LAS VEGAS -- When Sage Northcutt looks at his 3-2 record in the UFC, one major detail jumps out.
He's 3-0 as a lightweight and 0-2 as a welterweight.
Perhaps those numbers are telling him something.
Following a 1-2 campaign in 2016, Northcutt, 20, says he's ready to focus solely on the 155-pound division. He says he already was aware that lightweight was his long-term weight class, but special circumstances came up last year.
Before he lost to Bryan Barberena in January 2016, Northcutt accepted a last-minute change in weight class. He says he also accepted a fight against welterweight Mickey Gall in December because he saw it as a high-profile bout that would get him more fans.
"I only walk around about 175, maybe 180 pounds," Northcutt told ESPN.com. "I figured the [Gall] fight would be fun to have, but I'm a natural 155-pounder, and I'm going to go back to 155."
Although Northcutt did lose to Gall, his assessment of it being a high-profile fight was correct. It served as the co-main event on a UFC Fight Night card on Dec. 17 that peaked with a healthy 4.8 million viewers.
Northcutt (8-2) surprised many of those viewers by talking back and forth with Gall. After opening a cut over Gall's eye, Northcutt pointed toward it and appeared to taunt Gall a bit. It was the first time Northcutt had shown that kind of emotion during a fight.
Looking back, Northcutt says he wasn't "trash-talking" with Gall, but he is focused on staying calmer in future fights.
"I don't think I'd call that trash talk. I wasn't cussing or anything like that," Northcutt said. "I was just having fun out there. [It's] one thing I can say I should change, though. Obviously, I'm improving my skills every day, but I need to be more calm.
"I get so excited [during a fight]. I'm a totally different person in training. I have the skills to do the wrestling and the jiu-jitsu, but I haven't displayed it yet."
After the loss to Gall, a photo of Northcutt backstage with UFC veterans Nick and Nate Diaz made the rounds on social media. Northcutt said it was "very nice of them to introduce themselves" and said the two invited Northcutt to California to train.
Northcutt is going to Milwaukee to work with welterweight champion Tyron Woodley; they worked together late last year, when Woodley was preparing to defend his title against Stephen Thompson. Woodley is scheduled to face Thompson again at UFC 209 on March 4.
Northcutt usually trains out of Texas and says he is not planning to permanently move his camp, but is open to any situation that improves his game.