One A&M engineering freshman is balancing studying for finals and training for an upcoming UFC fight.
“Super” Sage Northcutt, engineering freshman who started competing when he was 7 years old, will fight on the main card against Cody Pfister (12-4-1) at UFC Fight Night Thursday in Las Vegas. At 19, Northcutt is the youngest active fighter on the UFC roster and boasts a 6-0 professional record.
Northcutt said balancing training with schoolwork, especially during finals, is difficult but worth it.
“I’ve cut back on schoolwork, so I’m taking the minimum amount of classes to still be enrolled in engineering at A&M, because I’m traveling and training at the same time,” Northcutt said. “And I’ve actually brought my schoolwork a little bit with me — a lot of it is online work.”
Northcutt said one of the ways he is able to manage the two is through the “Flipped Classroom” model, which is a part of the Engineering 25-by-25 Initiative in which students watch lectures online on their own time and practice the material they have learned during class time.
“Super” Sage Northcutt, engineering freshman who started competing when he was 7 years old, will fight on the main card against Cody Pfister (12-4-1) at UFC Fight Night Thursday in Las Vegas. At 19, Northcutt is the youngest active fighter on the UFC roster and boasts a 6-0 professional record.
Northcutt said balancing training with schoolwork, especially during finals, is difficult but worth it.
“I’ve cut back on schoolwork, so I’m taking the minimum amount of classes to still be enrolled in engineering at A&M, because I’m traveling and training at the same time,” Northcutt said. “And I’ve actually brought my schoolwork a little bit with me — a lot of it is online work.”
Northcutt said one of the ways he is able to manage the two is through the “Flipped Classroom” model, which is a part of the Engineering 25-by-25 Initiative in which students watch lectures online on their own time and practice the material they have learned during class time.
Tony Cahill, director of the Freshmen Engineering Program at A&M, said this method of teaching began to percolate into classrooms about five years ago, but it was introduced to freshman engineering courses like Engineering 111 and 112 in fall 2013.
“I think it’s working out well for him that there’s this sort of flipped classroom set up where he’s able to do his work wherever he wants to,” Cahill said. “But the majority of students are doing it in Mosher or one of the Northside dorms because it’s online, not open to the world, and it’s on eCampus so he is able to access it anywhere.”
Cahill said while the program is not a special accommodation for students like Northcutt, it works for students who are away from campus a majority of the time.
“It just works out well for him if he’s in Las Vegas for a fight or something,” Cahill said. “Actually, it’s kind of impressive he’s able to keep up with his work. You can watch the videos anywhere, but what’s more impressive is that he, I’m assuming, gets the rest of his work done.”
Northcutt said he is registered to take the minimum hours of coursework for the spring semester also, so he can continue to see where his career in the UFC takes him.
“It’s only been a few months since my last fight, so I can’t really tell too much about how things are going because I’m still getting used to it,” Northcutt said. “But in the future, there is a possibility that I might have to take a break from school if I have to travel too much and can’t do the schoolwork as much as I’d like to. But for now I’m sticking with Texas A&M and studying to be an engineer.”
Northcutt said one of the benefits of being an Aggie in the UFC is the support he’s started to see from his 12th Man following.
“The Aggie support is huge. That is huge,” Northcutt said. “The 12th Man — that’s big … Who else has the 12th Man for UFC fighting and walking into the octagon? Having that support is an honor.”
Sage Northcutt will fight against opponent Cody Pfister Thursday in Las Vegas. The fight can be viewed on UFC Fight Night.
“I think it’s working out well for him that there’s this sort of flipped classroom set up where he’s able to do his work wherever he wants to,” Cahill said. “But the majority of students are doing it in Mosher or one of the Northside dorms because it’s online, not open to the world, and it’s on eCampus so he is able to access it anywhere.”
Cahill said while the program is not a special accommodation for students like Northcutt, it works for students who are away from campus a majority of the time.
“It just works out well for him if he’s in Las Vegas for a fight or something,” Cahill said. “Actually, it’s kind of impressive he’s able to keep up with his work. You can watch the videos anywhere, but what’s more impressive is that he, I’m assuming, gets the rest of his work done.”
Northcutt said he is registered to take the minimum hours of coursework for the spring semester also, so he can continue to see where his career in the UFC takes him.
“It’s only been a few months since my last fight, so I can’t really tell too much about how things are going because I’m still getting used to it,” Northcutt said. “But in the future, there is a possibility that I might have to take a break from school if I have to travel too much and can’t do the schoolwork as much as I’d like to. But for now I’m sticking with Texas A&M and studying to be an engineer.”
Northcutt said one of the benefits of being an Aggie in the UFC is the support he’s started to see from his 12th Man following.
“The Aggie support is huge. That is huge,” Northcutt said. “The 12th Man — that’s big … Who else has the 12th Man for UFC fighting and walking into the octagon? Having that support is an honor.”
Sage Northcutt will fight against opponent Cody Pfister Thursday in Las Vegas. The fight can be viewed on UFC Fight Night.
