Maybe Sergio Pettis wasn't discovered by Dana White on a reality show pilot. And maybe he didn't have the UFC social media team falling over themselves trying to make gifs of his open workouts.
But Pettis knows a little something about a hype train and he also knows how quickly people will jump when it gets derailed.
Sage Northcutt's undefeated run as a pro MMA fighter ended Saturday night when he was submitted in the second round by Bryan Barberena at UFC on FOX 18 in Newark. Pettis tweeted a message to Northcutt a few hours later.
@sagenorthcutt I know how you r feeling.Don't worry about what others say. Clear your head, get back in the gym and start over #youngbeast✊
— Sergio Pettis (@sergiopettis) January 31, 2016
"Don't worry about what others say," Pettis wrote. "Clear your head, get back in the gym and start over."
Northcutt, just 19 years old, was promoted heavily by the UFC as a future star after White found him on the 'Lookin' For a Fight' show on Fight Pass. When he came into the UFC, he caught the eyes of fans for his spectacular athletic ability -- his open workouts with spinning kicks and standing flips went viral -- as well as his rippling physique and almost uncanny politeness.
Northcutt (7-1) went 2-0 in just three months in the UFC, beating Franciso Trevino and Cody Pfister. He won the first round against Barberena, before getting taken down off a spinning kick and submitted with an arm triangle.
Pettis debuted in the UFC at age 20 as the younger brother of the lightweight champion. He won his debut against Will Campuzano in November 2013 and then lost his next fight to Alex Caceres two months later. Pettis (13-2) has gone just 3-2 in the UFC -- but he's still only 22 years old, a top prospect in the flyweight division and coming off a unanimous decision over ranked 125-pounder Chris Cariaso back in October.