If UFC veteran Stephen Thompson sees a little bit of himself in 19-year-old Sage Northcutt it might be because the two fighters seem to have a lot in common.
Northcutt is the hottest new commodity in mixed martial arts (MMA) following a 57 second dismantling of Francisco Trevino at UFC 192, earning him widespread praise for his technique and obvious genetic gifts.
But are people getting too excited, too quickly?
"I would give him some advice. He had a great first fight in the UFC. With that first round knockout, you're excited and sometimes the UFC will put you up against a veteran fighter. Maybe he's not ready for that," Thompson said in an interview with Bloody Elbow.
At one time "Wonderboy" was in the same boat as Northcutt, making his UFC debut with a first round head kick knockout over Dan Stittgen that earned the rookie a bonus.
Everybody was excited about the 57-0 kickboxer. And then he had a second fight.
"He was 5-0, the same as me before I came into the UFC. I had my first fight, a spectacular first round knockout, and then the next fight they put me against Matt Brown. I would like to see him work his way up slowly. Just get that Octagon experience before he takes on the high level guys."
Brown won the fight, delivering a savage beatdown on Thompson. The only good news in hindsight is that the durable welterweight is the only fighter aside from John Howard to survive all three rounds in a bout in which Brown was the victor.
There are more similarities between Northcutt and Thompson. Both have a dad as a coach and a background in karate.
Northcutt is headed to Tristar to train with Georges St-Pierre, just as "Wonderboy" once trained with the French-Canadian to prepare him for Carlos Condit.
Learning some secret moves from @Firas_Zahabi lol pic.twitter.com/wKoAndeCc9
— Sage Northcutt (@sagenorthcutt) October 16, 2015
Slow and steady may be good advice for winning the race. Longtime fans of Robbie Lawler will remember the 20-year-old kid who stormed onto the welterweight scene at UFC 37, only to get bounced from UFC after stepping up in competition.
As for Thompson, the 8th ranked fighter has his own hopes for a title shot. But not just yet.
"I'm 32 years old and I want to make a run for a title and I'll do it as long as my body will let me. I'm just waiting to see but I wouldn't mind stepping into the ring with one of the nine to eleven ranked guys before I make that next step up to a top five guy."