As cuts continue to rain down from the offices of the UFC, one fighter shockingly squeaked through to free agency. The young and “marketable” Sage Northcutt will not re-sign with the UFC. For at least the immediate future.
Dana White on Northcutt’s future with the UFC
UFC president Dana White cleared the air on the status of Northcutt’s employment Monday during an episode of UFC Unfiltered (The official podcast of the promotion). While making an appearance on the episode, White stated that Northcutt will no longer appear on the promotion’s roster. White also asserted the UFC still had interest in Northcutt but at this moment, the organization would rather watch his development than be active in it.
“We let Sage [Northcutt] go. Sage is young, and [he] needs some work. Let him get some work in one of these other organizations and we’ll see where this kid ends up in a couple of years. And maybe we’ll pick him back up again.”
Young Free Agent
The news of his unsuccessful negotiations with the UFC comes equally surprising as not. At only 22 years of age, Northcutt is an established personality within the MMA realm.
This status among the community came on the back of healthy portions of marketing. The UFC spent considerable resources, time and effort during his stay on the roster. In his eight appearances for the organization, the Texas-born fighter competed on a main card five times. Twice, Northcutt co-headlined events and on two different occasions, he found himself on the preliminary portion of a PPV card.
In his eight appearances, Northcutt is 6-2. Recently, he’s been riding three consecutive victories. During that span, he’s earned wins over Michel Quinones, Thibault Gouti and Zak Ottow, respectively. In his most recent bout, Northcutt dispatched Ottow by second-round KO.
Potential Sage Northcutt Suitors
When it comes to potential landing spots for the young free agent, ONE Championship looks like the strongest contender. Northcutt took a trip to Singapore during the second week of November. This trip came in order to discuss signing with ONE Championship.
When speaking to FOX Sports Asia, Northcutt claimed, “I’m actually in Singapore right now to talk with Mr. Chatri about possibly being a ONE Championship fighter”.
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