Northcutt survives submission scare to win unanimous decision

Sage Northcutt is learning how to win ugly.

The 20-year-old lightweight won a unanimous decision over a gutsy Enrique Marin in a back-and-forth grappling affair that was in doubt until the closing minutes.

The first decision victory for Northcutt got him back in the winning track after he was upset by Bryan Barberena in a welterweight bout this past January. He has now won eight of his first nine professional fights.

Northcutt's ground game was put to the test early and often in the televised preliminary opener at UFC 200 on Saturday in Las Vegas.

He threw a flying knee in the opening round that Marin caught and used to initiate a clinch. That was the start of a prolonged grappling sequence between the two fighters.

The scrappy Marin stayed active from the bottom even as Northcutt acquired top position, a theme that would carry over into the second round when Marin showed off his submission skills.

He caught Northcutt in what looked to be a fight-ending armbar, only for Northcutt to escape and make it to the third round.

In Round 3, Marin continued to attack with his wrestling, but he found himself eating hard strikes and elbows from "Super Sage." The damage was evident as a cut opened up on Marin's forehead and he failed to muster up enough significant offense of his own to win the final frame.

A contestant on the second season of "The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America," Marin falls to 0-2 in the UFC.