With little more than a month to go until fight time, Sage Northcutt has a new opponent for UFC 214.
UFC officials on Tuesday announced that Northcutt, who was originally slated to fight Claudio Puelles at UFC 214, will now face John Makdessi on July 29 in Anaheim, Calif. Puelles is reportedly injured.
The UFC 214 fight card is topped by light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier putting his belt on the line in a rematch with Jon Jones, who is returning after more than a year on the sidelines due to an anti-doping violation. The co-main event features Cris “Cyborg” Justino meeting Invicta FC champion Megan Anderson in a battle for the belt recently stripped from featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie.
Northcutt (8-2) has toyed with welterweight in two of his three most recent bouts, but lost both. He returns to lightweight at UFC 214, hoping to notch a victory over Makdessi to get back on track as one of the promotion’s brightest up-and-comers.
Even more so than Northcutt, Makdessi (14-6) has been bouncing between wins and losses over his past few bouts. Coming off of a loss to Lando Vannata late last year, the Canadian fighter is hoping to quickly boost his stock by continuing Northcutt’s skid.
