Sage Northcutt (March 1, 1996) is an American professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

who is currently competing in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

division of

ONE Championship ONE Championship (formerly ONE Fighting Championship) is a Singaporean combat sports promotion. Founded on 14 July 2011 by entrepreneur Chatri Sityodtong and former ESPN Star Sports senior executive Victor Cui, its events have featured mixed ...

, although he has competed in the

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

division as well. He has also previously competed for the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC).

Background

Northcutt has been training

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

since the age of 4 and competed all over the world from a young age. His father, Mark, is a black belt in

shuri-ryū karate, is an eclectic martial arts system developed by Robert Trias (1923–1989), reportedly the first Hispanic to teach a form of karate in the mainland United States, who opened his public first dojo in 1946 in Phoenix, Arizona. History ...

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

, and his older sister, Colbey, is an amateur

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

champion and a professional mixed martial artist currently signed to

. At the age of 9, Northcutt became the youngest person ever to be on the cover of ''Sport Karate Magazine''. Northcutt has won a total of 77 world youth championships in karate. He was also an undefeated kickboxer, with his record standing at 15–0. Northcutt attended

Seven Lakes High School Seven Lakes High School (SLHS) is a public senior high school located in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, inside the Cinco Ranch area south of the city of Katy. Many communities such as Seven Meadows, Grand Lakes, and Cinco Ranch are zoned ...

for his first two years of high school before transferring to

Katy High School Katy High School is a high school located in Katy, Texas which serves grades 9 through 12. It is a part of the Katy Independent School District. The school serves the City of Katy and the unincorporated Harris County community of Cimarron.Johns ...

during his sophomore year. Northcutt was inducted into the ''Black Belt Magazine'' Hall of Fame in 2012 at age 15. In high school Northcutt trained and competed in

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

, and also trained with Texas A&M university’s

NCWA The National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) is a nonprofit association of 162 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organize the wrestling programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. ...

wrestling club before dropping out to pursue his mixed martial arts career.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

In 2013, Northcutt began competing on the

Legacy Fighting Championship Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

amateur

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

(MMA) series, amassing an amateur record of 5-1 with his only loss coming on his first bout against Charles Sheppard by technical-knockout (TKO) in the first round. At the age of 18, he turned pro and racked up a 5–0 record in 16 months.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Northcutt was featured in the debut episode of Dana White's ''Looking For A Fight''. After a victory at Legacy Fighting Championship 44, he was signed to the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. In his UFC debut, Northcutt also made his lightweight debut when he faced

Francisco Treviño Francisco Javier Treviño Ibarguen (born December 17, 1981) is a Mexican mixed martial artist with American citizenship. He competes in the Lightweight division, and formerly fought for the UFC. He was born in Reynosa, Tamaulipas but grew up ...

on October 3, 2015, at

UFC 192 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. He won via technical-knockout (TKO) in 57 seconds. Northcutt's second UFC fight was against

Cody Pfister Cody Carson Pfister (born August 7, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2009, he has competed for the UFC, Bellator, Shark Fights, King of the Cage, and the Resurrec ...

on December 10, 2015, at

UFC Fight Night 80 ''UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. VanZant'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 80'') was a mixed martial arts event held on December 10, 2015, at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was expected to be headline ...

. Northcutt won the fight via guillotine choke in the second round. Northcutt was expected to face Andrew Holbrook on January 30, 2016, at

UFC on Fox 18 ''UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Bader'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 18'') was a mixed martial arts event held on January 30, 2016, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background The event was headlined by a potential UFC Light Heavyweight C ...

. However, after Holbrook withdrew from the bout citing an injury eight days prior to the event, Northcutt would instead make his welterweight debut against

Bryan Barberena Bryan Paul Barberena (born May 3, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2009, he has also competed for King of the Cage. B ...

. Northcutt lost the bout via submission (arm-triangle choke) in the second round. Northcutt made a return to lightweight and faced Enrique Marín on July 9, 2016, at

UFC 200 ''UFC 200: Tate vs. Nunes'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 9, 2016, at the T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It was the final UFC event under the ownership of ...

, where he won via unanimous decision. Northcutt had his second welterweight bout when he faced

Mickey Gall Mickey Gall (born January 22, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Gall was born in Green Brook, New Jersey. He began training in boxing ...

on December 17, 2016, at

UFC on Fox 22 ''UFC on Fox: VanZant vs. Waterson'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 22'') was a mixed martial arts event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and held on December 17, 2016, at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. Background After pr ...

. He lost the contest via submission in the second round. Northcutt was expected to face Claudio Puelles in a lightweight bout on July 29, 2017, at

UFC 214 ''UFC 214: Cormier vs. Jones 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and held on July 29, 2017 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Background A PPV event was initially planned for Anaheim on Janu ...

. However, Puelles pulled out of the fight in mid-June citing injury and was replaced by

John Makdessi John Makdessi (born May 3, 1985) is a Canadian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Makdessi was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on May 3, 1985, ...

. In turn, the fight was canceled on July 14 due to injuries to both fighters. Northcutt faced Michel Quiñones on November 11, 2017, at

UFC Fight Night 120 ''UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Pettis'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 120'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 11, 2017, at Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Virginia. Back ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Northcutt faced

Thibault Gouti Thibault Gouti (born February 27, 1987) is a French mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional since 2011, he has also competed in the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Early career Gouti was amass ...

on February 18, 2018, at

UFC Fight Night 126 ''UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 126'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on February 18, 2018, at Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, United State ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Northcutt faced

Zak Ottow Zachary Ottow (born ) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2011, he has also competed for King of the Cage. Background ...

on July 14, 2018, at

UFC Fight Night 133 ''UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Ivanov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 133'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on July 14, 2018 at CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho, United States. ...

. He won the fight via knockout in the second round. Appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show early September 2018, Northcutt confirmed his contract expired following the fight with Ottow, making him a free agent. In the same appearance, Northcutt said he planned to listen for offers from various promotions. On November 26, 2018,

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

confirmed on ''UFC Unfiltered'' that the UFC did not opt to renew Sage Northcutt's contract. White cited reasons, claiming, "Sage is young, and Sage needs some work. Let him get some work in some other organizations, and we will see where this kid ends up in a couple of years. Maybe we will pick him back up again."

ONE Championship

On November 30, 2018, it was announced that Northcutt had signed with

. On February 26, 2019, it was announced that Northcutt was scheduled to make his promotional debut against

Cosmo Alexandre Cosmo Alexandre Moreira da Rocha (born 24 April 1982 in São Vicente, São Paulo) is a Brazilian professional kickboxer, boxer, and mixed martial artist. He is a former It's Showtime 77MAX World Champion, WMC Intercontinental and WPMF World Ch ...

on May 17, 2019, in ONE Championship: Enter the Dragon. Northcutt lost the fight by knockout 29 seconds into the first round, marking his first professional loss by knockout. The blow resulted in eight facial fractures which required prompt surgical repair. On November 22, 2019, Northcutt announced that he would be moving down two weight classes to compete at

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

(155 lbs) in ONE Championship. “I learned my lesson about fighting a weight class too big, going back down to 155, and it’ll be better for me,” Northcutt said in an interview with MMA News. Northcutt was scheduled to fight

Shinya Aoki is a Japanese mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and grappler currently competing in ONE Championship's and Rizin Fighting Federation's Welterweight division. He also competes in DDT Pro-Wrestling where he is a former three-time DDT Ex ...

in a

bout, after a near two-year layoff, at ONE on TNT 4, on April 28, 2021. However, Northcutt withdrew from the bout due to lingering

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

effects and was replaced by

Eduard Folayang Eduard Folayang (born November 22, 1983) is a Filipino mixed martial artist and wushu practitioner who fights in ONE Championship, where he is a two-time ONE Lightweight World Champion. He also competed for Universal Reality Comba ...

Personal life

Northcutt was majoring in petroleum engineering at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

. In January 2017, Northcutt announced he would withdraw from Texas A&M University to train mixed martial arts full-time. Northcutt is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. Northcutt married actress

Amanda Leighton Amanda Leighton is an American actress. She is known for her voice acting as Blossom in the 2016 Cartoon Network animated series ''The Powerpuff Girls'', Poppy in the 2018 Netflix animated series '' Trolls: The Beat Goes On!'', and Polly Planta ...

on December 5, 2020.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 11–3 ,

, KO (punch) , ONE Championship: Enter the Dragon , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:29 ,

Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the no ...

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 ,

, KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Ivanov , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:13 ,

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Michel Quiñones , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Pettis , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC on Fox: VanZant vs. Waterson , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:40 ,

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

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, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 ,

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) , UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Bader , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:06 ,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Cody Pfister Cody Carson Pfister (born August 7, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2009, he has competed for the UFC, Bellator, Shark Fights, King of the Cage, and the Resurrec ...

, Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. VanZant , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:41 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 ,

, TKO (elbows and punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:57 ,

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Rocky Long , Submission (neck crank) , Legacy FC 44 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:30 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Gage Duhon , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Legacy FC 42 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:26 ,

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcasieu ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , James Christopherson , TKO (punches) , Fury Fighting 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:35 ,

Humble, Texas Humble ( ) is a city located in the Houston metropolitan area. Humble became an oil boomtown in the early 20th century when oil was first discovered there in 1904. By 1905, the Humble oilfield was the largest producing oilfield in Texas. Humble ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Jacob Capelli , TKO (punches) , Legacy FC: Challenger Series 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:55 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Tim Lashley , TKO (wheel kick and punches) , Legacy FC 37 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:27 ,

, United States ,

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Northcutt, Sage 1996 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Texas Mixed martial artists utilizing Shuri-ryū Mixed martial artists utilizing kajukenbo Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Lightweight mixed martial artists Place of birth missing (living people) American male taekwondo practitioners People from Katy, Texas American kajukenbo practitioners American male karateka American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Texas A&M University alumni American male kickboxers Kickboxers from Texas American Christians Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters