Sage Northcutt is now officially a free agent. The former UFC welterweight was in Singapore as a guest of ONE Championship recently and Dana White today confirmed the 22 year old would be plying his trade away from the famous octagon,
“His contract was up, so we let him go,” the UFC president said.
White was talking on the UFC Unfiltered podcast and he did suggest that the door was open should Northcutt want to return in the future.
“Sage is young and Sage needs some work. So 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,” he said
Northcutt (11-2) attended the recent ONE: ‘Heart of the Lion’ event in Singapore along with his father. He was widely expected to sign with Chatri Sityodtong’s promotion although an announcement has not been forthcoming and Bellator is also believed to be in the hunt.
Northcutt is currently riding a three fight winning streak and tasted victory in six out of his eight UFC appearances. He proved an instant hit with MMA fans and was offered a purse that reflected his popularity, in 2016 he was earning $120,000 USD for every win.
ONE Championship recently added former UFC champions Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez to the payroll while Ben Askren moved in the opposite direction. The promotion appeared to be on the verge of adding Northcutt to its welterweight division earlier this month although its not clear what stage the negotiations are currently at.
Another potential destination for Northcutt could be Rizin, where former UFC fighters like Kyoji Horiguchi, Daron Cruickshank and Mirko Filipovic have found a home. With his clean cut image, poster boy looks and impressive recent record the American is unlikely to be short of offers.
