Sage Northcutt satisfied with quick submission win in his return fight

Sage Northcutt waited four long years to make his return, and it didn’t matter if it was done before the opening minute.

‘Super’ Sage made a triumphant return to the Circle this past weekend, submitting Pakistani MMA champion Ahmed Mujtaba in just 39 seconds of their lightweight MMA clash at ONE Fight Night 10.

The 27-year-old looked as sharp as ever in his return and surprised everyone by taking his opponent’s leg early on and getting the job done quickly. During the post-fight press conference, the American was asked if he wanted to stay in the Circle a little longer considering his extended absence from competition.

Sage Northcutt said:

“[The fight] was definitely pretty fast. I’ve been working on my grappling a lot. The last few years, I’ve been really honing on it and working on it a ton. I’m really excited that I got to win by submission and I got to show some of that grappling.”

While it was quick, it was certainly impressive.

Ahmed Mujtaba was coming off two first-round finishes and was a dangerous customer for Sage Northcutt. However, ‘Super’ Sage delivered his promise of showcasing an improved grappling game and got the finish he aimed for.

His win certainly sends a message to the rest of the stacked lightweight division, but it might take a couple more wins for Northcutt to break into the top five. After coming off relatively unscathed from this match, don’t be surprised if he makes a quick turnaround to continue his climb in the rankings.

ONE Fight Night 10 replay can be watched for free via Amazon Prime in North America.