“This will sell out quick” - Fans gearing up for inter-generational matchup between Sage Northcutt, Shinya Aoki

American MMA star and ONE Championship lightweight Sage Northcutt will face Japanese legend and former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Shinya Aoki at ONE 165 early next year.

On January 28, ONE will return to the Land of the Rising Sun with two high-profile matches announced: Rodtang Jitmuangnon vs. Takeru and Sage Northcutt vs. Shinya Aoki. The match between 'Super' Sage and 'Tobikan Judan' has been teased for years and is now finally happening.

The inter-generational match goes down at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.

ONE Championship made the announcement on Instagram:

Fans are raving about the fight in the comments section:

Comments on the post

@archith_2006 has been waiting for this bout to happen for a long time:

"Yo Sage, been hyped for this showdown for ages! Can't wait to see you bring that fire into the ring. Smash it out there. Big love and all the support!"

@artbyd3stroy had the perfect assessment of the upcoming event:

"Damn this will sell out so quick."

@limktg_7132 saw Aoki winning this bout as it may truly be his last dance:

"Aoki via a limb!! If it’s really the FINAL time, there’s no two way on this 🇯🇵👿🔥🔥"

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Sage Northcutt originally expressed desire to face Shinya Aoki in his return from hiatus

At ONE Fight Night 10 last May, Sage Northcutt stepped inside the Circle after a four-year hiatus from the sport. The break came on the heels of his ONE Championship debut, which resulted in a 30-second knockout loss at the hands of Cosmo Alexandre.

After taking two years to heal a broken orbital bone caused by the KO, Northcutt was ready to go back into action. It took another two years, however, for him to finally make that return at ONE Fight Night 10 against Ahmed Mujtaba at the sold-out 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The Pakistani MMA stalwart wasn't the original opponent he had in mind, apparently.

At ONE on TNT 4 in April of 2021, Sage Northcutt was scheduled to face the legendary Shinya Aoki. Unfortunately, Northcutt tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the bout, forcing him to pull out which significantly delayed his comeback once again.

In an interview with The MMA Superfan back in April, Sage Northcutt said that, despite the Mujtaba fight, he still had his sights set at Aoki:

“Absolutely, we had a fight scheduled so definitely. I feel like that'd be one really exciting for the fans that they want to see. I feel like after this fight, maybe that’s something that gets set up.”

Watch the full interview here: