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Sage Northcutt believes the age difference between him and Shinya Aoki could play a factor in their upcoming fight.
In May 2019, Northcutt made his ONE Championship debut in a welterweight MMA bout against Cosmo Alexandre. The American superstar’s promotional tenure started tragically, as Alexandre secured a first-round knockout, beginning a four-year layoff for ‘Super’ Sage due to injuries and a severe case of COVID-19.
Nearly four years after his debut, Northcutt made his highly-anticipated return at ONE Fight Night 10. The 27-year-old quickly put the lightweight MMA division on notice by submitting Ahmed Mujtaba with a heel hook in under 40 seconds.
This Sunday, Northcutt looks to continue building momentum when he meets Japanese legend Shinya Aoki at ONE 165. During an interview with The MMA Superfan, the American superstar had this to say about his upcoming fight at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan:
“I believe some of the greatest strengths that I could take away that separates me from Shinya is I'm obviously, as people were saying, I'm quite a bit younger. I know Shinya has got a lot of experience, he's had almost 60 pro fights, but also I'm up-and-coming.”
Watch Northcutt's interview with The MMA Superfan below:
Sage Northcutt revealed the first thing he did after arriving in Japan
Sage Northcutt could be at a disadvantage on Sunday, as he’s forced to make the long trip from the United States to Japan. With that said, the 27-year-old lightweight MMA contender seems to be enjoying his time, as he had this to say during an interview with ONE:
“I think I landed on a Wednesday and when I got in, it was kind of nighttime. I was hungry. So I went and walked around Shibuya, where I was staying, and I found this really, really good ramen restaurant. So I went and had, like, a cheat meal. I ate some ramen. I got super full. I tried a little bit of sushi while I was out there."
Shinya Aoki is an aging fighter at 40 years old, but Sage Northcutt can’t overlook the Japanese legend. ‘Tobikan Judan’ is one of the greatest fighters from Japan and is a former ONE lightweight MMA world champion.
