"Why won’t you fight me" - Sage Northcutt wants Shinya Aoki in the ONE circle

‘Super’ Sage Northcutt is looking for a fight soon and he’s calling out Shinya Aoki for allegedly refusing to compete against him.

The American revealed on Twitter that Aoki was tabbed to go up against him in an upcoming card, but hinted that 'Tobikan Judan' has not yet agreed to it.

Sage Northcutt tweeted:

“Hey Shinya @a_ok_i , 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?”

Shinya Aoki competed against Brazilian jiu-jitsu prodigy Kade Ruotolo at ONE 157 this past April. After 10 minutes of action, Ruotolo claimed a unanimous decision victory over the Japanese martial arts legend. Aoki did not appear to be injured during their match.

Northcutt’s callout aligns with ONE Championship’s next scheduled events, which means ‘Super’ is finally ready to make his return to the circle. The 26-year-old made his first and only appearance in the circle in May 2019, where he suffered a devastating injury at the hands of Cosmo Alexandre.

ONE 159: De Ridder vs. Bigdash is the next event on the calendar and is set for July 22. Meanwhile, the promotion recently announced that Adriano Moraes and Demetrious Johnson II will headline their first event on Amazon Prime, ONE 161. The event is scheduled for Saturday, August 27 at 8:30 AM Singapore time, which allows it to be broadcast live on U.S. primetime.

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Shinya Aoki responds to Sage Northcutt’s callout

It didn’t take long for Sage Northcutt’s challenge to reach Shinya Aoki. ‘Tobikan Judan’ has over 50 wins on his resume and claims that he does not back down from any challenge.

Aoki’s translated tweet reads:

“OK. 5 o'clock in Shibuya!”

Only the headlining bouts have been revealed for both ONE 159 and ONE 161. Considering their back-and-forth, the chance to see Sage Northcutt vs. Shinya Aoki is not far from reality.

If it happens, Northcutt will be in for a tough challenge. The multiple-time karate world champion has lost only thrice in his MMA career, but two of those have come via submission. Meanwhile, Aoki is tied for the highest number of submissions in ONE Championship, with nine of his 30 being executed in the circle.