Chatri Sityodtong, CEO and Chairman of ONE, has always placed a high priority on athletes that fight fans from all over the world can look up to as role models and rally behind. When they signed the American mixed martial arts star Sage Northcutt in the year 2018, they observed something that led them to believe this.
After his ONE journey took an unexpected detour due to numerous medical concerns that kept him out of competition for four years, “Super Sage” made a successful comeback to the circle earlier this month. His return came after he had been sidelined from competition for four years.
In just 39 seconds into their featured lightweight bout at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video on May 5 in the United States, Sage Northcutt submitted Pakistani opponent Ahmed Mujtaba with a heel hook. The event took place in the United States.
It was the first time that the standout from Team Alpha Male had been back in action since his promotional debut in May 2019, during which he sustained several facial fractures after being knocked out by Brazilian Cosmo Alexandre in the opening round. This event marked the first time that the Team Alpha Male standout had been back in action since that event.
After that, he underwent surgery, and he had a difficult time recovering afterwards. Sage Northcutt intended to make a comeback in 2021, but he became infected with COVID-19, which caused his plans to fall through.
During the post-event press conference for ONE Fight Night 10, Chatri Sityodtong referred to ‘Super Sage’ as one of the genuine decent men in the game. He went so far as to compare him to ‘Superman,’ and he stated that he was pleased to see him back in action.
The ONE executive commented as follows:
“The exact same thing happened when we were recruiting Sage [Northcutt]. I had the impression that he might be the first genuine global superstar who was also somewhat of a hero and an all-around nice guy. Like Superman. I could see him being a major celebrity in China, Japan, and other countries.”
You can read the entire news release down below:
Sage Northcutt was awarded a performance bonus of $50,000 from Sityodtong in addition to his regular prize money for his dominating victory over Mujtaba.
He is currently looking to make up for lost time and keep himself occupied by competing in non-mixed martial arts matches, such as kickboxing and submission grappling, in order to keep himself busy and make up for lost time.
ONE Fight Night 10 was the promotion’s first-ever live on-ground event in the United States. It took place at the 1stBank Center in Denver, Colorado, in front of a crowd that was completely sold out. In North America, members of Amazon Prime can view the replay of it at no additional cost.
