Sage Northcutt confident he and Shinya Aoki’s ONE 165 match will “get the crowd going” in Tokyo

Sage Northcutt is set to strut his stuff once more on Sunday, January 28 as part of ONE 165 and his opponent will be the fearsome and legendary Japanese combat sports star Shiyna Aoki.

The Sacramento, California native will be in for the fight of his life as ‘Tobikan Judan’ has fought the very best in the sport throughout his career that dates back to 2003.

Despite turning 40 last May, Aoki has maintained elite-level status in the eyes of the fans for his head-turning submissions.

With such a grand opportunity ahead of him, Northcutt has no plans of letting it slip through his fingers and is very much ready to steal the show with Aoki as he told The MMA Superfan:

“I know we, we were set to fight before and like you said I had COVID-19 right before the fight. Those situations happen, but now it's time and it couldn't be better that I’m actually getting to fight in Japan, a place I've always wanted to fight in Shinya’s hometown. I think it’s really going to get the crowd going.”

Watch the full interview with Sage Northcutt below:

Fans split on generational matchup at ONE 165

Both Aoki and Northcutt have built a dedicated fanbase that are willing to be as vocal as they can to showcase their support for the athletes.

ONE Championship decided to put that to the test with a fan poll ahead of ONE 165, asking fans whom they believe will leave the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan with the victory.

The result saw the two-time ONE lightweight MMA world champion being favored by 55 percent of the fans, with Northcutt extremely close behind at 45.

Check your local listings or visit ONE Championship's official website on how to watch ONE 165 and ONE 166 from your location.