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Former UFC Fighter Sage Northcutt Makes Move to PFL After ONE Championship Departure

Former UFC Fighter Sage Northcutt Makes Move to PFL After ONE Championship Departure After stints with the UFC and ONE Championship, ‘Super’ Sage Northcutt has officially signed with the Professional Fighters League….

After stints with the UFC and ONE Championship, ‘Super’ Sage Northcutt has officially signed with the Professional Fighters League.

According to a report from Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie, Northcutt has inked a deal with the promotion and is expected to make his debut in 2025.

Northcutt first burst onto the mixed martial arts scene in 2015 under the UFC banner. During his three-year run with the promotion, the Texas native scored himself a solid 6-2 record with noteworthy wins against Michel Quiñones, Thibault Gouti, and Zak Ottow.

After fighting out his contract in 2018, Northcutt traded in the Octagon for the Circle, signing with ONE Championship in search of greener pastures and a greater opportunity to compete.

Unfortunately, Northcutt’s plan backfired when he suffered a horrifying 29-second knockout in his promotional debut against Cosmo Alexandre. ‘Super’ was left with eight facial fractures that required nine hours of surgery to repair.

Sage Northcutt cuts ties with ONE after pulling out of long-awaited fight with shinya Aoki

The injury put him on the shelf for four years before making his return to ONE in May 2023. Northcutt secured a quick-fire submission victory over Ahmed Mujtaba at ONE Fight Night 10 and was later scheduled for a scrap against Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki in January.

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Unfortunately, that fight never came to fruition after Northcutt pulled out of the bout hours before it was scheduled to go down after his coaches failed to obtain visas to corner him at the event in Tokyo.

“I sent ONE Championship the necessary paperwork they required to get my coaches visas 48 days ahead of the event,” Northcutt wrote on social media. I was told by them over the phone and by text my main jiu-jitsu coach Fabio Prado did not need a visa since I paid for his airfare flights and trip so he was not classified as a working employee that needed a visa and that my other coach could get in as a tourist so he didn’t need one either.

“My coaches were there for almost a week, and I was not informed that two of them could not coach until hours before my match. I received a text from an unknown number that texted me for the first time that day that was a ticket salesman asking me about getting my two coaches complimentary tickets to watch my fight in the audience. I personally believe that ONE Championship was not going to inform me that my coaches were not allowed to corner me until I arrived at the arena to fight if I did not hear from a ticket salesman hours earlier.”

Northcutt exited the promotion shortly after, wrapping up a run that saw him compete just twice over five years.

Christian Lee’s Return to ONE Championship Spoiled by Second-Round Eye Poke – ONE Fight Night 26 Highlights

Christian Lee’s long-awaited return to action at ONE Fight Night 26 came to an abrupt end due to an…

Christian Lee’s long-awaited return to action at ONE Fight Night 26 came to an abrupt end due to an unintentional foul in the second round.

Stepping into the main event spotlight inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, Lee put his ONE lightweight MMA world championship on the line against undefeated Dagestani standout Alibeg Rasulov in the evening’s highly anticipated headliner. It would be Lee’s first time competing since a November 2022 knockout of Kiamrian Abbasov to become a two-division champion — adding the promotion’s welterweight title to his collection of gold.

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Despite being away from the sport for more than two years, Lee didn’t appear to have any ring rust as he immediately caught Rasulov with a jab that knocked the Dagestani wrestler off balance. Much of the first five minutes saw Lee targeting Rasulov’s lead leg and looking to connect with his patented right hand.

Rasulov started to come alive in the second, repeatedly landing his own right hand, but his lead leg appeared to be compromised after Lee spent the majority of the first round targeting it. A closer look revealed that Rasulov had a rather nasty bruise just above his knee that was slightly obstructed by his fight gear.

As we approached the final 10 seconds of the second stanza, Lee inadvertently poked Rasulov in the eye during an exchange prompting referee Herb Dean to pause the bout. As Rasulov was checked in his corner, the ringside physician determined that he could no longer compete, forcing Dean to wave off the fight and rule it an anticlimactic no contest.

Official Result: Christian Lee vs. Alibeg Rasulov is ruled a no-contest after an inadvertent eye-poke in the second round.

Check out highlights from Christian Lee vs. Alibeg Rasulov at ONE Fight Night 26:

Alibeg Rasulov couldn’t see clearly and the ringside doctor stopped it.

Christian Lee still the ONE lightweight MMA champ but you guess they’d run it back – maybe in Qatar?#ONEFightNight26 pic.twitter.com/CVT867hL36

— Nick Atkin (@nicatkinONE) December 7, 2024

Mayssa Bastos Scores Late Catch Against Danielle Kelly to Retain Atomweight Title in Rematch – ONE Fight Night 26 Highlights

After shocking the BJJ world in August, ONE atomweight submission grappling world champion Mayssa Bastos retained her title against…

After shocking the BJJ world in August, ONE atomweight submission grappling world champion Mayssa Bastos retained her title against ex-titleholder Danielle Kelly in one of the most anticipated rematches of 2024.

Earlier this year, Bastos bested Kelly in a scrap that was — in the eyes of many — too close to call. Running it back at ONE Fight Night 26 on Friday night, Bastos and Kelly picked up right where they left off, going after one another in another entertaining 10-minute showdown.

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It appeared as though Kelly was on track to reclaim the 26 pounds of gold, but with 20 seconds to go, Bastos exploded and snatched Kelly’s leg. Cinching in a leg lock, Bastos was awarded the first and only catch of the contest. Unable to do anything other than defend, Kelly was forced to watch time run out on her chance to become ONE’s first-ever two-time grappling queen.

Mayssa Bastos Danielle Kelly ONE Fight Night 24 39

Official Result: Mayssa Bastos def. Danielle Kelly via unanimous decision to retain the ONE atomweight submission grappling world championship.

Check out highlights from Danielle Kelly vs. Mayssa Bastos at oNE Fight Night 26:

Muay Thai Makeover: Stamp Fairtex explains Beauty Pageant Entry

Stamp Fairtex has many accolades to her name including Muay Thai, Kickboxing, and MMA. A few years ago she…

Stamp Fairtex has many accolades to her name including Muay Thai, Kickboxing, and MMA. A few years ago she was able to add ‘Stamp Fairtex Beauty Pageant Queen’ to the list. We got the low down on Stamp’s makeover for the beauty contest.

Stamp Fairtex Beauty Pageant

One of the major stars of ONE Championship, Stamp is recognized for her talents in and out of the cage. Her dance routines at live events and social media have made her highly popular in addition to her world titles in multiple combat sports. Stamp Fairtex previously held ONE world titles in both Kickboxing and Muay Thai. She currently holds the MMA championship.

Beauty queen champion can be added to the list as well. A few years ago on Instagram, she shared: “For the first time in my life I entered the contest.”

In an interview, we got the lowdown on the situation. Stamp Fairtex elaborated: “It was like a fruit festival in my province. And my community would select girls to compete in a beauty pageant. It’s quite casual and I didn’t really have anything to do at that time. So I was like, why not?”

Stamp Fairtex is originally from Rayong, Thailand which has an annual fruit festival. This festival celebrates the fruit harvest season and features a beauty contest as one of its main attractions. The beauty pageant is held alongside other festivities such as fruit-themed float parades, fruit-eating contests, and local product exhibitions.

Currently, Stamp is recovering from a severe knee injury but is looking to get back into MMA competitions in mid-2025.

Mikey Musumeci Details Injury That Nearly Ended His Career: “My Lung Would Have Collapsed.”

Mikey Musumeci shared the alarming details surrounding the injury that took him out of ONE Championship’s return to ‘The…

Mikey Musumeci shared the alarming details surrounding the injury that took him out of ONE Championship’s return to ‘The Mile High City’ in September.

Reigning as the ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion, Musumeci was scheduled to square off with ADCC and CJI Invitational winner Kade Ruotolo at ONE 168. Unfortunately, Ruotolo was forced to bow out of the bout after sustaining injuries during his $1 million run at the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational weeks earlier.

As a result, Musumeci was instead booked to defend his flyweight title against Bebeto Oliveira at the event. The only problem was, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ was never scheduled to defend his title. Instead, he was scheduled to move up three weight classes and challenge Ruotolo for his ONE lightweight submission grappling crown.

Mikey Musumeci flips the switch on Gabriel Sousa at ONE 167 scaled 1

With a new opponent and only a week to cut a whopping 35 pounds, Musumeci immediately got to work. Unfortunately, he’d never make it to fight night. Musumeci missed weight and was subsequently stripped of his flyweight title. Weeks later, he exited ONE Championship.

Appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show, Musumeci shed some light on the situation and revealed that he was suffering from a very rare and life threatening illness while trying to cut the weight for ONE 168.

“So, basically, they offered me another opponent at 178 pounds,” Musumeci said. “I had to be a minimum of, I believe, like 165 or 160-something, but I walk around a lot lighter. I couldn’t legally make that weight because of the Athletic Commission rules. I told them, ‘I can’t make that weight,’ so I preferred to just stick to my division.

“At the time, I was very light. I could’ve made 135 pounds, no problem. But then the lung injury happened, which none of us knew about at the time. I only had two days to make weight, whereas I usually need at least a week. The night before the match, at weigh-ins, I was 140 pounds hydrated. The fight was set at 135 pounds. That night, I sustained the injury, which turned out to be called pneumomediastinum.

“It’s when your lung tears, and air leaks into your throat. I was trying to sweat and kept telling my friends, ‘What is wrong with my throat? It feels so sore.’ It felt like crispy bubbles in my throat. We all thought I was just dehydrated or dizzy. But I knew something felt off.

“I also tried a different style of cutting weight since I had only two days,” Musumeci continued. “I drank a lot of electrolytes, thinking it would help with the hydration test. In ONE Championship, they use a gravity test to check the sodium level in your urine. If it’s above 1.0250, you fail hydration. I thought drinking electrolytes would keep my levels balanced. But when the lung issue happened, my body shut down. I couldn’t sweat anymore and became super dizzy. My urine had so much sodium from the electrolytes that I couldn’t flush it out, even after drinking three gallons of water. Everything got stuck in my stomach.

“At that point, I felt something was really wrong and decided to go to the hospital. It turned out I was incredibly lucky not to have fought. The doctor said my lung would have collapsed in one minute, and I could have died.”

Mikey Musumeci explains why he left ONE Championship

According to Musumeci, the condition usually accounts for one in every 42,000 hospital cases.

“I was there for three or four days,” Musumeci added. “When I left, I couldn’t elevate my heart rate or breathe heavily for two weeks. Even walking made me feel weird. It was scary.”

Musumeci being forced to cut so much weight in such a short span sparked outrage from fight fans who lambasted ONE Championship for putting the New Jersey native in an almost impossible situation and then proceeded to strip him of his ONE flyweight submission grappling title when he couldn’t hit the mark.

Explaining why he decided to leave ONE, Musumeci appeared to hold no animosity toward the organization or it’s CEO, Chatri Sityodtong, who he describes as a parental figure.

Mikey Musumeci shares his reasoning for leaving One Championship and accepting the unprecedented UFC deal. pic.twitter.com/ymqS1CdFH4

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 19, 2024

Musumeci has since signed a landmark deal with the UFC and is scheduled to make his debut at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 9 on December 5. ‘Darth Rigatoni’ will take on Felipe Machado at the event.

Mikey Musumeci Explains Why he Left ONE for the UFC: “We don’t have to question if they’ll have money a year from now.”

Darth Rigatoni’ Mikey Musumeci was a fan favorite in ONE Championship and a reigning titleholder in their submission grappling…

Darth Rigatoni’ Mikey Musumeci was a fan favorite in ONE Championship and a reigning titleholder in their submission grappling division. The American-Italian grappler walked away from ONE and signed with the UFC.

Mikey Musumeci

It is an interesting signing as Mikey Musumeci does not currently compete in MMA, but the UFC also does not have a submission grappling division. Thus, it may be an indication for the future that the UFC is looking at expanding into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions.

Musumeci was scheduled to face fellow grappler Kade Ruotolo in a BJJ match but Ruotolo suffered an injury and had to withdraw. ‘Darth Rigatoni’ was then rebooked but at a much lower weight and was forced to cut nearly 30 pounds in just a few days which led to illness. He was unable to make weight and was hospitalized. To add insult to injury, Mikey Musumeci was also stripped of his title due to this incident.

Mikey Musumeci Leaving ONE Championship

Recent news has come out that Mikey Musumeci left ONE Championship and has signed with the UFC. He will be competing at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 9 grappling event on December 5 against Felipe Machado. The event will be hosted at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Speaking in an interview with Ariel Helwani, Mikey Musumeci explained why he left ONE. He said:

“My contract was coming to an end, basically. I just wanted to be back home in the U.S. Again, I love ONE Championship, but I was there because of my relationship with Chatri. He was like a parent to me. He was probably my closest friend for a few years, and that’s why I moved to Asia. Then I decided I wanted to be back in the U.S., close to my family. The UFC is 10 to 15 minutes from my house, so it’s a no-brainer for me, especially being American. I also feel the UFC can bring a lot to grappling. It’s finally another platform that can expand our sport to people who wouldn’t typically watch jiu-jitsu.

“It’s a platform that will eventually have drug testing, a platform that can make our sport professional. Right now, there’s too much with steroids and craziness. I just want a legitimate, professional platform for athletes. For kids growing up, they can dream of being professional jiu-jitsu athletes without thinking about switching careers. The most fulfillment I can have as a person is setting that path for the next generation.

“I have no hard feelings toward ONE. How could I? They helped me grow so much as a person. I’m full of gratitude for Chatri. We were like a dysfunctional family sometimes—disagreements, fights—but at the end of the day, I’m grateful for everything he’s done for me. I’d never speak badly about him.”

On Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu promoters as a whole, he added:

“Of course. I’ll just say broadly—there’s a lot of shadiness and shady promoters who do messed-up things behind the scenes.

“Being in it for so many years, you get burnt out. It doesn’t feel legitimate or professional. You make money here and there, but then a shady arms dealer promotes an event, and suddenly they have money. You make money once, and then it disappears. Is this what we want for the next generation? No. We need a legitimate organization, like MLB, NBA, or NFL, where we don’t have to question if they’ll have money a year from now.“

Mikey Musumeci Explains UFC Signing

A BJJ athlete has never signed a contract with the UFC just to do submission grappling, but Mikey Musumeci has done exactly that. Being friends and meeting Hunter Campbell at the UFC Performance Institute helped this expansion. On why this happened, he explained:

“During that time, I trained in Vegas and was at UFC PI a lot. I met Hunter there; we became good friends, and that’s how the relationship started … They’re trying to take over jiu-jitsu like they did MMA. Their goal is to grow the sport exponentially—grappling leagues, everything.“

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace ‘Darth Rigatoni’ Mikey Musumeci may be the start of the UFC’s expansion into the submission grappling world.