Sage Northcutt’s MMA Return Confirmed For ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson Vs. Moraes III
“Super” Sage Northcutt will make his long-awaited comeback on a historic night for ONE Championship.
Following a four-year layoff, the American star will return to action at ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III on Friday, May 5 – the organization’s first-ever live event on U.S. soil.
That evening at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado, Northcutt will face Pakistani rising star Ahmed Mujtaba in a lightweight MMA tilt that will reintroduce the 26-year-old striker to the global fan base.
Northcutt – a 77-time Youth Karate World Champion – established himself as one of the hottest prospects in North America as a teenager, having flashed his dazzling stand-up repertoire on the regional circuit and then later displaying his world-class skills in the continent’s biggest MMA promotion.
The fan favorite raced to an 11-2 record, and then the surging American phenom brought his talents and three-fight winning streak to ONE Championship in late 2018.
But Northcutt didn’t have an ideal start to life in the world’s largest martial arts organization. In May 2019, Muay Thai hard-hitter Cosmo Alexandre knocked out “Super Sage” in the first round of their welterweight MMA contest and injured him in the process.
Following a road to recovery from that matchup and a battle with COVID-19 that set him back even further, Northcutt has finally worked his way back into fight shape and now, he is ready to resume his promising MMA career.
But Northcutt will not have it easy when he returns, as he will be welcomed back to the Circle by a surging “Wolverine.”
Mujtaba is in fine form, as he holds a 10-2 professional record and is coming off a pair of first-round stoppage victories.
The 29-year-old recently knocked out Indian sensation Rahul Raju in 56 seconds, and then he submitted BJJ black belt Abraao Amorim via leg-in triangle, which was one of the best tapout victories of 2022.
Mujtaba is one of his nation’s leading combat sports exports, and the chance to compete on such a prominent bill in the U.S. is a massive opportunity for him to showcase Pakistan’s rising MMA status to the rest of the world.
While most of the focus will be on Northcutt’s return in front of a partisan crowd, “Wolverine” has a lot to gain from the biggest fight of his career so far, and both men have huge reasons to be motivated for this exciting lightweight clash.
This intriguing contest bolsters a strong card that is topped by the ONE Flyweight World Championship trilogy match between defending titleholder Demetrious Johnson and former divisional king Adriano Moraes. Stay tuned to onefc.com for more updates about ONE Fight Night 10.
