ONE Championship denies Sage Northcutt’s accusations that the promotion was responsible for the cancellation of his ONE 165 lightweight bout with Shinya Aoki on January 28 in Tokyo, Japan.
Northcutt was set to compete against ‘Hikan Judan’ in a highly anticipated match on pay-per-view, but the organization announced that the American had pulled out from the event due to unforeseen circumstances.
However, Mr. Northcutt shared a different version of events regarding his withdrawal in an Instagram post.
ONE Championship responded to Northcutt’s statement, clarifying that the issue was a result of “work visa processing problems.”
The promotion also emphasized its desire to address any concerns Northcutt had and resolve the situation amicably.
“ONE Championship empathizes with Sage Northcutt regarding the situation he encountered at ONE 165, where two coaches were unable to corner him, resulting in his withdrawal from the event.
Due to a change in external guidance from a third-party visa consultancy concerning the Certificate of Eligibility (COE) requirements for all cornermen at ONE 165, we faced difficulties processing work visas for several affected athletes leading up to the event.
While ONE Team communicated the ongoing difficulties to the athlete and his management, there was evidently a misunderstanding in the options presented to Sage and his team.
Despite his recent remarks, ONE respects Sage’s partnership on a personal and professional level and hopes that this situation can be resolved amicably.
They also recognize that they were acting in his best interests in full compliance with local laws, and have successfully flown athletes and their cornermen to numerous global events. Hopefully, the athletes understand that this was a unique situation given their track record. ”
