Sage Northcutt Sticking To 170lbs And Thinks Mike Perry Is 'An Exciting Fighter'

Sage Northcutt picked up the biggest win of his UFC career this past weekend after he defeated Zak Ottow at UFC Boise.

Northcutt finished the fight in the second round after enduring a tough opening five minutes where he was rocked on the feet and taken down to the mat early on. After recovering late in the first, Northcutt got the finish at three minutes and 34-seconds of the second when he landed a slick combination and then finished Ottow on the mat with ground strikes. It was Northcutt’s first win inside the distance since Dec. 2015 and he said fighting at welterweight rather than lightweight played a big factor.

“A big thing was getting to fight at my natural weight,” Northcutt told UFC Unfiltered. “That was huge for me. I’ve had such a bad time trying to make weight at 155 the whole time. I make the weight, but I don’t feel like the same sort of Sage. I don’t have the same power in my punches. My explosion, my speed, it just doesn’t feel the same. I’ve always had great cardio, but it’s different when you’re able to just keep pressing and pushing and pushing. Even though he was on the ground for pretty much four minutes of the first round, on top and trying to pound me, right when I stood up, it was like I wasn’t tired and I was able to push the pace and line him up with my striking and my punches. I just felt totally different out there.”

Northcutt then further explained that despite being unbeaten at 155lbs in the UFC, he would remaining at welterweight for the foreseeable future.

“Before the UFC I was fighting catchweights at 165 or 170,” Northcutt said. “I decided to go to 155 to try have an advantage, or as much of an advantage as I could, to be one of the bigger 155ers. I walk around lean all the time and I thought that would be of benefit, but even though I was undefeated, I’ve won five fights in the UFC at 155, it just had a toll on my body and I don’t feel like the same kind of Sage, the same exciting Sage I can be, like, finishing Sage. Before the UFC I loved going for the finishes. I always loved going for the finishes. Just at 155 I don’t feel like I have that same ability at the moment.”

After the bout, UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta suggested that Northcutt should next face ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry. Northcutt, as ever, distanced himself from calling anyone, but did admit that their personalities and fighting styles would make for a fun fight.