Shinya Aoki responds to Sage Northcutt's callout for a summer bout in the ONE circle

'Super' Sage Northcutt is ready for a return to the ONE circle and has his eyes set on Asian mixed martial arts legend Shinya Aoki. Northcutt called for a summertime bout with Aoki.

Calling out the former two-time ONE lightweight champion, Northcutt said:

"Why won't you fight me on the August Amazon card? What's the problem?"

Aoki has now responded to Northcutt's callout, letting the former UFC fighter know that he's ready to sign on the dotted line. In a tweet that has been translated, Aoki wrote:

"Give me the bout agreement and I’ll sign straightaway. Don't worry, I will give up."

Aoki is known for downplaying his own skills inside the cage, often times feigning intimidation to lull his opponents into a false sense of confidence. That boost in confidence could come in handy for Northcutt, who will be returning to the ONE circle after more than three years on the shelf.

In his ONE Championship debut, Northcutt suffered one of the most devastating knockouts in promotional history. Northcutt sustained eight fractures to his face, which required nine hours of surgery to repair.

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Shinya Aoki and Sage Northcutt may finally settle things after their 2021 bout was cancelled

Shinya Aoki and Sage Northcutt were scheduled to scrap at ONE on TNT 4 in April 2021. Unfortunately, Northcutt was forced to withdraw from the bout due to COVID-19 protocols. Aoki remained on the card and faced Eduard Folayang, a bout that he won via first-round armbar.

Leading up to the bout, Aoki and Northcutt had a war of words on social media, with Aoki telling Northcutt to "eat s**t" on Twitter. Northcutt responded in short order, saying:

"@a_ok_i I’m going to make you eat those words. Literally."

ONE Championship certainly seems open to the idea of booking Northcutt vs. Aoki and doing so on their Amazon Prime debut would make a lot of sense.

The American audience is familiar with the photogenic Northcutt following his stint in the UFC, while Aoki has arguably been the face of Asian MMA for decades, competing in PRIDE and Dream before making ONE Championship his home.