There has been a lot of talk about the possibility of Sage Northcutt fighting Shinya Aoki. It is a fight that has been in the works for over a year and it looks like the match might finally be getting made.
Having recently taken to Twitter to accuse Aoki of ducking him Northcutt posted a slightly more positive update on Instagram just now:
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Training hard
The UFC veteran teased his followers with an update that says simply:
‘Training hard. Fight news coming soon.”
Northcutt appears to be in Sacramento which is where Team Alpha Male is based. He hasn’t fought in three years after suffering some facial fractures in his 2019 loss to Cosmo Alexandre.
Team Alpha Male head coach Urjah Faber appeared to suggest that Singapore’s Covid-19 restrictions made it difficult for Northcutt’s friends and family to travel. Having suffered serious injuries last time out the 26 year old was understandably reluctant to travel without his full entourage.
Aoki responded to Northcutt on Twitter and made it clear he would accept the fight. The Japanese submission specialist never turns down a fight and all signs suggest this might be heading for the ONE 161 card.
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American primetime
That will be ONE Championship’s debut on Amazon Prime. Adriano Moraes and Demetrious Johnson are set to rematch and with Northcutt already a familiar face to MMA fans in North America it would make sense to have his comeback on this card.
The loss to Alexandre was at welterweight but Northcutt has dropped down a division. Other possible opponents for him include Eduard Folayang but it seems that Aoki is the one being lined up for later this year.
He was a big star with the UFC but could not come to terms on a new contract and ended up entering free agency. ONE Championship snapped Northcutt up in what was seen as a major coup but his debut lasted just 29 seconds.
That was how long Alexandre needed to knock the American out. It has been a long road back for Northcutt whose sister is also on the ONE Championship roster.
But he has fully recovered from the injuries he suffered on that night and is ready to return to the cage. We don’t know exactly what the ‘fight news’ will be but all the signs suggest that he will be fighting Aoki at ONE 161 in August.
