“Go out there to win” - Sage Northcutt says he’s looking to finish Shinya Aoki in highly anticipated duel at ONE 165

Sage Northcutt (left) and Shinya Aoki (right) | Image credit: ONE Championship
Sage Northcutt (left) and Shinya Aoki (right) | Image credit: ONE Championship

‘Super’ Sage Northcutt is fully focused on accomplishing one primary goal for his upcoming massive fight with former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Shinya Aoki on January 28 at ONE 165 that will happen inside the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan: get a finish.

Northcutt reiterated this plan in his most recent appearance on The MMA Superfan’s YouTube channel and praised ONE Championship for its electrifying matches that almost guarantee a definite result that doesn't require the judges’ scorecards.

The Evolve MMA and Team Alpha Male representative said:

“And I think that's the most exciting thing. I think that's why ONE Championship is one of the most exciting organizations is because there are so many finishes. So definitely looking for a finish and definitely looking to go out there to win.”
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Northcutt is coming off a morale-boosting win over Ahmed Mujtaba in May 2023 at ONE Fight Night 10 and became one of the main attractions to the first-ever ONE Championship event in the United States. He submitted the Pakistani warrior in just 39 seconds of the opening round.

Prior to that victory, the 27-year-old American suffered a disappointing knockout from Cosmo Alexandre in May 2019 at ONE: Enter the Dragon, which in multiple facial fractures.

The injury left Northcutt on the sidelines, and the American star even contracted COVID-19 sometime after he recovered.


Sage Northcutt acknowledges that upcoming fight with Shinya Aoki at ONE 165 is huge

Despite the hype and excitement that he feels for this clash with the Japanese legend, Northcutt is preparing himself for a huge bout that will have big implications for the landscape of the lightweight MMA division. This is not going to be an easy task for him, though, as he needs to deal with two major elements on fight night.

For one, ‘Tobidan Judan’ is a superior grappler who has 10 submission wins in his 13 fights in ONE Championship, and second, Northcutt will be in a hostile environment as the crowd will be dominated by Aoki’s compatriots in Japan. ONE 165 is available on pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.

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