“It’s time to have that fight” – Sage Northcutt calls for long-awaited clash with Shinya Aoki to take place in 2024

American lightweight mixed martial arts fighter Sage Northcutt asserts that the showdown he has been angling for against Japanese legend Shinya Aoki for sometime now should finally take place in 2024.

Following his impressive submission victory in his return to competition in May after a four-year hiatus because of various medical conditions, ‘Super Sage’ said he now wants “Tobikan Judan” next.

Northcutt shared to The MMA Superfan in an interview:

“Well as you know we had a fight set before this, it was a little while back, before I fought Ahmed and we were set to fight. That fell through and then I had my fight against Ahmed recently and you know it's time to have that fight. It's been in the works for a while now and you know if we fight in the US or if we fight even over in Japan, where he's from, I think either one would be great.”

Watch the interview below:

Sage Northcutt made a successful return to the circle in May after his ONE journey took an unexpected detour because of various medical issues that kept him out of competition for four years.

The Team Alpha Male standout defeated Pakistani fighter Ahmed Mujtaba by submission (heel hook) just 39 seconds into their featured lightweight clash at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video in the United States.

Back in 2021, Northcutt was angling to make his return against Shinya Aoki until COVID-19 derailed his plans.

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Sage Northcutt confident of beating Shinya Aoki in possible fight

Sage Northcutt is confident of defeating former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Shinya Aoki if ever their long-awaited showdown finally pushes true.

The 27-year-old fighter is taking cue from his impressive first-round submission victory over Pakistani Ahmed Mujtaba back in May, following a four-year layoff from competition for health reasons.

Sage Northcutt shared to onefc.com in an interview:

“I had quite a few years off, and I came back in my last fight, won by submission in the first round, and now I’m going to be possibly fighting Shinya. He’s one of the top guys in the division. He was one of the longest-reigning World Champions for ONE Championship. That’s a big one.”

Now back to competing, Sage Northcutt wants to keep rolling in his ONE journey, take it to another level, and down the line vie for a world title.

Before he joined ONE in 2019, the Texas native competed in Legacy FC and the UFC. He currently holds a 12-3 MMA record.