Tag: Sage Northcutt

Sage Northcutt plans on ‘being ready for anything’ against Shinya Aoki at ONE Championship 165

Sage Northcutt knows Shinya Aoki is a grappling specialist and plans on testing him everywhere at ONE Championship 165.

[autotag]Sage Northcutt[/autotag] plans on testing [autotag]Shinya Aoki[/autotag] everywhere.

Northcutt (12-3) mets Aoki (47-11) on Sunday at ONE Championship 165 from Ariake Arena in Tokyo in what is expected to be Aoki’s retirement fight. Northcutt originally was scheduled to fight Aoki in April 2021, but lingering effects from COVID-19 forced him out.

Four years after his brutal 29-second KO loss to Cosmo Alexandre in 2019, Northcutt returned this past May when he submitted Ahmed Mujtaba in 39 seconds. With Aoki on his radar for years, the Team Alpha Male fighter is ready for the submission specialist.

“I’ve been working my grappling for the past several years a lot,” Northcutt told MMA Junkie Radio. “Great grapplers, great teammates, great coaches. So, I’ve been really, really preparing and training my grappling a whole lot to improve.”

Aoki, 40, has 30 submissions to his name. Over 60 percent of his wins have come by submission, but Northcutt showed off his own jiu-jitsu game when he tapped out Mujtaba with a heel hook.

“A lot of people know that Shinya is known for his grappling, but it’s not just a grappling match out there,” Northcutt said. “It is mixed martial arts. You have a whole different set of tools and same thing, it’s not just a striking match. So, I think really going out there and being ready for anything is very important.”

You can watch Northcutt’s full interview above.

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UFC veterans in MMA, boxing, karate and bareknuckle action Jan. 26-28

Check out which veterans of the UFC are competing in combat sports across the globe this weekend.

This week, the UFC is idle following its first pay-per-view event of 2024, UFC 297.

Many other combat sports events are taking place that feature several familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.

Check out which veterans of the global MMA leader are competing Jan. 26-28.

Scroll below to see how the UFC veterans fared last week, and see the names and details of this weekend’s competitors.

Upcoming event information from Tapology.

Shinya Aoki vs. Sage Northcutt rebooked for Aoki’s retirement fight at ONE Championship 165

At long last, Sage Northcutt will get his opportunity to tangle with Shinya Aoki. It’ll be a big one for both of them.

At long last, [autotag]Sage Northcutt[/autotag] will get his opportunity to tangle with the legendary [autotag]Shinya Aoki[/autotag] – and it’ll be a big one for both of them.

Northcutt (12-3) will take on Aoki (47-11) in two months as part of ONE Championship 165 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Promotion officials announced the Jan. 28 matchup Wednesday on social media and said the fight will be Aoki’s last with ONE. ESPN first reported the matchup.

The 27-year-old Northcutt, from the Dallas area, was supposed to fight Aoki, 40, in April 2021. That fight was about two years after his ONE debut, which was a shocking 29-second KO loss to Cosmo Alexandre that came on the heels of his free agency move to the promotion after a 6-2 run in the UFC. But lingering effects from COVID-19 kept Northcutt sidelined, and it was more than another two years later before he had his next fight.

Northcutt submitted Ahmed Mujtaba in 39 seconds in May for his first ONE win and first victory at all since July 2018. He was one of the hottest prospects in the sport’s history when he signed with the UFC in 2015, and he made $40,000 to show with a $40,000 win bonus in just his second fight in the promotion – rare for a young fighter on his first deal with the UFC.

Aoki will fight in front of his home fans in Tokyo one final time. Currently on a two-fight skid, the legendary Japanese grappling wiz was on an 8-1 run prior to that. His resume is littered with bona fides, among them two ONE lightweight titles, the DREAM lightweight title and the Shooto Japan middleweight title.

Of Aoki’s 47 total wins, 30 have been by submission. That was Northcutt’s weakness in his first two setbacks in 2016 to Bryan Barberena and Mickey Gall, both of whom were able to choke out Northcutt. Although he’s fought primarily for ONE the past 10 years, his extensive experience also includes fights under the Rizin banner, Bellator, Strikeforce and Pride.

MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month for May: Kennedy Nzechukwu’s standing choke

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from May 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from May 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for May.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

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Nominees

ONE Fight Night 10 winner Sage Northcutt wants ‘super exciting’ fight with Shinya Aoki rebooked

Sage Northcutt wants to test his grappling against Shinya Aoki’s after ONE Fight Night 10.

[autotag]Sage Northcutt[/autotag] wants to test his grappling against [autotag]Shinya Aoki[/autotag]’s after ONE Fight Night 10.

Northcutt (12-3) was booked to face Aoki (47-11-1) in April 2021, but lingering COVID-19 effects forced him out of the bout. He returned from a four-year layoff this past Friday at 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo., and needed just 39 seconds to submit Ahmed Mujtaba (10-3) by heel hook.

As for what’s next, 27-year-old Northcutt said he wants to revisit the Aoki fight, and ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong is on board.

“I did have one set up with Shinya Aoki, and I think that would be a super exciting one,” Northcutt said at the ONE Fight Night 10 post-fight press conference. “Looking through my finishes now, you can see my grappling has improved a lot, and I got to show some grappling. He’s a great grappler. I think that would be a really exciting match.”

Northcutt, who trains out of Team Alpha Male, is not short of strong grapplers in his gym and was glad to show off that part of his game in the fight.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cr7oLwjMYqy/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

“It was definitely pretty fast,” Northcutt said. “I’ve been working my grappling a lot. So, for the last few years, I’ve been really honing in on it and working on it a ton. I’m really excited that I got to win out there and get a submission, and got to show some of that grappling.”

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Not only did Northcutt return from a long layoff, it was one in which he had to recover from a brutal injury suffered in a knockout loss to Cosmo Alexandre in May 2019. Northcutt underwent a nine-hour surgery to repair eight facial fractures and used the time off to work on his game.

“I think one of the big things was the mindset,” Northcutt said of his win. “Of course, I’ve been training to stay sharp but when I go out there, I’m looking for a finish. I’ve just been training with a great team, great coaches. Really been working all around to be very well rounded and fix the holes in my game. Just been really staying in the gym, staying sharp.”

Sage Northcutt def. Ahmed Mujtaba at ONE Fight Night 10: Best photos

Check out the best photos from the ONE Fight Night 10 bout between Sage Northcutt and Ahmed Mujtaba, which took place in Broomfield, Colo..

Check out the best photos from the ONE Fight Night 10 bout between [autotag]Sage Northcutt[/autotag] and [autotag]Ahmed Mujtaba[/autotag], which took place Friday at 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo., right outside Denver. (Photos courtesy of ONE Championship.)

ONE Fight Night 10 live results

The long-awaited debut of ONE Championship in the United States takes place Friday in Colorado.

ONE Championship made its United States debut Friday in Broomfield, Colo., just outside Denver.

ONE Fight Night 10 was headlined by former UFC flyweight champion [autotag]Demetrious Johnson[/autotag] as he defended his 135-pound title in a trilogy match against [autotag]Adriano Moraes[/autotag].

Also on the card, former UFC star [autotag]Sage Northcutt[/autotag] returned to action after four years away from competition as he battled [autotag]Ahmed Mujtba[/autotag] at 1STBANK Center.

Check out the results below.

ONE Fight Night 10 results: Sage Northcutt wins in 39 seconds after four-year hiatus

It took over four years for Sage Northcutt to get back into the MMA cage for a fight, but he needed only 39 seconds once he got there.

It took over four years for [autotag]Sage Northcutt[/autotag] to return to the MMA cage for a fight, but he needed only 39 seconds once he got there.

On Friday at ONE Fight Night 10, Northcutt (12-3) submitted [autotag]Ahmed Mujtaba[/autotag] (10-3) by heel hook in short order. The event marked the U.S. debut for One Championship, which took place at 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo., right outside Denver.

The bout was action-packed for as long as it lasted and earned Northcutt a surprise $50,000 bonus from Chatri Sityodtong immediately afterward.

Initially clipped with a short jab by Mujtaba, Northcutt grabbed hold of a leg and twisted. Northcutt’s torque dragged Mujtaba to the canvas and the tap came nearly immediately afterward.

After the fight, Northcutt, who had battled health issues and injuries since a brutal knockout loss to Cosmo Alexandre during his previous fight in May 2019, expressed his hope to stay active. Northcutt, 27, moved to 4-1 in his most recent five outings.

Mujtaba, 30, has a two-fight winning streak snapped.

The up-to-the-minute ONE Fight Night 10 results include:

  • Sage Northcutt (12-3) def. Ahmed Mujtaba (10-3) via submission (heel hook) – Round 1, 0:39 – MMA
  • Aung La N Sang (30-13) def. Rong Fan (19-4) via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 0:48 – MMA
  • Tye Ruotolo def. Reinier de Ridder via unanimous decision – grappling
  • Jackie Buntan def. Diandra Martin via TKO (punch) – Round 1, 2:34 – muay Thai
  • Kairat Akhmetov (30-2) def. Reece McLaren (16-9) via unanimous decision – MMA
  • Rae Yook Ok (17-4) def. Lowen Tynanes (11-1) via unanimous decision – MMA

ONE Championship VP Rich Franklin relates to ‘mental exercise’ Sage Northcutt faces in return from injury

Given one of the worst defeats of his UFC career, Rich Franklin has an idea of Sage Northcutt’s struggle before ONE Fight Night 10.

When [autotag]Sage Northcutt[/autotag] was in the hospital, [autotag]Rich Franklin[/autotag] made sure to visit him.

“It was a pretty devastating shot,” Franklin recently told MMA Junkie Radio. “The injuries were fairly severe. It wasn’t like he broke an arm and had to get casted, in and out. He spent some time there, so I stopped in.”

Northcutt needed surgery after he suffered multiple facial fractures in a devastating knockout loss to Cosmo Alexandre. That was the last time Northcutt fought, in his ONE Championship debut way back in May 2019.

Northcutt, a UFC veteran once highly touted as a prospect, finally makes his return to competition Friday at ONE Fight Night 10 in Broomfield, Colo. Northcutt takes on Ahmed Mujtaba in a lightweight bout (170 pounds under ONE Championship rules) in his first fight in nearly four years. The card streams on Amazon Prime Video.

Franklin, a former UFC middleweight champion and current ONE Championship VP, can only imagine what Northcutt, 27, has endured to get back to this point. In another sense, Franklin also feels like he can relate.

In 2006, Franklin was beat up badly by Anderson Silva, who claimed the UFC middleweight title with a vicious first-round knockout. Franklin remembers how “gun shy” he was in his next fight vs. Jason MacDonald and understands the nerves Northcutt might be feeling ahead of his return.

“I would imagine some of this is a bit of a mental exercise for him. After I lost my match to Anderson Silva, I was a little gun shy in that first match back,” Franklin said. “Until I got hit in the face one time, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s what it feels like.’ Even though I had sparred and been hit a couple times sparring, but still, I can remember when I was slipping and overcompensating on my slips, slipping too far out of the way of the punch. … I can remember moving my head all over the place. Then finally like midway through that round I started settling in.”

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Franklin went on to beat MacDonald in that 2007 fight by second-round TKO when MacDonald’s corner threw in the towel.

Perhaps Northcutt (11-3), who left the UFC on a three-fight winning streak before signing with ONE, can return to similar success, but Franklin knows it won’t be easy.

“Some of that will be a bit of a mental exercise for him. This is not an easy matchup, much like the Jason Macdonald matchup was not an easy matchup (for me) either. That guy was a killer,” Franklin said. “And so (Sage) is coming back, and this Mujtaba (guy) that he’s competing against, he’s legit as well. This is gonna be a fun one to watch.

“Sage obviously is an amazing athlete. You see what he can do acrobatically and everything. If he performs the way that he can and should and gets his head moving and puts his combinations together, this will be a good match to watch. Because Mujtaba is a tough, tough guy.”

Sage Northcutt not discouraged by health setbacks ahead of return, still aims at ONE Championship title

Sage Northcutt is still determined to become champion at ONE Championship.

[autotag]Sage Northcutt[/autotag] sure is a positive man, and he’s using that gift to its fullest while he steps out of a down period of his fighting career.

The former UFC prospect finally makes his return to competition May 5 at ONE Fight Night 10 in Broomfield, Colo. Northcutt takes on Ahmed Mujtaba in a lightweight bout (170 pounds under ONE Championship rules) in his first fight in nearly four years.

Multiple facial fractures in his KO loss to Cosmo Alexandre in 2019, the halt of the sports world due to the pandemic and complications from COVID-19 have kept Northcutt away from the cage for longer than he wished for.

It’s been a frustrating period for him, but not one that has affected his goals or outlook on the sport.

“Like everybody, I think most people in ONE Championship or in this sport, they want to be the champ, so that hasn’t changed for me,” Northcutt told MMA Junkie. “Some of the best fighters out there, they have off nights. You look at Georges St-Pierre, he had off nights and lost fights. On the odds and on paper, he wasn’t going to lose, but sometimes the best fighters and best people out there have their nights.

“So for me, I want to be very active and have a great career with ONE Championship.”

That much time away from the sport could bring pressure to many looking to dive back in. However, Northcutt is excited beyond everything else. The 27-year-old can’t wait to get in the cage.

“It’s been a little bit of time, but I’ve been keeping watch on the fighters and watching how the game is kind of evolving over the last four years,” Northcutt said. “For me, it’s kind of excitement, not nervousness. I think that every fighter when they go out there, they all get those butterflies in the stomach, and you’re anxious to get out there, so I think I will probably have that. It’s going to be exciting to see how I’m feeling the day of the fight.”

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