John Makdessi steps in to face Sage Northcutt at UFC 214

Sage Northcutt has a new opponent for UFC 214.

UFC veteran John Makdessi will step in for the injured Claudio Puelles to face Northcutt on July 29, the UFC announced Tuesday afternoon. The Canadian Press’s Neil Davidson first reported the news.

In Makdessi, Northcutt draws a far more experienced fighter in Canada’s Makdessi, who has had 13 total fights in the UFC. During that stretch “The Bull” has gone 7-6, with victories over Sam Stout and Daron Cruickshank. Though Makdessi has struggled of late, having lost four of his last six, he scored a split-decision victory over Mehdi Baghdad last July.

Puelles, who emerged through The Ultimate Fighter Latin America vehicle and is the same age as Northcutt, has a single fight under the UFC banner. That was a loss against Martin Bravo.

The 21-year-old Northcutt is coming off a loss against Mickey Gall back in December (submission, rear-naked choke). Overall he is 3-2 in the UFC, with victories over Enrique Marin, Cody Pfister and Francisco Trevino. His first professional loss came against Bryan Barberena at UFC on FOX 18 in 2016.

UFC 214 takes place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on July 29. It will feature a headlining bout between current light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones, as well as a women’s featherweight title fight between newcomer Megan Anderson and Cris “Cyborg” Justino.