5 possible opponents for Sage Northcutt's comeback fight

#4. Marat Gafurov vs. Sage Northcutt

Here's a great option for Sage Northcutt.

Russian stalwart Marat ‘Cobra’ Gafurov was at the top of his game as a featherweight, having previously held the ONE featherweight world title. He came into ONE Championship unbeaten in nine pro fights before going on to win his first six fights under the Singapore-based promotion’s banner.

Along the way, Gafurov lifted the featherweight belt from former champion Narantungalag Jadambaa’s shoulders, before giving it up to Vietnamese-Australian Martin Nguyen. Since then, Gafurov has had a major resurgence, beating highly-regarded fighters Tetsuya Yamada and Lowen Tynanes to reach No. 5 at lightweight. He gave up that spot in a loss to eventual champion Ok Rae Yoon last April.

‘Cobra’ is now 2-3 in his last five outings, and could be ripe for the taking for Sage Northcutt. Gafurov offers significant name recognition for Northcutt, who needs a big win to prove he belongs in ONE Championship’s deepest weight class.

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#3. Shinya Aoki vs. Sage Northcutt

Among all the fighters on this list, the most dangerous opponent for Sage Northcutt would have to be Japanese legend Shinya ‘Tobikan Judan’ Aoki. The two were scheduled to face each other earlier this year, but Northcutt withdrew due to medical reasons.

Aoki is a multi-time ONE lightweight world champion and a veteran of over 50 professional fights across nearly two decades. Compared to Sage Northcutt’s 11-3 record, there is no doubt Aoki has the edge in experience.

In the cage, Aoki has seen it all. The Japanese submission specialist captured the ONE lightweight world title in 2013, just one fight into his ONE Championship tenure. He defended the belt three times before succumbing to Eduard Folayang in 2016. He reclaimed the title against Folayang in 2019 before surrendering the strap once more to Christian Lee that same year.

Sage Northcutt, historically, has had difficulty facing grapplers in the past, first losing to Bryan Barberena and then infamously to Mickey Gall.

If Sage Northcutt can beat Aoki, who is currently ranked second at lightweight in ONE, he could fast track to the division’s throne. However, that would come against arguably one of the greatest grapplers in MMA history.