Sage Northcutt wants to fight on same ONE Championship card as sister Colbey

Sage Northcutt couldn’t be happier that his ONE Championship journey has become a family affair.

Though his own ONE Championship debut in May 2019 ended in a knockout loss to Cosmo Alexandre, Northcutt’s older sister Colbey fared better just six months later when she defeated Putri Padmi at a show in Singapore to pick up her first pro MMA victory. Whenever the two make their sophomore appearances for ONE, Northcutt is hoping that they are booked on the same card.

“[Colbey’s] first fight for ONE Championship, it went great, it was amazing,” Northcutt said in a recent interview with MMA Fighting. “I can see that’s just the beginning for her. I think she’s gonna keep doing amazing things and getting better and better now that she’s training and able to keep improving. … I hope that me and Colbey can fight on the same card sometime in the future. That would be super cool.

“We used to do that growing up when we first started having amateur fights for MMA, we used to fight on the same card. That would be so cool to do that for ONE Championship.”

Both Sage, 24, and Colbey, 27, have an extensive martial arts background competing in karate and kickboxing dating back to their childhoods. Sage has won multiple youth championships in karate, while Colbey found success as an amateur kickboxer, and the two also competed in MMA as amateurs before turning pro.

While Sage is eager to fight alongside Colbey again as they did many at many competitions growing up, ONE Championship star Angela Lee has previously spoken about the stress she feels fighting on the same shows as her brother Christian. Both Lees currently hold titles in the organization.

Northcutt thinks being back on the same card as his sister would actually bring some much-needed relief.

“I don’t know about added stress,” Northcutt said. “For me, having all the karate tournaments growing up with my sister and also competing as an amateur MMA fighter with my sister on the same card. Same night, same card, back-to-back. I didn’t really feel any added stress.

“I felt kind of stress relief for me, I guess because I was getting to focus on my sister too and think about her doing great, then my coaches using that to pump me up because she always did amazing in her fights. I didn’t really feel any added stress, but I could definitely see something like that if things weren’t to pan out as what you’d want, or just being in that environment.”

Northcutt expects ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong to capitalize on having another pair of fighting siblings on the roster at some point. Overall, Northcutt speaks highly of what he’s seen so far in regards the promotion’s well-publicized emphasis on honor and respect as opposed to the climate of trash talk he’d become accustomed to with some North American promotions.

It suits Northcutt, who has become known among fans for his politeness, though he admitted that things can get heated in the Northcutt household. One activity that his family has used to kill time during COVID-19 quarantine is the card game UNO and it has led to some heated sessions at the table.

As supportive as Sage is of Colbey and her nascent MMA career, when it comes to family game night, it’s every Northcutt for themselves.

“It gets super competitive,” Northcutt said. “Me and my family are always super competitive. Obviously, we don’t like to lose.

“We can be super nice, but no one likes to lose. Especially UNO? Not happening.”