The road of returning to an MMA cage for Sage Northcutt has once again been put to a temporary stop. Previously, Sage had to undergo surgery to fix his broken face at the hands of Cosmo Alexender. Now, Northcutt will be sidelined after dealing with issues surrounding Covid-19.
Northcutt Out of Fight Against Shinya Aoki
Northcutt’s MMA career has spun in many different directions since its origin. The youthful karate prodigy was highly touted as one of the most budding prospects in the sport’s history. However, several obstacles have dimmed the bright future of Sage. Losses, weight class changes, organization chances, and injuries have all played a significant factor in the decline of Sage’s promotion. His latest roadblock is dealing with the effects of covid-19, which has removed him from his upcoming matchup against Shinya Aoki later this month.
🤯 LEGEND VS. LEGEND TRILOGY 🤯
Shinya Aoki will now face Eduard Folayang in the final chapter of their historic rivalry on 28 April! 💥 @a_ok_i @efolayang #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship #ONEonTNT4 pic.twitter.com/v8HClJw49m— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 12, 2021
One Issues Statement Concerning Northcutt and Covid
Additionally, One Championship released a statement about Northcutt and why he wouldn’t be competing on their April 28th card.
“Due to lingering COVID-19 issues, Sage Northcutt is not cleared by his doctors to compete on April 28th ONE on TNT IV. This is disappointing for ONE, Turner. But most importantly Sage and his family as they were looking forward to this and spent months preparing. Sage had COVID a few months ago and was doing his best to get himself in a good place but late last week the doctor, during his final checks, could not clear him,” said the promotion.
Once Sage finally can return to the 155lbs division, do fans believe Northcutt has was it takes to go on a string of wins in One Championship? Or, is Sage Northcutt not the fighter that the UFC promoted him to be? Sage has dealt with an extensive time away from the cage. Plus, dealing with a global virus, it’ll be interesting to see if Northcutt can achieve the form that organizations hope he could be.
