Sage Northcutt recalls how COVID ruined his plans to return vs. Shinya Aoki

Sage Northcutt (L) / Shinya Aoki (R) -- Photo by ONE Championship
Sage Northcutt (L) / Shinya Aoki (R) -- Photo by ONE Championship

If not for the COVID-19 that hit him, American mixed martial arts star Sage Northcutt could have made his return to competition as early as 2021.

‘Super Sage’ made it a triumphant return to fighting after four years on the sidelines due to various medical issues earlier this month at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video in the United States.

The Team Alpha Male affiliate defeated Pakistani fighter Ahmed Mujtaba by way of an impressive submission (heel hook) just 39 seconds into their featured lightweight showdown, part of ONE Championship’s first-ever live on-ground U.S. event on May 5 in Denver, Colorado.

It was a culmination of an extended layoff which started when he suffered multiple facial fractures following his ONE debut in May 2019, where he was knocked out by Brazilian Cosmo Alexandre in the opening round.

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Sage Northcutt had surgery after, followed by a long recuperation. By 2021, he was already healthy enough to get back into action and was set to battle Japanese legend Shinya Aoki in April that year. Then the unfortunate happened, as he contracted COVID-19 a week before he was set to fly out to compete, scuttling his return plans.

In an interview with the Fistivities podcast, Sage Northcutt recounted what happened to him when he got the virus. He said:

“It was crazy. After [my ONE debut], I got a fight. I was set to fight Shinya Aoki. He’s been around the sport for a long time and good [at] grappling. And I had that fight set and worst time of the year, I think most of the people around the world at that time caught COVID, but I caught COVID one week before flying out overseas.”

Watch the interview below:

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Following his impressive return, which also saw him earn a $50,000 performance bonus, Sage Northcutt is now looking to keep himself busy to make up for lost time.

Among those he is interested in is revisiting the derailed showdown with Aoki, who he called out during the post-event press conference.

ONE Fight Night 10 was played at a packed 1stBank Center in Denver. North American fans who want to relive all the action that went down at the event can do so for free over Amazon Prime.

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Edited by Harvey Leonard
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