Sage Northcutt will step into the Octagon for the first time this year against Michel Quinones at UFC Fight Night 120 in Norfolk, Virgina on November 11th.
Northcutt, who is still just 21-years-old, had originally been scheduled to fight John Makdessi at UFC 214 in July, but the fight was scrapped after both fighters picked up injuries.
Now healed, Northcutt will be dropping back down to lightweight for this encounter, having lost by rear-naked choke to fellow up-and-comer Mickey Gall at welterweight last time out in December of 2016.
Northcutt also holds another UFC loss at 170lbs to Bryan Barberena, while his two lightweight encounters to date in the Octagon against Cody Pfister and Enrique Marin both resulted in victories, so it seems that, for the time being at least, 155lbs is the right weight class for him.
In Quinones he faces a 32-year-old who is coming off an unsuccessful UFC debut back in June in which he was TKO’d in the second round by Jared Gordon.
However, Quinones has an 8-2 career record overall and experience fighting for other organizations like Bellator and Titant FC, and he’ll be eager to make sure that he doesn’t become a stepping stone in Northcutt’s young career.
Northcutt Vs Quinones joins a UFC Fight Night 120 card that will be headlined by former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and Dustin Porier, while Matt Brown Vs Diego Sanchez is one of several other intriguing match-ups already confirmed for the show.
