“This is huge” - Sage Northcutt wants to put on Fight of the Night-worthy performance at ONE 165 in Tokyo

ONE lightweight contender Sage Northcutt is bracing himself for a massive showdown with former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Shinya Aoki on January 28 at ONE 165, which goes down inside the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

The two combat sports superstars are scheduled to meet in a lightweight MMA match that will surely impact the landscape of the division, as the victor could move closer to a potential world title shot.

In a recent interview with ONE Championship, ‘Super’ Sage said that he is constantly hunting for a finish in all of his fights and encouraged everyone to watch his upcoming fight with ‘Tobikan Judan’ because he vows to put on an incredible performance.

The Evolve MMA and Team Alpha Male representative revealed:

“I’m looking forward to starting off the year with a great performance. I like to finish my fights if I’m able to, to make it as exciting for all the fans as possible. The fans are definitely going to be in for a treat, that’s for sure. This is huge.”

Sage Northcutt is coming off a 39-second submission victory against Ahmed Mujtaba in his comeback fight in ONE Championship in May 2023 at ONE Fight Night 10, after a long recovery from the injury he suffered during his promotional debut in May 2019 against Cosmo Alexandre.

This victory was a testament to the 27-year-old’s vast improvement in his overall martial arts skills, as his grappling is now much improved.

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Sage Northcutt looking to use his strong striking background against Shinya Aoki in their upcoming fight

After years of calling for this fight with Shinya Aoki, Sage Northcutt’s wish was finally granted by the world’s largest martial arts organization. Despite his much improved grappling skills, Northcutt is still expected to maximize his solid karate and kickboxing background against the Japanese submission artist.

At the end of the day, Aoki has had problems dealing with superior strikers, as he often finds himself shellshocked in striking exchanges. However, Aoki is still a constant threat, especially on the ground, and Northcutt must still be cautious. Aoki is arguably the greatest submission specialist in MMA with 30 of his 47 wins coming by submission.