashion, with a Northcutt head-kick momentarily pausing action for an unknown reason. As Gouti seemed to be dealing with vision issues, he stayed active while stuffing a Northcutt takedown a little more than a minute into the round. Gouti then shot for, and successfully landed, a takedown of his own with more than three minutes remaining in the fight.
Northcutt was on his feet quickly, but was just as quickly taken back down to the ground by Gouti. Halfway through round three Northcutt was back on his feet, and once again taken down, as Gouti focused on control rather than damage. The duo were once again separated with 75 seconds left in the fight, but Northcutt was unable to change the momentum of the fight. The Texan shot for a couple of takedowns, and landed a couple of shots, but the decision seemed to be headed in Gouti’s favor.
The judges felt differently, giving the unanimous decision victory to Sage Northcutt. The win gave Northcutt his fifth straight at 155-pounds in the UFC, and his first winning streak since 2015.
Sage Northcutt def. Thibault Gouti via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
