ONE Championship: Sage Northcutt opens up on UFC boss Dana White saying he should retire after horror KO

Former UFC star returns vs Shinya Aoki at lightweight in April, nearly two years on from 29-second loss on ONE debut

American needed nine-hour surgery on eight facial fractures, but says criticism was too much – ‘it was one fight … everyone has an off night’

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Sage Northcutt is knocked out by Cosmo Alexandre, which required him to undergo nine hours of surgery on eight facial fractures. Photo: ONE Championship/Instagram

Published: 2:26pm, 25 Feb 2021Updated: 2:26pm, 25 Feb 2021

After announcing his return to action in ONE Championship against Shinya Aoki, “Super” Sage Northcutt has opened up on the criticism he received from UFC president Dana White and fans following his horror knockout nearly two years ago.

The 24-year-old American (11-3) suffered a 29-second, one-punch KO by Cosmo Alexandre (8-1) on his ONE Championship debut at 185 pounds in the promotion’s welterweight division, in Singapore in May 2019. Brazilian striking veteran Alexandre has more than 104 fights in kick-boxing and Muay Thai, while both of Northcutt’s losses in the UFC came at 170 pounds, with his six wins coming at 155 pounds.

He needed a nine-hour surgery to fix eight facial fractures, and later revealed he almost had his “nerves sliced off” in his face, and was unable to return to full training at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California, for more than a year.

Northcutt will now face Japanese legend Aoki (46-9) at ONE on TNT 4, on April 29 in Singapore (April 28, US time), at 170 pounds in the promotion’s lightweight division.

“I was super excited,” Northcutt told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, who first reported the match-up, of hearing he would be fighting former ONE, Dream and Shooto champ Aoki.

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