5 possible opponents for Sage Northcutt's comeback fight

‘Super’ Sage Northcutt has been out of action since his ONE Championship debut in 2019. The 25-year-old suffered a debilitating first-round knockout loss at the hands of combat sports veteran Cosmo Alexandre. Alexandre’s thunderous right hand caused several fractures in Northcutt’s face, placing the young fighter on a road to recovery.

Sage Northcutt has been working on building his strength and confidence back up to compete again. His camp says they’ve identified what went wrong in his ONE Championship debut, and discovered that it was largely due to the weight class he was fighting in.

Sage Northcutt competed mostly in the 155-pound lightweight division during his time in the UFC. In ONE Championship, ‘Super’ made his promotional debut at welterweight. Alexandre proved to be the considerably bigger man during the fight.

In his return, Sage Northcutt says he plans on competing at a lower weight class, possibly ONE Championship’s lightweight division, which is a full 15 pounds lighter. There, the American has a whole host of options in terms of opponents when he makes his return.

Here are five possible opponents for Sage Northcutt’s comeback fight.

#5. Rahul Raju vs. Sage Northcutt

If Sage Northcutt really wanted to test the waters at lightweight before going off on the deep end, Indian veteran Rahul Raju is the guy to call. Raju has faced some of the best fighters in the promotion, including Shannon Wiratchai, former ONE featherweight world champion Honorio ‘The Rock’ Banario, the undefeated Garry Tonon, and former world title challenger Amir Khan.

Raju is from Kerala, India, but relocated to Singapore to study abroad. He originally trained in kung fu, but soon picked up mixed martial arts. He currently trains at Juggernaut Fight Club.

‘The Kerala Krusher’ is a very well-rounded fighter, featuring a good mix of striking and grappling skills. But he isn’t as dangerous in any single discipline as the other names on this list. It’s a relatively low risk for Sage Northcutt, who will have to rediscover who he is as a fighter inside the Circle.

Sage Northcutt would have a good enough test in front of him in Raju, one that should stoke his competitive fire once more.

#4. Marat Gafurov vs. Sage Northcutt

Here's a great option for Sage Northcutt.

Russian stalwart Marat ‘Cobra’ Gafurov was at the top of his game as a featherweight, having previously held the ONE featherweight world title. He came into ONE Championship unbeaten in nine pro fights before going on to win his first six fights under the Singapore-based promotion’s banner.

Along the way, Gafurov lifted the featherweight belt from former champion Narantungalag Jadambaa’s shoulders, before giving it up to Vietnamese-Australian Martin Nguyen. Since then, Gafurov has had a major resurgence, beating highly-regarded fighters Tetsuya Yamada and Lowen Tynanes to reach No. 5 at lightweight. He gave up that spot in a loss to eventual champion Ok Rae Yoon last April.

‘Cobra’ is now 2-3 in his last five outings, and could be ripe for the taking for Sage Northcutt. Gafurov offers significant name recognition for Northcutt, who needs a big win to prove he belongs in ONE Championship’s deepest weight class.

#3. Shinya Aoki vs. Sage Northcutt

Among all the fighters on this list, the most dangerous opponent for Sage Northcutt would have to be Japanese legend Shinya ‘Tobikan Judan’ Aoki. The two were scheduled to face each other earlier this year, but Northcutt withdrew due to medical reasons.

Aoki is a multi-time ONE lightweight world champion and a veteran of over 50 professional fights across nearly two decades. Compared to Sage Northcutt’s 11-3 record, there is no doubt Aoki has the edge in experience.

In the cage, Aoki has seen it all. The Japanese submission specialist captured the ONE lightweight world title in 2013, just one fight into his ONE Championship tenure. He defended the belt three times before succumbing to Eduard Folayang in 2016. He reclaimed the title against Folayang in 2019 before surrendering the strap once more to Christian Lee that same year.

Sage Northcutt, historically, has had difficulty facing grapplers in the past, first losing to Bryan Barberena and then infamously to Mickey Gall.

If Sage Northcutt can beat Aoki, who is currently ranked second at lightweight in ONE, he could fast track to the division’s throne. However, that would come against arguably one of the greatest grapplers in MMA history.

#2. Eddie Alvarez vs. Sage Northcutt

Their paths were unlikely to cross in the UFC but Sage Northcutt taking on an all-time great in Eddie Alvarez is such an exciting proposition. In fact, it could even be a proverbial passing of the torch for Northcutt.

Alvarez has long strutted his wares in the lightweight division across several MMA promotions, winning world titles in Bellator and the UFC before making his way to ONE. The entire reason he came to ONE was to win a historic third world title in the only major MMA organization he had yet to accomplish this feat.

However, Alvarez has had a rough go so far in his time in the Circle, getting viciously stopped by Timofey Nastyukhin in his debut, and then going on to lose by decision to Ok Rae Yoon earlier this year.

Whether Alvarez is simply unfortunate or is in sharp decline depends on who you ask. The fact of the matter is Alvarez is currently 1-4 in his last five, including a second-round TKO to Dustin Poirier in his last fight with the UFC.

Meanwhile, Sage Northcutt is young and undoubtedly the fresher of the two fighters. For Northcutt, beating Alvarez isn’t as far-fetched of an idea as it was a few years ago.

#1. Eduard Folayang vs. Sage Northcutt

Perhaps the best option for Sage Northcutt, one who presents a terrific risk-to-reward ratio for him, is two-time ONE lightweight champion Eduard ‘Landslide’ Folayang.

Folayang is one of the most beloved names in Asian MMA, and has been competing at the highest level for over a decade. For a long time in ONE Championship, Folayang has been considered one of its premiere talents. However, the Filipino superstar’s best days are no doubt behind him.

‘Landslide’ has lost six of his last seven in the Circle. He’s currently on a four-fight skid, with his last win coming two years ago.

That’s not to say that Folayang isn’t still a dangerous fighter. He’s the kind of guy you just have to respect because of his capability and experience, and his unique wushu-based fighting style.

That being said, Sage Northcutt has a tremendous chance to beat an Asian MMA icon in Folayang and earn brownie points for his efforts.