It didn’t come easy, but Sage Northcutt survived an early scare to defeat Zak Ottow at UFC Boise.

Northcutt was dropped with the very first punch Ottow landed in Saturday’s co-main event, but after using his time on the ground to recover, the young Lookin’ For a Fight alumnus managed to get the contest on the feet in the second and landed decent combinations, dropping Ottow before finishing the fight with some hammerfists in the second.

What a comeback! After being knocked down, @sagenorthcutt gets the KO victory. pic.twitter.com/L7qANSeeDR

— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) July 15, 2018

“It was a great strike,” Northcutt said of being dropped. “I guess I must have blinked right off the bat, I didn’t see it, but I recovered really fast. It didn’t rock me or anything. Words are powerful, I said I was goin to KO my opponent and I did. … now i’m excited to be at 170-pounds. Like I said, words are powerful, I think we should have respect for each other and be careful with the things we say.”