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

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who is currently competing 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 th ...

division and is currently signed to the

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

. He has competed for the

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

(UFC) and

ONE Championship ONE Championship, formerly ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) until January 2015, is a Multinational corporation, multinational combat sports Promoter (entertainment), promotion founded on 14 July 2011 by Chatri Sityodtong and Victor Cui. Origi ...

Background

Northcutt has been training

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

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 American to teach a form of karate in the mainland United States, and also opened his public first dojo in 1946 in Phoenix, Arizona. His ...

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

, and his older sister, Colbey, is an amateur

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

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 for his first two years of high school before transferring to Katy High School 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 martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

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

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

(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 TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

. In his UFC debut, Northcutt also made his lightweight debut when he faced Francisco Treviño on October 3, 2015, at UFC 192. He won via technical-knockout (TKO) in 57 seconds. Northcutt's second UFC fight was against Cody Pfister on December 10, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 80. 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. 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. 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, where he won via unanimous decision. Northcutt had his second welterweight bout when he faced Mickey Gall on December 17, 2016, at UFC on Fox 22. 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 Ja ...

. 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 who competes in the Lightweight division and competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Makdessi was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on May 3, ...

. 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. 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. A professional since 2011, he has also competed in the UFC and for Bellator MMA Mixed martial arts career Early career Gouti has a ...

on February 18, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 126. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Northcutt faced Zak Ottow on July 14, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 133. 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 is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...

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 on May 17, 2019, in ONE: 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

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

(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 competing in ONE Championship's Welterweight division. He also competes in DDT Pro-Wrestling where he is a former three-time DDT Extreme Champion. A professional competit ...

in a

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

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 the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

effects and was replaced by

Eduard Folayang Eduard Ayangwa Folayang (born November 22, 1983) is a Filipino professional mixed martial artist and wushu practitioner who competes in the Lightweight division of ONE Championship, where he is a two-time ONE Lightweight World Ch ...

. Almost four years after his loss to Alexandre, Northcutt faced Ahmed Mujtaba on May 5, 2023, at ONE Fight Night 10. Northcutt was dropped by a strike from Mutjaba early in the fight, but managed to win the fight with a heel hook submission 39 seconds into the first round. The submission finish was awarded ' ''Performance of the Night''. Northcutt was scheduled to face

on January 28, 2024, at ONE 165. However, Northcutt withdrew during the event because his cornermen were reportedly denied visas, and was replaced by John Lineker in a openweight bout. On October 18, 2024, it was announced that Northcutt had left ONE Championship.

Professional Fighters League

On December 12, 2024, it was reported that Northcutt had signed with the

after not competing in 2024.

Global Fight League

Northcutt was scheduled to face Lucas Martins in the inaugural Global Fight League event on May 24, 2025 at GFL 1. However, all GFL events were cancelled indefinitely.

Personal life

Northcutt was majoring in

petroleum engineering Petroleum engineering is a field of engineering concerned with the activities related to the production of hydrocarbons, which can be either crude oil or natural gas or both. Exploration and production are deemed to fall within the ''upstrea ...

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

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

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. Northcutt married actress

Amanda Leighton Amanda Moreno Leighton (born June 7, 1993) 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 Go ...

on December 5, 2020.

Championships and accomplishments

**UFC.com Awards ***2015: Ranked #3 Newcomer of the Year *

** Performance of the Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Ahmed Mujtaba , Submission (heel hook) , ONE Fight Night 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:39 ,

Broomfield, Colorado Broomfield is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county located in the United States, U.S. Colorado, state of Colorado. It has a consolidated government which operates under Article XX, Sect ...

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Kallang Kallang ( ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential zone located in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the l ...

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Zak Ottow , KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Ivanov , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:13 ,

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

, 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 List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, 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 (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 , Mickey Gall , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC on Fox: VanZant vs. Waterson , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:40 ,

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Enrique Marín , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 200 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 , Bryan Barberena , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Bader , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:06 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Cody Pfister , Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. VanZant , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:41 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Francisco Treviño , TKO (elbows and punches) , UFC 192 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:57 ,

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, 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 ,

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

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, 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 Sportspeople 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 21st-century American sportsmen