Sage Northcutt's Opponent Sees ONE Lightweight Title Shot With Statement Victory

Sage Northcutt is set to make his return to the cage under ONE Championship when he competes at ONE Fight Night 10 on May 5, but his opponent is not planning to just lay down and hand him the win.

Ahmed Mujtaba will be putting up his two-fight winning streak on the line against Northcutt and is ready to prove he is worthy of a step-up in competition.

"I am ready for this event. Everything is going well. Everything is going smoothly. I don't care what the result is going to be. But I'm ready for this," Mujtaba said.

The Pakistani lightweight made his way to the Singapore-based combat sports promotion in 2016 and delivered a unanimous decision win over Benedict Ang in November 2016 before being submitted by Keanu Subba three months later.

While he would go on split his next two bouts, his current streak has shown him to be a very capable fighter.

Against Rahul Raju at ONE: Unbreakable 3 in January 2021, he only needed less than a minute inside the cage as he landed an overhand right that put Raju to sleep and followed that up with a first-round submission win over Abraoo Amorim in November 2022.

Over the past few weeks, Mujtaba has been honing his power and skills with American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) and he is more than happy to have their help in his corner.

"The training is going well. AKA is one of the top gyms in the world that have made really good champions. So, I'm under good management, under good coaches, and under good guys who are fighting for other promotions. In other words, I'm working with a pack of lions," he happily stated.

Currently, ONE Championship's lightweight division features some notable names in the Top Five such as Shinya Aoki, Halil Amir, Saygid Izagakhmaev, Saygid Arslanaliev and Ok Rae Yoon.

Having the opportunity to fight for gold is the last step before achieving immortality in the world of mixed martial arts, and Mujtaba is not going to turn down a fight with lightweight king Christian Lee if the opportunity presents itself after a definitive win over Northcutt.

"Why not? I'm one of the tough guys. I'm one of the most promising athletes. After knocking Sage out, I'll be asking for the lightweight [title] bout against Christian Lee," Mujtaba proudly declared.

With a well-rested and prepared Northcutt awaiting him, Mujtaba is out to make a name for himself when they clash at ONE Fight Night 10 on May 5 at the 1stBank Center in Denver, Colorado.