“He's had an amazing career” – Sage Northcutt says he’s honored to face Shinya Aoki and beat Japanese legend in potential final MMA fight

Former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Shinya Aoki is set to dazzle fans once more on Sunday, January 28 as part of ONE 165 against young star Sage Northcutt at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.

The Japanese combat sports legend has no shortage of great fights throughout his career that has seen fight the best of the best in the industry since debuting in November 2003.

However, ‘Tobikan Judan’ is now 40 years old and is closer to the end of his career and Northcutt is honored to potentially be his final opponent, previously mentioning that it will be a boss battle of epic proportions.

‘Super’ Sage recently spoke to ONE Championship about the matchup with the prolific MMA and submission grappling star, plus how it means to his own career to fight Aoki:

“I hadn't even thought about that. The first time I heard about that was actually at the press conference live. And, you know, he's had an amazing career. You look at his record, what he's accomplished, he's had an amazing career and I don't think he has anything else to prove.

He continued:

“He's accomplished so much, so, for me, it's an honor to get to fight him, especially with all of his accomplishments. And I've really been looking forward to it.”

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What a win would mean for Northcutt’s career

The Sacramento, California native is coming off an inspiring submission victory against Ahmed Mujtaba, but he wants more than that for his own career.

Northcutt is adamant that a win over Aoki will be enough proof for him to enter the ONE lightweight MMA world championship picture.

Check your local listings or visit ONE Championship's official website on how to watch ONE 165 from your location.