"Improved" Sage Northcutt says fans should expect more submission wins from him after stunning return

American martial artist Sage Northcutt marked his return from a four-year layoff back in May with an impressive submission victory. He said it was a portent of things to come from him as he resumes further his ONE Championship journey.

‘Super Sage’ made short work of Pakistani fighter Ahmed Mujtaba with a submission win by way of heel hook in just 39 seconds at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video on May 5 in the United States.

The featured lightweight mixed martial arts contest was part of the landmark offering, which was the first-ever live on-ground event of the promotion in the U.S., held in front of a sold-out crowd in Colorado.

It was his first competition since his ONE debut in May 2019, when he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Brazilian Cosmo Alexandre. Making the defeat worse was he suffered multiple facial fractures in the aftermath, which required surgery and a long recovery.

In a recent interview with The MMA Superfan, Sage Northcutt shared that he was happy to come away with a submission victory because grappling was one of the facets of his game that he really took time to improve on while away from competition. He added that he sees himself going for more submission moving forward.

The 27-year-old Team Alpha Male affiliate said:

“Yeah, I think so, absolutely, you know. I've been training for years now and my grappling, my jiu-jitsu, I have a great team, great coaches, Urijah Faber, a whole great team at Team Alpha Male, and great partners.”

“So that's really improved the level of my game and I know I haven't got to show too much out there fighting, but grappling-wise, I could definitely see that for sure.”

Watch the interview below:

There is no word yet on when his next fight is, but Sage Northcutt made it known that he is keen on facing off against Japanese legend Shinya Aoki.

It is something that has been in the works for sometime now and he hopes it finally pushes through next year. Following his successful return in his last fight, Northcutt is confident of winning over “Tobikan Judan” even at the latter’s home turf of Japan.

Sage Northcutt keen on title showdown against Christian Lee

Now that he is back in fighting shape, Sage Northcutt is looking forward to a possible title showdown against reigning ONE lightweight MMA world champion Christian Lee at some point in the future.

The 27-year-old Texas native said he wants to chalk up the wins first and then climb the ladder in the division with the end goal of vying for the world title.

Sage Northcutt shared in an interview with The MMA Superfan that a showdown with Lee is something that excites him as he can test his skills to the hilt, saying:

“That'd be a fun fight, yeah.”

Northcutt is coming off an impressive 39-second submission (heel hook) of Pakistani Ahmed Mujtaba in his circle return after four years in May in the United States.

Lee, who is also the concurrent welterweight MMA world champion, for his part, is on a self-imposed break at the moment to mourn the tragic passing of his younger sister and fellow ONE fighter Victoria in December 2022. He, however, said that he plans to make his comeback next year.