“I’m ready for wherever the fight gets taken” – Sage Northcutt has covered all ground for Shinya Aoki test in Tokyo

Sage Northcutt is excited to get back inside the circle at ONE 165 to try and produce back-to-back wins under the ONE Championship banner.

As well as being motivated by wanting to put on a show for the Japanese audience, Northcutt knows that his next contest will be a real test for him and his evolving skillset.

Japanese legend Shinya Aoki is a highly regarded grappling specialist who completely outweighs his opponent in experience. ‘Super’ Sage is well aware of this. Hence, he has been making the right moves to ensure that he will be prepared for whatever his opponent throws at him on January 28.

Northcutt stated in an interview with ONE Championship that he has been specifically focusing on his ground game for this matchup and is confident that his skills will do the talking for him on fight night:

“If we decide to go on the ground, I’ve definitely been training for it, and I believe in my jiu-jitsu and my grappling. I’m ready for wherever the fight gets taken.”

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Sage Northcutt showed evolution in his ground game last time out

Sage Northcutt faced a lot of questions upon his return at ONE Fight Night 10 last year after a four-year hiatus.

Whilst he answered them all with his quick finish over Ahmed Mujtaba, he also showed some sides to his game that fans were anticipating.

It was clear that he has vastly improved his ground game and submission attacks compared to the last time we saw him as he effortlessly put his opponent away inside the opening minute.

Northcutt’s grappling will be truly put to the test when he takes on Aoki in front of the veteran’s home fans.

ONE 165 airs live on Sunday, January 28, via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.