“It’s not just a grappling match” – Sage Northcutt confident he can withstand Shinya Aoki’s vaunted ground skills at ONE 165

‘Super’ Sage Northcutt believes he has the skills to hang with Japanese MMA icon Shinya Aoki on the ground.

Gunning for his second career win under the ONE Championship banner, the Katy, Texas native will head to Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan for a long-awaited showdown with one of the country’s most respected and revered combat sports stars.

Known for his impeccable ground game that has led to nine submission victories in ONE, Shinya Aoki will have a decided advantage should things go to the ground against Northcutt in their ONE 165 clash.

Of course, that all hinges on Aoki being able to work Northcutt to the canvas some fight night. A task that ‘Super’ believes will be easier said than done for his opponent.

“The thing is, though, it's not just a grappling match out there,” Northcutt said in an interview with ESPN. “It's mixed martial arts. So you do have ground and pound, and you also start off the match standing up. So gotta take all that into account. But definitely feeling confident going in the fight.”

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Will Sage Northcutt hand Shinya Aoki a third-straight loss in MMA?

Sage Northcutt goes into the contest riding a wave of momentum following his sensational 39-second heel hook submission against Pakistani MMA champion Ahmed Mujtaba at ONE Fight Night 10 in May.

Aoki, on the other hand, is looking to avoid a third-straight loss in MMA after suffering back-to-back knockouts against Yoshihiro Akiyama and Saygid Izagakhmaev.

Aoki also met reigning ONE submission grappling world champions Kade Ruotolo and Mikey Musumeci, but came up short on both occasions.

Will Shinya Aoki climb back into the win column, or will Northcutt further establish himself as one of the most exciting prospects in all of mixed martial arts?

ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru will be available via global pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.