UFC president Dana White went Lookin’ for a Fight and found Sage Northcutt. He was 5-0 and had been competing primarily at a catchweight of 165. It was thought wise for Northcutt to fight in the UFC at 155. There he continued his winning ways, TKOing Francisco Trevino and tapping Cody Pfister.

The UFC had something like a crush on him. He enjoyed a lucrative direct sponsorship with Reebok and had a contract that paid him the same money for his fourth UFC fight that Joe Lauzon made for his 25th. Lauzon has more performance bonuses than anyone, to Northcutt’s none.

Then he decided to test himself at 170, after Andrew Holbrook dropped out of the fight, and Bryan Barberena, who does not cut ferociously, was offered instead, but at welter. Northcutt lost. Next he faced Enrique Marin at lightweight. The Spaniard was coming off a loss in The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2 Welterweight tournament; Sage won. Then when fellow White find Mickey Gall called Sage out for a fight at 170 it was accepted; Sage lost.

So he is an undefeated 8-0 at 155 and 0-2 at welterweight. It doesn’t take a master strategist like Greg Jackson to see where the wins are. Now Northcutt tells Mr. Ariel Helwani during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour that the welterweight experiment is at an end for the time being.

You know, obviously, anytime you lose you learn from it, said Northcutt as transcribed by MMA Fighting. Not that you regret it but it’s a learning experience, and I’ll be back down at 155 now. I’m a natural 155er. So, that’ll be a good weight class for me.

For now I’m at 155. In the future obviously I’m still growing, who knows, it could be years in the future, but I’m still putting on muscle, still getting taller and bigger, and still growing. I guess we’ll see, but right now 155.

Northcutt said he hoped for a return in April or May

[I don’t have an] exactly a set date, but maybe sometime in the next three months, four months, and back at 155. So I’ll be learning the most I can until then, and improving.

I don’t have an opponent in mind, it’s who the UFC gives me. But definitely going to be at 155.