ONE Championship is pitting the past, present and future into one fight.
Japanese mixed martial arts pioneer Shinya Aoki and former UFC hot prospect Sage Northcutt will square off in a welterweight fight at ONE on TNT IV in Singapore. The event will be tape-delayed and air April 28 on TNT.
ESPN was the first to report the news Wednesday.
Despite his lengthy tenure in the MMA spotlight, Northcutt (11-3) is still just 24 years old. Following an eight-fight stint with the UFC, in which he compiled a 6-2 record, Northcut departed the promotion and signed with ONE Championship in late 2018.
Northcutt made his promotional debut in May 2019 at ONE Championship 96, suffering a 29-second knockout to kickboxer Cosmo Alexandre. The knockout was brutal in nature, and Northcutt required surgery to repair facial fractures as a result. On top of the physical damage, the loss snapped a three-fight winning streak for Northcutt.
Aoki (46-9) is still winning far more than he’s losing. Over the span of his past eight outings, Aoki has gone 7-1 with six finishes, including last month’s submission win over James Nakashima for the 30th submission of his career. In November, Aoki will hit the 18th anniversary of his professional debut. Aoki, 37, made stops in Shooto, PRIDE, DREAM, Strikeforce, and Bellator leading up to his extended stay under the ONE Championship banner.
