It took over four years for Sage Northcutt to return to the MMA cage for a fight, but he needed only 39 seconds once he got there.
On Friday at ONE Fight Night 10, Northcutt (12-3) submitted Ahmed Mujtaba (10-3) by heel hook in short order. The event marked the U.S. debut for One Championship, which took place at 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo., right outside Denver.
The bout was action-packed for as long as it lasted and earned Northcutt a surprise $50,000 bonus from Chatri Sityodtong immediately afterward.
Initially clipped with a short jab by Mujtaba, Northcutt grabbed hold of a leg and twisted. Northcutt’s torque dragged Mujtaba to the canvas and the tap came nearly immediately afterward.
After the fight, Northcutt, who had battled health issues and injuries since a brutal knockout loss to Cosmo Alexandre during his previous fight in May 2019, expressed his hope to stay active. Northcutt, 27, moved to 4-1 in his most recent five outings.
Mujtaba, 30, has a two-fight winning streak snapped.
The up-to-the-minute ONE Fight Night 10 results include:
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Sage Northcutt (12-3) def. Ahmed Mujtaba (10-3) via submission (heel hook) – Round 1, 0:39
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Aung La N Sang (30-13) def. Rong Fan (19-4) via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 0:48
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Tye Ruotolo def. Reinier de Ridder via unanimous decision – grappling
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Jackie Buntan def. Diandra Martin via TKO (punch) – Round 1, 2:34 – muay Thai
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Kairat Akhmetov (30-2) def. Reece McLaren (16-9) via unanimous decision – MMA
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Rae Yook Ok (17-4) def. Lowen Tynanes (11-1) via unanimous decision – MMA
