Is Northcutt trying to make heavyweight?
Former top UFC prospect ‘Super’ Sage Northcutt looks a lot different from how he appeared when he broke onto the MMA scene in 2015.
Back then the young Texan had a 5-0 record and a reputation for high octane karate demos. Northcutt, and his trademark blonde spikes, was recruited to the UFC through Dana White’s Looking For A Fight program.
After appearing on that series Northcutt was given a UFC deal and a debut fight versus Francisco Trevino at UFC 192. Northcutt won the bout via TKO in less than a minute. Next up he beat Cody Pfister by submission.
In 2016 Northcutt was handed his first loss, thanks to a submission by Bryan Barberena. He rebounded with a win over Enrique Martin, but was then submitted by Mickey Gall. Northcutt then went on a three fight winning streak beating Michel Quinones, Thibault Gouti and Zak Ottow.
Despite those wins the UFC opted not to re-sign Northcutt in 2018. He signed with ONE Championship instead.
In his debut fight in ONE, in May 2019, Northcutt was crushed by a Cosmo Alexandre KO punch that fractured his face in multiple places. Those injuries required extensive surgery and a lot of recovery time.
Northcutt’s ability to return to MMA action was hampered even more with a bad bout with COVID-19. The linger effects of which forced him out of a fight with Shinya Aoki.
According to Northcutt’s Instagram he appears to be back in fighting shape. The 25-year-old recently posted a pic of him looking, for lack of a better word, jacked.
Northcutt’s UFC career started out in the lightweight division. During his run in the Octagon he also competed at welterweight. His ONE debut fight was contested at 185 lbs.
Judging by this pic, it seems unlikely Northcutt could go back down 155 lbs any time soon. His current physique looks as if he might even be able to compete beyond middleweight. I guess we’ll just have to wait and watch this space.