One of the first bouts announced for ONE Championship’s U.S. debut event on May 5 was Sage Northcutt vs. Ahmed Mujtaba. The exciting addition to ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III on Prime Video will serve as Northcutt’s long-awaited return to the Circle, following his devastating debut in 2019.
The Texas native suffered a shocking knockout at the hands of Cosmo Alexandre in his promotional bow that led to a long and frustrating road back to being fight ready. But, ever the optimist, Northcutt has taken everything in stride, and he is excited for his sophmore outing.
“By the time I have this fight, it will be four years in May, so that was a long time ago. But what I can say is I’m only 26 years old right now, and came into this sport of mixed martial arts very young. Being 26 years old right now, I’m still extremely young so I’m looking forward to a long and successful career,” Northcutt said.
“Man, ups and downs happen to everybody’s life, whether they have a physical job or they’re working at a desk office. Whatever it might be, everybody’s got ups and downs, so that’s just something that you have to overcome. But like I said [with] the injury, that was my [first] fight at ONE Championship. It was a while back, so I’m excited to be back and I’m excited for this fight.”
Given that he has been away from action for four years, many questions have been raised about the American star’s return – mainly surrounding his ability to compete.
But Northcutt has spent that time honing his skills at Team Alpha Male, and if anyone has concerns about his readiness to fight, it’s not him.
“A lot of people will be thinking, ‘Hey Sage, might have some ring rust.’ It’s been three and a half years, it’s a little bit of time. But I’ve been staying in training, I’ve been staying sharp, so looking forward to not having that,” he said.
“All I can say is I’m surrounded with an incredible team at Team Alpha Male — some of the best fighters around. Great in all aspects — great wrestlers, great grapplers, great strikers, along with great coaches. I’m stepping into the gym every single day, like it’s a fight every day. I’m going to be excited for this fight and know that I’m training hard for it.”
Ahead of his return, Northcutt has locked in on Mujtaba’s game. The Pakistani athlete has quickly surged into the thick of the lightweight division with back-to-back wins in his last two fights. And the finishes he has earned have caught his eye.
“He has improved. He has improved quite a bit, and I’m absolutely watching tape, for sure. The knockout, that was a good one,” Northcutt said.
“His submission, the guy that he submitted, his opponent was pretty decorated, I believe — a black belt in jiu-jitsu. He hit a very unique submission, so I’m definitely keeping a track of that. I’m definitely going to be game planning with my coaches.”
The Team Alpha Male star is going to make sure he is in peak condition for the event, which will be held in Denver, Colo. Northcutt is taking the altitude that the city sits at into consideration and has been training at a similar elevation in Lake Tahoe, Calif.
When the Circle door shuts on May 5, Northcutt has a singular goal in mind – to return in style and show ONE and its fans that he is back.
“Well obviously, be successful out there. [I’m] ready to go out there and show ONE Championship what they signed, [that] I’m able to go out there and perform. To meet the expectations of what they want, that’s what I want to do out there. It’s to go out there and put on a great performance, and make ONE Championship [happy] with what they signed,” he said.
ONE Fight Night 10 airs live on Friday, May 5, on Prime Video at 8 p.m. ET. The action is free for all Amazon Prime members based in the U.S. and Canada.