Former UFC fighter Sage Northcutt targeting return to action in early 2021

Former UFC fighter 'Super' Sage Northcutt is targeting a return to action in early-2021. Northcutt is currently signed to Singapore-based MMA promotion ONE Championship.

Speaking on Line Movement's MMA YouTube show hosted by James Lynch, Sage Northcutt detailed the timeline for his return to action:

According to Northcutt, he's targeting a March return in order to be able to fully prepare for his comeback, especially after being away for quite a while due to injury:

"Probably beginning of the year, first quarter of the year, something like that, around March. The reason I’m thinking that is, things have been shut down so much, especially in California, where my gym’s at, with Team Alpha Male, and just having training partners to find, and having the gyms to be open, and being consistent, also coming back from me having time off because of my injuries and not being able to train for a certain period of time, and I just want to be sharp out there, I want to be my best in ONE Championship, and I think that would be a good timeframe."

During his time in the UFC, Sage Northcutt was seen as a rising star with heaps of potential. Northcutt won three of his first five bouts, before winning his next three in a row. In 2018, the UFC decided not to resign Northcutt, and he ended up signing with ONE Championship.

In 2019, Sage Northcutt made his promotional debut with ONE, facing Brazilian kickboxing legend Cosmo Alexandre in an MMA bout. Northcutt would lose the bout by KO in just 29 seconds. The knockout punch resulted in multiple fractures in Northcutt's face, keeping him sidelined for the rest of 2019 and 2020.

Sage Northcutt says he's moving back down to 170 or 155 pounds

Sage Northcutt planing to return to 155-pounds or 170-pounds.

In Sage Northcutt's ONE Championship debut, he fought at 185-pounds, which resulted in a devastating 29-second KO loss to Cosmo Alexandre.

Now, the former UFC fighter is targeting a return to either 170-pounds or 155-pounds. In an interview with James Lynch of Line Movement MMA, Northcutt revealed admitted that 185-pounds was just too big for him:

"It could be, for me, I could do either one, really. I could see myself fighting at 170-pounds or 155-pounds. Let’s see what it’s going to be, but definitely not 185-pounds like my last fight. 185-pounds was too big of a weight class for me, especially being the age I am, that’s a very large frame of a body for a person, and me being only 24, that’s not my weight class yet. Maybe when I’m in my prime, when I’m in my like, mid-30s or something."

ONE Championship's weight classes are different compared to the UFC's. In ONE, 185-pounds is considered welterweight, while 170-pounds and 155-pounds are considered lightweight and featherweight, respectively. This means that Northcutt will be coming back as a lightweight or a featherweight in ONE Championship.