Tag: Sage Northcutt

Sage Northcutt slams ONE Championship after promotion places blame on him for ONE 165 withdrawal

Sage Northcutt slams ONE ChampionshipSage Northcutt is looking to set the record straight regarding his short-notice withdrawal from a ONE Championship event last…

Sage Northcutt slams ONE Championship

Sage Northcutt is looking to set the record straight regarding his short-notice withdrawal from a ONE Championship event last month.

Northcutt was scheduled to fight Japanese MMA icon Shinya Aoki at ONE 165 in Tokyo on January 28. An hour before their bout was scheduled to begin, the promotion revealed that Northcutt had bowed out, noting an “unforeseen circumstance with his cornermen.” As a result, former ONE bantamweight world champion John Lineker was literally pulled from the stands and thrown into the ring to ensure Aoki still had the opportunity to compete in front of his home country.

Speaking on the situation during a post-fight press event, ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong appeared to place much of the blame on Northcutt, noting that current ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo offered to step in and corner Northcutt in the absence of his coaches — one being former UFC title challenger Urijah Faber. Northcutt reportedly refused the last-second change and opted out of the bout.

Taking exception to his employer putting the blame squarely on his shoulders, Sage Northcutt snapped back at ONE Championship in a lengthy post on social media to set the record straight.

“One Championship is implying that I pulled out of the Shinya fight for unforeseen circumstances,” Northcutt wrote on Instagram. “That is completely inaccurate.. I sent One Championship the necessary paperwork they required to get my coaches visas 48 days ahead of the event. I was told by them over the phone and by text my main jujitsu 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,” Sage Northcutt wrote.

“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. We were also told hours before my match that if my coaches violated the visa requirements and were caught on camera, they could be arrested and there was a 99.8% conviction rate on all arrests,” Sage Northcutt continued.

“I made it clear to One Championship that I was not flying from America to Japan if I didn’t have my three coaches. I was told before I left to Japan by an executive that I would not have to fight without my coaches. They knew before I left that I would not be able to have two of my coaches. They never told me my coaches could be thrown in prison for any visa violation.

“There has been a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes with One Championship with what caused me to withdraw from my last fight as well as other things that I will talk about at a later time on Facebook, Instagram, and with media outlets.
• drug testing
• weight cutting/ policies
• active athletes/ roster
• One’s stability… etc.”

Sage Northcutt isn’t the only fighter frustrated with ONE Championship

Sage Northcutt has only fought twice since signing with ONE, but it sounds like the honeymoon is already over between the two.

Northcutt isn’t the only contracted fighter who appears to be at odds with the Singapore-based promotion. Reigning ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Chingiz Allazov recently expressed a desire to terminate his contract. “ONE is one of the best kickboxing promotions, it’s true… but we don’t like the contract about this promotion,” Allazov said in a statement. Unfortunately for Allazov, ONE has no intention of granting the Azerbaijani-Belarusian fighter his release according to Nick Atkin of the South China Morning Post. His deal is reportedly up in December 2026.

It will be interesting to see what else Sage Northcutt has to say about the inner workings of ONE Championship.

Sage Northcutt slams ONE Championship after promotion places blame on him for ONE 165 withdrawal

Sage Northcutt slams ONE ChampionshipSage Northcutt is looking to set the record straight regarding his short-notice withdrawal from a ONE Championship event last…

Sage Northcutt slams ONE Championship

Sage Northcutt is looking to set the record straight regarding his short-notice withdrawal from a ONE Championship event last month.

Northcutt was scheduled to fight Japanese MMA icon Shinya Aoki at ONE 165 in Tokyo on January 28. An hour before their bout was scheduled to begin, the promotion revealed that Northcutt had bowed out, noting an “unforeseen circumstance with his cornermen.” As a result, former ONE bantamweight world champion John Lineker was literally pulled from the stands and thrown into the ring to ensure Aoki still had the opportunity to compete in front of his home country.

Speaking on the situation during a post-fight press event, ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong appeared to place much of the blame on Northcutt, noting that current ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo offered to step in and corner Northcutt in the absence of his coaches — one being former UFC title challenger Urijah Faber. Northcutt reportedly refused the last-second change and opted out of the bout.

Taking exception to his employer putting the blame squarely on his shoulders, Sage Northcutt snapped back at ONE Championship in a lengthy post on social media to set the record straight.

“One Championship is implying that I pulled out of the Shinya fight for unforeseen circumstances,” Northcutt wrote on Instagram. “That is completely inaccurate.. I sent One Championship the necessary paperwork they required to get my coaches visas 48 days ahead of the event. I was told by them over the phone and by text my main jujitsu 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,” Sage Northcutt wrote.

“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. We were also told hours before my match that if my coaches violated the visa requirements and were caught on camera, they could be arrested and there was a 99.8% conviction rate on all arrests,” Sage Northcutt continued.

“I made it clear to One Championship that I was not flying from America to Japan if I didn’t have my three coaches. I was told before I left to Japan by an executive that I would not have to fight without my coaches. They knew before I left that I would not be able to have two of my coaches. They never told me my coaches could be thrown in prison for any visa violation.

“There has been a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes with One Championship with what caused me to withdraw from my last fight as well as other things that I will talk about at a later time on Facebook, Instagram, and with media outlets.
• drug testing
• weight cutting/ policies
• active athletes/ roster
• One’s stability… etc.”

Sage Northcutt isn’t the only fighter frustrated with ONE Championship

Sage Northcutt has only fought twice since signing with ONE, but it sounds like the honeymoon is already over between the two.

Northcutt isn’t the only contracted fighter who appears to be at odds with the Singapore-based promotion. Reigning ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Chingiz Allazov recently expressed a desire to terminate his contract. “ONE is one of the best kickboxing promotions, it’s true… but we don’t like the contract about this promotion,” Allazov said in a statement. Unfortunately for Allazov, ONE has no intention of granting the Azerbaijani-Belarusian fighter his release according to Nick Atkin of the South China Morning Post. His deal is reportedly up in December 2026.

It will be interesting to see what else Sage Northcutt has to say about the inner workings of ONE Championship.

Ex-UFC star Sage Northcutt books return at ONE Championship 165, takes on Shinya Aoki in retirement fight

Sage Northcutt makes return at ONE Championship 165 takes on Shinya Aoki retirement fightFormer UFC welterweight, Sage Northcutt will begin next year back inside the cage, taking on veteran Japanese grappler, Shina…

Sage Northcutt makes return at ONE Championship 165 takes on Shinya Aoki retirement fight

Former UFC welterweight, Sage Northcutt will begin next year back inside the cage, taking on veteran Japanese grappler, Shina Aoki at a ONE Championship 165 event on January 28. in Tokyo, as the latter prepares for his slated retirement fight. 

Northcutt, 27, most recently turned in a blistering first round heel hook submission win over Ahmed Mujtaba in ONE Championship’s debut on North American soil back in May in Colorado, earning a Performance of the Night bonus.

The victory came as Northcutt’s sophomore outing under the banner of the Chatri Sityodtong-led banner, having suffered a devastating 29-second KO loss to Brazilian kickboxing ace, Cosmo Alexandre back in 2019, suffering multiple facial fractures in the first round loss, sidelining him for over three years.

As for Aoki, the veteran Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu icon has been sidelined himself from mixed martial arts since November of last year, dropping his second consecutive loss in the form of a first round knockout loss to Saygid Izagakhmaev, which came off the back of a TKO loss to compatriot, Yoshihiro ‘Sexyama’. January’s outing with Northcutt is expected to come as Aoki’s final in mixed martial arts competition.

Sage Northcutt takes on Shinya Aoki at ONE Championship 165

ONE Championship confirmed the pairing of Sage Northcutt and Shinya Aoki overnight on their official social media, which followed the confirmation of a stunning bout between Rodtang Jitmuangnon, and Takeru Segawa.

“IT’S ON,” ONE Championship posted on their official X account. “Japanese legend Shinya Aoki faces off with American superstar Sage Northcutt on January 28. In Tokyo.

12-3 as a professional, over the course of his naive mixed martial arts career, former top-prospect, Northcutt has dropped losses to just the above-mentioned, Alexandre, and during his Octagon tenure, Mickey Gall, and Bryan Barberena.

Making his Octagon debut back in 2015, Northcutt turned in UFC victories over the likes of Cody Pfister, and Thibault Gouti, before scoring a second round KO win over Zak Ottow in his final appearance back in 2018, before making a move to ONE Championship.

47-11(1) as a professional, veteran grappling phenom, Aoki has competed for the likes of DEEP, Shooto, Pride, DREAM, Strikeforce, Bellator, Rizin, and ONE Championship during his storied career. And has recorded wins over the likes of George Sotiropoulos, Caol Uno, Eddie Alvarez, Mizuto Hirota, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Kazushi Sakaraba, and Eduard Folayang to name a few. 

Who wins at ONE Championship 165: Sage Northcutt or Shinya Aoki?

Sage Northcutt scores 39 second heel hook submission victory in MMA return – ONE Fight Night 10 Highlights

Sage Northcutt‘Super’ Sage Northcutt made his long-awaited return to combat sports on Friday night as ONE Championship invaded the 1stBank Center in Denver Colorado for ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video. Nearly four years removed from his promotional debut in 2019, Northcutt returned to the ONE Circle for a clash with Pakistani mixed martial arts […]

Sage Northcutt

‘Super’ Sage Northcutt made his long-awaited return to combat sports on Friday night as ONE Championship invaded the 1stBank Center in Denver Colorado for ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video. Nearly four years removed from his promotional debut in 2019, Northcutt returned to the ONE Circle for a clash with Pakistani mixed martial arts champion Ahmed ‘Wolverine’ Mujtaba.

Sage Northcutt immediately came out firing a series of kicks, but Mujtaba struck back with a solid jab that rocked Northcutt. Super’ hit the mat and Mujtaba attempted to capitalize on the opportunity, but failed to protect himself, allowing Northcutt to snatch his leg and lock in a heel hook. Less than a minute into the matchup, Mujtaba found himself in an inescapable position and was forced to tap out.

Official Result: Sage Northcutt def. Ahmed Mujtaba via submission (heel hook) at 0:39 of Round 1.

Check Out Highlights From Sage Northcutt vs. Ahmed Mujtaba at ONE Fight Night 10 Below:

Sage Northcutt Explains Four-Year Absence From MMA

ONE Championship fighter and former UFC lightweight and welterweight Sage Northcutt recently shed some light on his lengthy inactivity. Northcutt was last seen all the way back in May 2019 at ONE Championship’s Enter the Dragon event. There, Nort…

ONE Championship fighter and former UFC lightweight and welterweight Sage Northcutt recently shed some light on his lengthy inactivity. Northcutt was last seen all the way back in May 2019 at ONE Championship’s Enter the Dragon event. There, Northcutt was brutally knocked out just 29 seconds into round one by Cosmo Alexandre. Prior to his…

Continue Reading Sage Northcutt Explains Four-Year Absence From MMA at MMA News.

Report – UFC veteran Sage Northcutt books ONE Championship return following 4 year hiatus

Sage Northcutt ONE ChampionshipFormer UFC welterweight prospect, Sage Northcutt is set to enter mixed martial arts competition for the first time since a ONE Championship debut loss to Cosmo Alexandre back in 2019 – booking an outing against Ahmed Mujtaba on May 5. next under the banner of the Chatri Sityodtong-led organization. Northcutt, 26, has yet to feature […]

Sage Northcutt ONE Championship

Former UFC welterweight prospect, Sage Northcutt is set to enter mixed martial arts competition for the first time since a ONE Championship debut loss to Cosmo Alexandre back in 2019 – booking an outing against Ahmed Mujtaba on May 5. next under the banner of the Chatri Sityodtong-led organization.

Northcutt, 26, has yet to feature since ONE Championship: Enter the Dragon back in May 2019 against kickboxing talent, Alexandre – where he suffered a devastating knockout loss inside just 29-seconds.

Sidelined for almost four years since, Sage Northcutt underwent a high-profile surgical procedure to address multiple fractures suffered in his face following the loss to the Brazilian kickboxer, limiting his activity under the ONE Championship banner.

Sage Northcutt books first MMA outing in almost 4 year period

However, according to an initial report from Sports Illustrated, Sage Northcutt, a native of Sacramento, has booked his first outing in almost four years in the form of a clash against the 10-2, Mujtaba on an upcoming May 5. card. 

11-3 as a professional, Northcutt made significant waves during his three-year tenure under the scrutiny of the UFC, debuting with a first round knockout win over Francisco Trevino at UFC 192 in May 2015.

Establishing a 6-2 promotional records during his eight-fight stint under the Dana White-led banner, Northcutt exited the UFC in the midst of an impressive three-fight winning run – including victories over the trio of Michel Quinones, Thibault Gouti, and Zak Ottow. 

Prior to his third professional loss against Alexandre, Northcutt suffered just two losses professionally against both Byran Barberena, and UFC alum, Mickey Gall – both coming via submission. 

The May 5. event featuring Northcutt will mark ONE Championship’s first venture into the United States – with undisputed flyweight champion, Demetrious Johnson set to meet with Adriano Moraes in the pair’s title trilogy bout in Colorado.