“I am never backtracking on that” - Shinya Aoki wants Sage Northcutt at ONE 161

Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki isn’t backtracking on his word and says he wants to fight ‘Super’ Sage Northcutt.

After multiple attempts at a possible showdown between Aoki and Northcutt have failed over the last three years, the seesawing might’ve finally come to an end.

‘Super' Sage Northcutt called out Aoki on Twitter this past June again to provoke a response from the Japanese grappler. ‘Tobikan Judan’ happily responded back in an exclusive interview with ONE Championship with this message:

“I’ve said in the past that I was looking for Sage Northcutt, and I am never backtracking on that. Yeah, let's do it. I am available end of August.”

At the end of August, the highly-anticipated ONE 160/161 doubleheader will go down. ONE 161 will air live at US primetime via Amazon Prime Video on Friday, August 26. It would be the perfect time for Northcutt to make his much-awaited return to action with Prime Video subscribers watching.

Shinya Aoki vs. Sage Northcutt no doubt makes for an interesting matchup.

‘Tobikan Judan’ recently suffered a defeat at the hands of Japanese legend Yoshihiro ‘Sexyama’ Akiyama at ONE X. After a strong first round by Aoki, ‘Sexyama’ pulled off a shocking upset win in the second round via TKO.

Three years earlier, Northcutt made his ONE debut against Cosmo ‘Good Boy’ Alexandre in 2019, only to lose to the Brazilian powerhouse 29 seconds into the first round. He suffered multiple facial fractures that kept him largely out of competition and the 26 year-old Texan hasn’t returned to the circle since.

However, the Team Alpha Male fighter looks to have bounced back and is hunting Shinya Aoki as his prey. Although it hasn’t been made official, all signs are pointing to a grudge match between the pair sometime later this year.

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Shinya Aoki wants to fight on ONE 161 no matter who the opponent will be

Should the bout be made and fall apart due to an injury on the side of the American, It wouldn’t be the first time Sage Northcutt has had to pull out of a match due to health issues. With that in mind, Shinya Aoki has made it clear he’s willing to fight anybody at ONE 161.

Aoki told ONE:

“Don't worry. It doesn’t matter who I am in the circle with. I can make any fight interesting no matter the opponent.”

Although the legendary superstar is coming off a couple of stints in both grappling and MMA, he has never put on a disappointing performance. His latest grappling matchup against jiu-jitsu prodigy Kade Ruotolo, for example, was one of the best non-striking contests we’ve seen from Aoki.

The 39-year-old continues to be a force to be reckoned with and it will be epic to see him make his return on one of the biggest cards of the year. But the question remains, if not Northcutt, then who?