Bryan Barberena Surprised UFC Let Sage Northcutt Go

Bryan Barberena is back in action this month at UFC Fight Night Phoenix, facing Vicente Luque in a welterweight division match up.

The welterweight first put himself on the map with a victory over former UFC fighter Sage Northcutt and Barberena knows they may meet up again in the future.

“I was surprised they (the UFC) let him go, good for him…I wish him the best and the most success. Maybe we will meet again down the road one day,” says Barberena in an exclusive interview with Fightful’s James Lynch.

Barberena and Northcutt met back at UFC On Fox 18, where Barberea picked up a submission win over the much hyped prospect.

There are two Barberena’s who are professional MMA fighters and Bryan says his brother Kevin is making some moves to become a better competitor.

“You know, he’s actually kind of trying to aim his focus more on fighting right now. He’s trying to make some time now, especially on the off season for firefighting. He actually just moved down to Phoenix and he’s training at the (MMA) Lab right now, he hopes to make his game a lot better and learn from those guys and increase his skills to get back in the Octagon and to make a better performance (going forward),” says Barberena.

UFC Fight Night Phoenix takes place on Sunday, February 17 from the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona with Francis Ngannou and Cain Velasquez headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on ESPN.