After four long years away, “Super” Sage Northcutt is back.
Northcutt finally made his return to the ONE circle at ONE Fight Night 10 in Broomfield, Colorado, and picked up a quickfire victory – and he did it in arguably the most unexpected way imaginable.
Northcutt was dropped early by Pakistan’s Ahmed Mujtaba, who followed the American to the mat and looked to put his perceived grappling advantage to good use.
But Northcutt sprung a huge surprise as he grabbed Mujtaba’s ankle and rolled into a heel hook that forced “Wolverine” to quickly tap for a sensational submission victory.
Northcutt arrived in ONE Championship as a high-profile signing, but his debut went disastrously as he was brutally knocked out by kickboxer Cosmo Alexandre in the opening stages of their bout.
Such was the impact of Alexandre’s knockout blow, Northcutt was left with several facial fractures that took a long time for the American to fully recover from.
The layoff extended to four years, with some fans starting to wonder whether Northcutt would ever return, or, if he did, whether he would ever be the same fighter.
That was partially answered in Broomfield, Colorado, as Northcutt confidently made the walk to the ONE Circle and overcame early adversity to defeat Mujtaba and earn a $50,000 bonus for his efforts.
After his victory, an elated Northcutt said he’d be keen to try his hand at a submission grappling bout, but would also be more than happy to return to MMA action.
