ONE Fight Night 10: Sage Northcutt Talks Triumphant Return To ONE Championship Circle

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ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III saw the end of Sage Northcutt's four-year hiatus from competition as the American mixed martial artist returned to winning ways in just 39 seconds.

Questions loomed large over "Super's" return to the ONE Championship Circle last Saturday, 6 May, when he faced rising lightweight MMA contender Ahmed Mujtaba at the sold-out 1stBank Center in Denver, Colorado.

But the 26-year-old answered all those questions and silenced the critics in under one minute when he submitted "Wolverine" with an unpredictable heel hook to assert himself in the division and return to winning ways.

Following a fast and furious start to the contest, the work Northcutt has been producing in the shadows on a daily basis came to fruition. The Team Alpha Male star was more than happy to show he's more than just a Karate World Champion.

"The fight was definitely pretty fast. I've been working on my grappling a lot. The last few years, I've been really honing on it and working on it a ton. I'm really excited that I got to win by submission and I got to show some of that grappling."

"I've been working on grappling a little bit but being offensive too. I figured, I want to be a complete athlete out there and not just one aspect of the sport. So down there, I was really looking for a finish.

"The kind of mindset going in was I want to finish my opponent and do it any way possible. I saw an opening when he stood up, so I just took it."

Taking on a competitor like Mujtaba, who entered this fight off the back of two finishes - one by KO and the other submission, was exactly the kind of return the 27-year-old desired.

No warm-ups, no easy bouts - Northcutt had to make amends for his disastrous debut in 2019. And going all-in for a tremendous triumph on ONE's historic sold-out inaugural US event helped reintroduce himself to fighters and fans alike.

"I think one of the big things was the mindset. Of course, I've been training to stay sharp, but when I go out there I'm looking for a finish," "Super" said.

"I've just been training with a great team, great coaches. We've been working all around to be very well-rounded and fix the holes in my game. Just been really staying in the gym, staying sharp."