“This is a big obstacle to overcome” - Sage Northcutt believes match against Shinya Aoki could prove pivotal in his career

Sage Northcutt is slowly forging his path to the world title in ONE Championship, and he believes his next fight could drastically change his trajectory.

The American star will face former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Shinya Aoki at ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru on January 28, Sunday, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.

Northcutt believes a win over the MMA legend could put him within reach of the lightweight MMA throne, a seat that Christian Lee currently occupies.

In an interview with The MMA Superfan, ‘Super’ Sage said taking on Aoki will be a crucial turning point in his career.

Sage Northcutt said:

“This is a big obstacle to overcome and the biggest fight I've had, yet. So, it's something that I've been looking forward to.”

The 27-year-old is coming off one of the most stunning comeback wins in ONE Championship history when he used his sneaky Brazilian jiu-jitsu game to submit Ahmed Mujtaba at ONE Fight Night 10 in Denver.

Northcutt was coming off a nearly four-year layoff due to injury and COVID-19 when he took on the Pakistani star at ONE Championship’s first on-site event in the United States.

Although a natural striker, Northcutt found a way to secure a heel hook and forced Mujtaba to tap in just 39 seconds. Northcutt, however, has to bring a more refined grappling game to Japan when he takes on Aoki.

The former lightweight MMA king owns one of the most terrifying nicknames in MMA history, and his ‘Tobikan Judan’ alter ego was earned through years of limb-breaking.

‘Tobikan Judan’ means ‘the grandmaster of flying submissions’ and is due to Aoki taking 30 of his 47 career wins via submission.

Watch Northcutt's interview with The MMA Superfan below:

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Sage Northcutt says he’s done enough homework to prepare for Shinya Aoki

Sage Northcutt knows he’ll be in the toughest fight of his career when he squares off against Aoki in Tokyo, that’s why he did his fair share of homework preparing for the Japanese icon.

The former UFC star recounted how he studied hours of Aoki’s fight footage to prepare him for ONE 165.

In an interview with ESPN, Northcutt said:

“Before I signed with ONE Championship, I don't think I really got to watch much of his fights at all actually. I came into the sport at a very young age, having fights professionally at a very young age. I'm still very young but now that I have this fight set up, I've watched a lot of footage, a lot of tape of him, and got to check out a lot of his fights.”

Watch Sage Northcutt's entire interview below: