Sage Northcutt shares what kept him busy during his time away from competition

At ONE Fight Night 10, ‘Super’ Sage Northcutt will step back inside the circle after a long hiatus.

After signing with ONE Championship as one of the most talked about prospects in the sport, things haven’t got going for him. Having lost his promotional debut inside the first 30 seconds, he was forced to take some time off to heal up from his injuries.

Catching COVID-19 also delayed his return, meaning that it has been three years since we last saw Northcutt compete. That will change on May 5 when he faces Ahmed Mujtaba.

After the announcement of his return at ONE Championship’s US debut event, Sage Northcutt spoke to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour to recap all the time that he has spent away.

Talking about what he has been doing alongside training to keep himself busy, 'Super' Sage said:

“I love going on hikes, so going on a ton of hikes. I like fishing, riding motorcycles. I have a BMW X1000R so I'm riding motorcycles with some friends, with my family. I like doing that kind of stuff, I ride dirt bikes, I’m just kind of exploring.”

He added:

“I’m always outdoors doing a lot of things.”

Watch the full interview below:

ONE Fight Night 10 will broadcast live and for free in North America via Amazon Prime.

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

In the same interview with Ariel Helwani, Sage Northcutt and the journalist had a lot to catch up on.

In the four years that he has been away from competition, ‘Super’ Sage has been out of the spotlight after being one of the most talked about prospects in the sport of MMA.

One of the reasons why it has been so long since we last saw Sage compete inside the circle was a canceled bout with Shinya Aoki. The fight was called off after Northcutt caught COVID-19.

Back in 2022, Northcutt tweeted this about the matchup:

“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?”

Known for his incredibly polite and soft-spoken manner, Helwani questioned Northcutt on his previous callout, asking whether it was actually him who posted it.

He responded:

“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.”

Sage Northcutt and Aoki were scheduled to face each other in April 2021. Seeing that it was fight Northcutt clearly wanted, it could still be an option on the table if he is successful against Ahmed Mujtaba on his return to competition on May 5.