Colbey Northcutt went the distance on her ONE Championship debut. The karate exponent could not find the finish and it is something she is conscious of heading into her sophomore bout.
Sage Northcutt‘s older sister faces Courtney Martin in a flyweight fight at ONE on TNT Part IV this week. She knows exactly how she would like the fight to finish,
“Everybody would love a fantastic knockout from standing. I mean, that’s my background, and that’s what I wanted in my last fight,” she said.
New experience
She admits to being slightly overawed when the time came to face Putri Padmi at ONE: ‘Edge of Greatness’ in 2019,
“There was kind of a lot going into that last fight. There was the possibility of some ring rust, but also, I was fighting for literally the biggest promotion in the entire world and the biggest audience I’ve ever fought in front of. It was just an entirely new experience,” she said.
Her opponent won the GAMMA bantamweight tournament in 2019 and is 8-1 as an amateur. Martin is making her pro debut but Northcutt has nothing but respect for the Australian,
“Courtney is a very, very tough opponent. I feel like she’s a very well-rounded fighter in every area of MMA. She’s got good striking, she’s super aggressive, she likes to go forward, and she’s very tough,” she said.
Northcutt also notes that the Australian was willing to accept the fight as short notice when her original opponent Sovannahry Em withdrew with a shoulder injury,
“She’s game. She accepted a fight on a huge card on basically two weeks’ notice. That shows me right there that she’s not afraid, and she’s going to come and she’s going to bring it.”
Tremendous opportunity
The event will be broadcast live by TNT in the US. For Northcutt that means more exposure in her homeland and the 28 year old is aware of just how important this fight could be for her career,
“It’s a huge honor because it is such a tremendous card and a tremendous opportunity. I don’t take that lightly whatsoever. I do understand the magnitude of what being on this card is, so that means I’m going to come out and (put on) the best performance of my life.”
The only disappointment for her is that Sage won’t be competing on the same card. He had originally been scheduled to take on Shinya Aoki but had to pull out due to lingering complications caused by Covid-19.
“I’m very heartbroken that he not only isn’t fighting on this card with me but isn’t able to go to Singapore because of his health. But I know there will be other opportunities in the future, for sure.”
While she comes from a karate background Northcutt says there is more to her game than striking. She believes she is a threat everywhere and plans to put on a show in Singapore this week,
“I’ve got quite a few submissions from my amateur career and I’m going to show everybody that I’m not just a striker. I’m a complete well-rounded mixed martial artist, and they should expect the best fight of my career.”
