Sage Northcutt Excited For ONE Championship Return, Wants To Be Active In 2023

Sage Northcutt is ready to step back inside the Circle when ONE Championship makes its presence known in the United States. The Texas native will take on Ahmed Mujtaba at ONE Fight Night 10 in Colorado on Friday, May 5.

After the company announced his return to action, the American star is chomping at the bit to get back to work.

“Oh man, I’ll tell you what, it feels so good to be back. It’s been a while. I’ve been itching to get back. Not only that, getting the fight in the United States, the first U.S. card for ONE Championship, I couldn’t be more excited for that,” Northcutt told ONE.

Northcutt made his debut in ONE in 2019 against Cosmo Alexandre. After a first-round knockout loss, he overcame injuries and a global pandemic to get back into the Circle. But while it may seem like Northcutt is an old dog of the sport, he is still a young buck.

Knowing that time is definitely on his side, the Team Alpha Male representative is setting out to prove his doubters wrong in his return to ONE.

“Being 26 years old right now, I’m still extremely young, so I’m looking forward to a long and successful career. I feel like I’m just getting started, and I’m still so young that I can have a lot of fights,” said Northcutt.

“A lot of people will be thinking, ‘Hey, Sage might have some ring rust.’ It’s been three-and-a-half years. It’s a little bit of time. But I’ve been training, I’ve been staying sharp. I feel like I’ve improved in a lot of different areas. I’m looking forward to showing it.”

“Super” Sage will be making his ONE lightweight debut, a more natural weight class for the American. But he will be tested by the surging Mujtaba, who is hoping to make it three-straight wins in ONE by upsetting Northcutt on American soil.

Mujtaba returned from his own layoff in 2021. He quickly picked up a first-round knockout win and returned in 2022 with a first-round submission victory. But Northcutt wants to use this matchup to show ONE that he is very much ready to jump into the thick of the hunt for the ONE Lightweight World Championship.

“Obviously [the goal is to] be successful out there and show ONE Championship that I’m able to go out there and perform, to meet the expectations of what they want, I want to go out there and put on a great performance,” said the 26-year-old.

“Whether it’s a submission, whether it’s ground-and-pound, or it’s a knockout, whatever it is, everybody wants a finish. That would be the ideal way to win, but you know I’m training for any aspect out there, so that way I’m prepared.”

No matter the result, Northcutt is excited to be back in active competition. As such, the 26-year-old star wants to remain active in 2023 and make it a standout year for his career.

“If I get the opportunity I would love to have a couple more fights this year. I would love to be super active. I wanna knock out a couple of fights this year with ONE Championship and have great performances. That’s what I’m shooting for,” said Northcutt.

ONE Fight Night 10 takes place at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado, on Friday, May 5. Tickets are on sale now for ONE’s U.S. debut and can be purchased here.