“It felt different” – Sage Northcutt reflects on ‘surreal’ experience after coming back from four-year layoff

American martial artist Sage Northcutt marked his return to competition after a four-year layoff with an impressive submission victory at ONE Championship’s first-ever live on-ground event in the United States in May. It was an experience he described as "surreal."

‘Super Sage’ took on Pakistani fighter Ahmed Mujtaba in a featured lightweight mixed martial arts contest at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video on May 5 in Colorado. He hardly showed rust in his circle return, making short work of ‘Wolverine’ with a 39-second submission by way of heel hook.

It was his first action since his ONE debut in May 2019, when he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Brazilian Cosmo Alexandre. Making the defeat more stinging was he suffered multiple facial fractures in the aftermath, which required surgery and a long recovery.

In a recent interview with The MMA Superfan, Sage Northcutt recalled what the experience was like in his return after a long layoff, saying:

“It was a really exciting moment for me and I'm very happy the fight turned out the way it did and I got the win. Again, it just felt surreal, like coming back after all those years really felt different.”

Watch the interview below:

Now back in the pink of health, Sage Northcutt is looking to continue with his ONE journey. Among the things he is aiming for is to have a showdown with Japanese legend Shinya Aoki, which he has been eyeing since 2021 but COVID-19 derailed the plan.

The replay of ONE’s Amazon cards is available anytime on demand for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

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Sage Northcutt touts ONE as ‘most exciting organization in the world’

Team Alpha Male standout Sage Northcutt is proud to be part of ONE Championship, which he touts as the most exciting organization in the world for its conscious effort to provide fans with an extensive offering to feast on.

He shared to The MMA Superfan how the diversity in matches under ONE has made it stand out from other promotions, saying:

“They got submission grappling, Muay Thai, kickboxing. It's like, the range is so diverse with the best guys in the world, that really it's one of the most exciting organizations in the whole world.”

ONE began offering MMA-only shows over a decade ago, but made a conscious effort to include other disciplines like Muay Thai, kickboxing, and submission grappling in recent years. It is a tack that has been well received by fans.

While he is currently competing in the MMA lane, Northcutt said he is open to testing himself in the other disciplines on offer in ONE, particularly grappling and kickboxing, to further grow as a fighter.