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Dana White has some strong opinions about Sage Northcutt after the former UFC fighter suffered a brutal loss in the first bout of his post-octagon career.

Following an eight-fight UFC stint, Northcutt (11-3) parted ways with the promotion and signed with ONE Championship, where he made his debut last month. The result was catastrophic for “Super,” who suffered a 29-second knockout loss to Cosmo Alexandre that resulted in a nine-hour surgery to repair more than a dozen facial fractures.

Although White rarely comments on fighters outside his organization, he brought up Northcutt’s name unprompted during an interview with TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter about the recent influx of notable retirements.

“I would really like to see Sage Northcutt retire,” White said. “I hope he does. (He’s a) good looking, charismatic kid, smart. He was an engineer, taking college to be an engineer. He’s got a lot going on in his life. This isn’t the sport for him. I don’t want to sound like I’m (expletive) all over the guy, because I really like the kid a lot, but this isn’t the sport for him. I would love to see him retire before he seriously gets hurt.”

White was asked point blank by whether he believes Northcutt isn’t good enough to compete in high-level MMA. And while White preempted his answer in claiming he’s not trying to be overly critical, he made it clear he doesn’t think the 23-year-old American truly belongs.

“Yeah (I don’t think he’s good enough),” White said. “It’s not that the kid doesn’t have some talent. He does have some talent. This isn’t the sport for him. He needs to retire. Hopefully the people that surround him listen to what I’m saying and set this kid on another path in life, because he can literally do whatever he wants to do. He’s young, he’s smart. Some people have to fight. Sage Northcutt doesn’t have to fight.”

Northcutt received a UFC contract after impressing on White’s “Lookin’ For A Fight” reality show. He entered the UFC at 19 and, in his promotional debut at UFC 192 in October 2015, became the youngest fighter in company history to earn a knockout victory.

“We took him in so young. We brought the kid in so young and tried to give him some fights to help build,” White said. “When I let guys go, I let guys go for a reason. If I think a guy has the potential to be the best in the world or is the best in the world, they’re not going anywhere no matter what number anyone throws at them. I’m going to keep what I believe to be the best guys in the world. And when I let you go, look back and see how many times I’ve been wrong when I let somebody go.”

Northcutt fought for the promotion several times, getting prominent card position on FOX, FS1 and UFC Fight Pass. His UFC tenure ended on a three-fight winning streak before his contract expired.

Since his knockout loss, Northcutt has been in his typical positive spirits.

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