The former UFC fighter and top prospect hasn’t fought since May of 2019, when he suffered a brutal KO loss to Cosmo Alexandre in his ONE Championship debut.
At one point in time, Sage Northcutt was the hottest prospect in mixed martial arts. Signed to the UFC at just 19-years-old, the former Karate child star looked the part of a future PPV cash cow for the world’s largest MMA promotion.
Whether he was pushed too far too fast, or had a few too many holes in his striking-centric style to thrive, or just wanted more than the UFC was willing to give, however, Northcutt and the promotion split on seemingly amicable terms back in 2018, with ‘Super’ Sage carrying a 6-2 record inside the Octagon over his three year tenure.
Not long after, Northcutt made the move to Singapore’s ONE Championship where he was set to take on former kickboxing sensation and fellow ONE debutee Cosmo Alexandre in a 185lb (ONE welterweight) bout. Things did not go well.
Northcutt ended up flat on the canvas just 29 seconds into round one, his face fractured in eight places due to a single right hand from his opponent. That’s the last time the Sacramento native was seen inside the ring.
Jump ahead four years—including a reportedly wicked case of COVID-19—and it appears Northcutt is once again set to return to competition. MMA Fighting reports that ONE has confirmed the return of the former UFC talent, for a bout on May 5th at ONE on Prime Video 10.
Now 26-years-old, Northcutt is set to take on Ahmed Mujtaba. Sporting a record of 10-2, the Pakistani fighter training out of AKA first came to ONE back in 2016, and has put together a 3-2 record in his 6+ years with the promotion. Most recently he fought at ONE Championship 163, in November of last year, defeating Abraao Amorim via first round submission.
Although Northcutt had previously stated that he would be returning back down to 155 lbs following his loss to Alexandre, his bout against Mujtaba has been booked at 170 lbs. Alongside Northcutt’s return, the card is also expected to feature a 135 lb title fight trilogy bout between former UFC champion Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes.