After nearly four years away from the cage after suffering facial fractures in his ONE Championship debut, “Super” Sage Northcutt returned to action as part of the promotion’s U.S. debut, ONE Fight Night 10 in Broomfield, Colorado on Friday night.
Northcutt, who exited the UFC on a three-fight win streak to sign with ONE as a free agent, had drawn Pakistan’s Ahmed Mujtaba in his return. With a 10-2 record to start the night, Mujtaba entered on a two-fight win streak.
Northcutt was active off the opening bell, firing a high kick. But he went down off a Mujtaba jab, perhaps more off-balance than rocked. Unfortunately for Mujtaba, he opted to follow Northcutt to the ground, rather than letting him back to the feet, where the American might have been a little gun shy after four years away.
On the ground, Northcutt quickly found a leg, and locked up a heel hook seemingly before Ahmed Mujtaba knew what hit him. Mujtaba was tapping within seconds, the submission coming well inside of a minute.
After 4 years, it took less than a minute. Super Sage! #ONEFightNight10 pic.twitter.com/EVWdwgs1lY
— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) May 6, 2023
After the fight, Northcutt said that he feels “like a complete fighter now,” noting that his wrestling and jiu-jitsu were greatly improved. Mujtaba learned that the hard way on Friday. Northcutt, meanwhile, had an extra reason to celebrate, as he was awarded a $50,000 bonus for the win.
Official Result: Sage Northcutt def. Ahmed Mujaba by submission (heel hook), Round 1, 0:39
