When “Super” Sage Northcutt made his ONE Championship debut in May 2019 at ONE: ENTER THE DRAGON, he never imagined the outcome would sideline him for nearly two years.
The American stepped into the Circle for the first time against Muay Thai legend Cosmo “Good Boy” Alexandre – albeit under mixed martial arts rules – and got hit with an overhand right that left him with career-threatening facial injuries.
After a lengthy rehab process, Northcutt was finally cleared to fight one again. And while many athletes in his situation would have taken an easy matchup in their return, the 24-year-old did the exact opposite.
At “ONE on TNT IV,” which will air live on Wednesday, 28 April, Northcutt will step back into the limelight against Japanese mixed martial arts icon Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki.
Aoki is a former two-time ONE Lightweight World Champion and is currently ranked as the #4 contender in the division.
With a 46-9 (1 NC) career record and 72 percent finishing rate – along with the most submission wins in ONE history – the man from Japan is a serious challenge for anyone.
Northcutt himself is a multiple-time Karate World Champion with an 11-3 record in mixed martial arts. Diverse in his skill set, eight of his victories have come by knockout or submission.
Both men will be looking for the win to push themselves up the lightweight rankings and into the radar of reigning divisional king Christian “The Warrior” Lee or Timofey Nastyukhin, who will challenge Lee for the belt two weeks earlier at “ONE on TNT II.”
Before all the action goes down on TNT, catch another stacked card from ONE: FISTS OF FURY this Friday, 26 February, on meWATCH or the ONE Super App at 8:30 p.m. Singapore Standard Time (SGT).
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5 Spectacular KOs From The Stars Competing At ONE: FISTS OF FURY
