“Oh yeah, that was me” - Sage Northcutt confirms he personally sent out tweets to Shinya Aoki

Sage Northcutt has always been somewhat of a boy scout in a toxic sport, so for him, calling out other fighters can be a bit uncomfortable.

In a highly publicized Twitter exchange in 2022, Sage Northcutt went hard in the paint to set up a fight with Japanese martial arts icon Shinya Aoki, tweeting:

“Hey Shinya [Aoki], I was told you were going to be my opponent on ONE Championship’s July or August card if you didn’t get injured in your grappling match. Why won’t you fight me on the July or August Amazon card…what’s the problem?”

Sage Northcutt has such a reputation for positivity that some wondered if someone else provoked- or even composed the tweet- on Northcutt’s behalf.

In a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Ariel Helwani asked Northcutt about the exchange:

“Oh yeah, that was me. I didn’t say anything disrespectful because I’m not like that. But you know, he was saying some stuff. I guess that’s kind of his personality. And I’m like sure let’s fight. Let’s book it. I’m down for it a hundred percent. But absolutely, that was me writing the tweets.”

Aoki and Northcutt were scheduled to meet at ONE on TNT IV in April of 2021, but Northcutt pulled out of the fight due to medical reasons. If Sage can get by Ahmed Mujtaba this May, that fight could very well be back as an option.

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Sage Northcutt eager to restore his fighting reputation ahead of ONE Fight Night 10

MMA fans often only remember fighters by their last fight, and Sage Northcutt definitely feels that.

During the majority of Sage Northcutt’s MMA journey thus far, he’s been touted as one of the most promising young prospects in the game, amassing an 11-2 record prior to signing with ONE Championship.

After losing in his promotional debut to Cosmo Alexandre, he feels disappointed that he wasn’t able to showcase his talents properly in his new home.

This is what he had to say on The MMA Hour:

“You asked about fans maybe forgetting or someone that might not know [me]. That’s the thing, I feel like coming into ONE Championship, I didn’t really get to show what I truly can do. And it was unfortunate what happened in my first fight with ONE Championship. But I’m coming off the UFC where I was fighting before, my last three fights consecutively, I was on a three-fight win streak."

He has the chance to get a fresh start in his MMA career when he finally returns to the circle for the first time in four years, fighting Pakistan’s Ahmed Mujtaba on May 5 in Broomfield, Colorado at ONE Fight Night 10.