# ‘That would be great’ – Sage Northcutt says unsettling ‘Japanese legend’ Shinya Aoki will be big in Tokyo – Sportskeeda
“Super” Sage Northcutt has big dreams for his third fight in his ONE Championship career and for his third outing inside the circle, and the talented lightweight mixed martial artist (MMA) will make sure to do it this Sunday, January 28th. I did my best to make it a reality.
The Evolve MMA and Team Alpha Male star Sage will take on the former ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion Shinya Aoki at ONE 165, which will be broadcast live from Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
With less than a week until his bout with the Japanese icon, ‘Super’ Sage believes a win over the mixed martial arts legend could lead to bigger things. Plus, leaving the Japanese capital with your hands up would be a bonus. The 27-year-old exclusively told MMA Superfan.
“It would be great to come out here and beat Shinya Aoki, who is a Japanese legend. He’s not just a Japanese legend. He’s had about 60 professional fights. He’s a former ONE champion and He was also one of the longest-serving champions.”
It would be a perfect scenario for Sage Northcutt to win back-to-back matches on the world team stage, but the highlight would be to end this contest before the final bell, whether by submission or knockout.
he added:
“It would be special to get this win, and it would be even better if we could finish.”
Sage Northcutt sees Aoki as ‘a major obstacle to overcome’
Sage Northcutt is confident in his stride, but he won’t be taking anything for granted when his three-round duel with ‘Hikan Judan’ begins at ONE 165.
The multiple-time karate world champion knows what his rival grappling specialist brings to the table and doesn’t want to take a careless approach on fight night.
Sage Northcutt told MMA Superfan:
“This is a huge obstacle to overcome and the biggest fight to date. So it’s something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.”
“Super” Sage comes into this bout coming off an impressive submission victory over Ahmed Mujtaba at ONE Fight Night 10 last May. Aoki, on the other hand, has lost four matches since 2022, with his last win coming against Eduardo Folayang at ONE on TNT IV.
ONE 165 will air live on Sunday, January 28th. [Global pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com](https://watch.onefc.com/events/one165).
