The 21-year-old was scheduled to take on Claudio Puelles at UFC 214 in Anaheim on July 29th, but Puelles recently announced he had to withdraw due to injury, so in steps veteran John Makdessi. Canadian Press confirmed the news on Tuesday.
Northcutt (8-2) is making his return to lightweight after suffering two losses last year as a welterweight. He was choked out by Bryan Barberena in January, then returned to 155 and eked out a decision over Enrique Marin at UFC 200, and capped off a rough 2016 by getting knocked down and submitted by Mickey Gall at UFC on FOX 24.