ONE Championship wants to improve its relationship with Sage Northcutt.
During ONE 165 in January, Sage Northcutt withdrew from his highly anticipated bout against Shinya Aoki. The broadcast team mentioned that “an unexpected situation occurred with a cornerman,” but Northcutt disagreed with the promotion’s explanation, calling it “inaccurate.”
Northcutt stated that he was only informed at the last minute that his two coaches would not be allowed to corner him. He accused ONE of not informing his coaches of the situation until it was too late.
ONE responded to Northcutt’s comments by calling the controversy a “misunderstanding,” attributing the confusion to changes in how third-party visas are handled.
The official statement read, “Due to changes in external guidance from a third-party visa consultancy regarding Certificate of Eligibility (COE) requirements for all ONE 165 cornermen, we have unfortunately encountered issues with work visa processing leading up to the event, and unfortunately multiple athletes.” It also noted, “While ONE Team communicated the ongoing issues to the athlete and his management, there was clearly a misunderstanding of the options presented to Sage and his team.”
Northcutt argued that mishandling the situation put his coach at risk and could have led to a lawsuit. He also vaguely mentioned concerns about ONE’s drug testing, weight-cut policy, and the promotion’s “stability” as potential reasons for his departure.
ONE did not directly address the specific concerns raised by Northcutt, stating only that it “hopes to resolve this situation amicably.”
Read ONE’s full statement below.
ONE Championship sympathizes with the situation Sage Northcutt faced at ONE 165, where he was not allowed to be cornered by two coaches, leading to him withdrawing from the tournament.
Due to a change in external guidance from a third-party visa consultancy regarding Certificate of Eligibility (COE) requirements for all ONE 165 cornermen, we have unfortunately experienced issues processing work visas in the lead-up to the event for several athletes affected.
Although ONE Team communicated the ongoing issues to the athlete and his management, there was clearly a misunderstanding in the options presented to Sage and his team.
Despite recent comments, ONE respects the Sage partnership on a personal and professional level and hopes to be able to resolve this situation amicably.
They also know that we acted in their best interest by being 100% compliant with local laws, and that we have successfully flown athletes and their cornermen to hundreds of global events. I hope the athletes understand that this was a special event considering their track record.
