“All business” – Shinya Aoki refuses handshake from ONE 165 opponent Sage Northcutt during intense staredown

Alongside the huge superfight between Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Takeru Segawa, ONE’s return to Japan also came with the announcement of a key lightweight MMA clash between Sage Northcutt and Shinya Aoki.

On January 28 at the Ariake Arena, the two men will meet in a high-stakes lightweight contest that has been in the works for a long time. The two men have got some history with each other and that showed when they came face-to-face at the press conference.

Neither competitor is particularly known for having conflict with their opponents before they step inside the circle, but this matchup is already proving to be a bit different.

At their initial face-to-face meeting, Asian martial arts legend Aoki refused to take Northcutt’s offer to shake hands before they eventually meet inside the circle in less than two months' time:

“All business 🚫🤝 Shinya Aoki and Sage Northcutt clash in an intense lightweight MMA contest at ONE 165 on January 28 in Tokyo 🇯🇵 How does this fight end? @shinya050983 @supersagenorthcutt”

ONE 165 will air live and free via ONE Championship’s YouTube channel and the ONE Super App.

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Shinya Aoki may feel disrespected by Sage Northcutt following their history

Shinya Aoki was originally planned to be the return opponent for Sage Northcutt back in 2021 until the American was forced to withdraw from the contest.

Following a rare social media callout from ‘Super’ Sage, he has been very vocal about wanting to get the Aoki fight rebooked for a later date.

Northcutt maintained that he wanted Aoki to be his next opponent after he submitted Ahmed Mujtaba at ONE Fight Night 10 on his return after four years away from competition.

Now the fight is finally confirmed, it appears that there is no love lost, at least on Aoki’s side after the constant calls for the matchup from his opponent.

The fans in Japan are in for a treat when they get to watch the long-anticipated matchup finally take place, and some added tension going into the fight only makes that prospect more exciting.