Sage Northcutt oozing with confidence in possible match-up with Shinya Aoki after successful return: “That’s a big one”

American martial artist Sage Northcutt is confident he could perform exemplary in a possible showdown with Japanese legend Shinya Aoki in the near future. This, following his highly successful return to competition after four years earlier this year.

‘Sage Northcutt’ marked his return from a long hiatus because of various medical conditions back in May at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video, which was the promotion’s first-ever live on-ground event in the United States.

He defeated Pakistani Ahmed Mujtaba by submission (heel hook) in just 39 seconds. The impressive win netted him a $50,000 performance bonus from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

Prior to his last match, Sage Northcutt, 27, was last in action in his ONE debut in May 2019, where he absorbed a first-round knockout loss to Brazilian Cosmo Alexandre. Making the defeat more devastating was he suffered multiple facial fractures in the aftermath, which required surgery and a long recovery.

He planned to come back in 2021 against Shinya Aoki but he was hit by COVID-19. It is something he is looking to realize now that he is back healthy and is confident of winning in the process.

Sage Northcutt shared to onefc.com in an interview:

“I had quite a few years off, and I came back in my last fight, won by submission in the first round, and now I’m going to be possibly fighting Shinya. He’s one of the top guys in the division. He was one of the longest-reigning World Champions for ONE Championship. That’s a big one.”

Apart from facing off with Aoki in a mixed martial arts contest, Northcutt is also looking to expand his range as a fighter by testing his skills in other disciplines on offer in ONE, including kickboxing and submission grappling.

Prior to joining ONE in 2019, Team Alpha Male affiliate Northcutt competed in Legacy FC and the UFC. He currently holds a 12-3 MMA record.