Sage Northcutt Scores Quick Submission Win In Return To Action

Sage Northcutt returned from a four-year layoff in emphatic fashion, submitting Pakistani opponent Ahmed Mujtaba on the undercard of ONE Fight Night 10 at the sold-out 1stBank Center in Denver, Colorado on Friday, May 5.

All it took for the 27-year-old American phenom to get the job done was 39 seconds, sweeping Mujtaba following a takedown attempt and then wrapping his arm on his opponent’s limb for a wrenching heel hook.

As soon as Northcutt fastened the submission hold, Mujtaba tapped out in pain, compelling the referee to step in and call a halt to the contest.

With the victory over Mujtaba, Northcutt improved his professional mixed martial arts record to 12-3.

In addition, he earned a $50,000 performance bonus from Chatri Sityodtong, the chairman and CEO of ONE Championship.

Meanwhile, Mujtaba dropped to a 10-3 standing and snapped his two-bout winning streak.

In other initial matches slated at ONE Fight Night 10, Aung La N Sang (30-13) of Myanmar kept his winning streak intact by submitting China’s Fan Rong (19-4) with a guillotine choke in the second round.

Tye Ruotolo outlasted current ONE middleweight king Reinier de Ridder in a 10-minute submission grappling showcase to notch a unanimous decison.

Meanwhile, Filipina-American striker Jackie Buntan drew a thunderous chorus of roars from the sold-out crowd inside the 1stBank Center by knocking out Australia’s Diandra Martin in the first round.

Ex-ONE flyweight champion Kairat Akhmetov (30-2) of Kazakhstan authored a repeat victory over Reece McLaren (16-9) of Australia in their rematch, banking on his wrestling-heavy offense to take home a crystal-clear unanimous decision.

In the historic occasion’s curtain-raiser, former ONE lightweight titleholder Ok Rae Yoon (17-4) of South Korea denied Lowen Tynanes (11-2) from entering the division’s Top Five by scoring a close unanimous decision victory over the Hawaiian bruiser.