UFC star Sage Northcutt's using his "Creed 2" snub as the ultimate motivation to kick-start a massively successful acting career ... telling TMZ Sports he's gunning to land lead movie roles!!
ICYMI -- Sage campaigned on social media to play Ivan Drago's son in the next installment of the Stallone/Michael B. Jordan flick. He didn't get the role, though ... and now he's out for revenge.
Northcutt says he's gonna put in the same amount of effort he's put into all his interests ... and he's already been doing acting lessons with coaches via FaceTime!!
Not only does Sage say he wants to be in movies ... but he wants to land a lead role in a project.
After all ... he's got the looks.