Sage Northcutt posts rare post-training photo for the first time in months

It's been quite some time since we’ve seen Sage Northcutt in action.

The photogenic California native made is ONE Championship debut in May 2019 at ONE: Enter the Dragon. On that fateful night against Cosmo Alexandre, Northcutt’s face was shattered with a single punch, which later required reconstructive surgery.

Due to the nature of his injury, and with COVID-19 ravaging the world shortly after, working his way to a full recovery has been a slow and painstaking process. However, it seems like Northcutt is getting closer and closer for a big return to the circle.

In a recent post on Instagram, Northcutt shared a post-training photo and commented on it saying:

“Putting in work!”

Check out the Instagram post below:

His sister, Colby, commented on the post with some emojis, as did one of his coaches, Urijah Faber. Faber said:

“Stay ready you don’t have to get ready!”

While Northcutt is fairly active on social media and continuously stays in fantastic shape, this is the first “fight training” image that ‘Super’ has shared since October of 2021. This could be the latest signal that the 26-year-old is readying himself for a grand return.

Also earlier this month, Northcutt demanded the attention of the MMA world again when he called out Asian MMA legend Shinya Aoki on Twitter. The California native challenged the former ONE lightweight world champion, suggesting the two square off in August when the promotion makes its debut on US prime time via Amazon Prime Video on August 26th.

The two were originally scheduled to fight at ONE on TNT IV in April 2021. Northcutt was forced to withdraw due to lingering complications from COVID-19, which he contracted months prior. Aoki went on to face Eduard Folayang at the event, winning via first-round submission.

ONE Championship acknowledged Northcutt’s callout of ‘Tobikan Judan’, asking fans, “Is this the fight to make?” Based on the response, fans seem to be genuinely excited for Northcutt’s return and the possibility of him facing one of the most decorated mixed martial artists in history.

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Sage Northcutt might move down to lightweight on ONE Championship return

When Sage Northcutt made his ONE Championship debut, it was in the promotion’s welterweight division at 185 pounds.

Traditionally ‘Super’ had competed in lighter weight classes, specifically finding success at 155 pounds, which is designated as featherweight under ONE Championship weight classes.

It’s now rumored that upon his return, Northcutt will once again compete at 155 pounds, a weight he is most comfortably at.

Judging by the photos Sage Northcutt has been posting on Instagram, he appears much leaner.

In an interview with MMA Fighting, Sage Northcutt talked about eating clean and training regularly to maintain a lean build, which would help to avoid the extreme weight cutting that is seen in many North American promotions.

“For ONE Championship, with the rule of hydration tests and stuff, and people not trying to cut the weight like that, I’m just gonna be walking around at my natural weight, dieting as I always do and eating clean and training harder than ever, so when it’s time for me to be able to fight, it should be pretty great because I walk around lean all the time.”

ONE Championship has done a fantastic job of promoting healthy weight cuts by instituting hydration tests to protect fighters from the dangers of weight cutting via dehydration, while at the same time encouraging them to compete at a more natural weight class rather than potentially damaging their body with last-minute extreme weight-cutting measures.