Sage Northcutt and ONE Championship have parted ways.

On Friday, ONE Championship announced Northcutt and the promotion mutually agreed to his release from the organization. Per ONE’s statement on its website the promotion “wishes Northcutt the best in his future endeavors” but made no further comment on the release.

Northcutt also responded to his release on Friday, posting a positive message on social media looking ahead to 2025.

“Excited for 2025 and looking forward to having some big fights!”

Northcutt came to prominence in the UFC before signing with ONE Championship in 2019. However, Northcutt’s time with ONE has been tumultuous, fighting just twice in the promotion. Northcutt lost his debut in 2019 and then was scheduled to fight Shinya Aoki in 2021 before withdrawing due to COVID complications. He finally got back in the cage in 2023, submitting Ahmed Mujtaba with a first-round heel hook.

Most recently, Northcutt was against scheduled to face Aoki in January of this year at ONE 165, but withdrew from the bout on fight day as his cornermen were denied visas. This incident created some tension between Northcutt and ONE as both parties disputed exactly what happened.

Still just 28 years old, Northcutt could be a coveted individual on the free agent market. His overall MMA record stands at 12-3.

Newcastle keen to sign Marc Guehi in January, Chelsea will rebuff all offers for Cole Palmer and Manchester City to battle Bayern Munich for Florian Wirtz.

Newcastle are ready to make a renewed attempt to sign England and Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, 24, in January for around £80m. (Teamtalk), external

Chelsea will not entertain offers for attacking midfielder Cole Palmer, 22, with the England international linked with a return to former club Manchester City. (Football Insider), external

Manchester City are also showing serious interest in Bayer Leverkusen and Germany midfielder Florian Wirtz, 21, but face competition from Bayern Munich. (Sky Germany via Sky Sports), external

French champions Paris St-Germain and Real Madrid are also keen on Wirtz, with Leverkusen preferring to court offers from outside Germany. (Goal), external

Manchester United are interested in hiring 39-year-old Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim, who has a release clause that becomes active in 2025. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Bayern Munich’s German winger Leroy Sane, 28, is not interested in a move to Newcastle United. (CaughtOffside), external

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was prepared to leave the club last summer before the Red Devils offered the Portuguese midfielder, 30, a “massive” new contract. (ESPN), external

Arsenal’s Spanish boss Mikel Arteta, 42, suggests he would be open to managing England in the future. (Guardian), external

Neither Eddie Howe nor Graham Potter were interviewed for the England job before Thomas Tuchel was appointed, raising question marks over the Football Association’s claim that 10 coaches were approached. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Tottenham are closely monitoring Borussia Dortmund’s 20-year-old English winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens with a potential deal in mind. (Football Insider), external

Liverpool are set to rival Borussia Dortmund for the signature of Red Star Belgrade and Serbia midfielder Andrija Maksimovic, 17. (CaughtOffside), external

Manchester City are in advanced talks to sign Republic of Ireland Under-17 forward Michael Noonan, 16, from St Patrick’s Athletic. (Fabrizio Romano), external

New York City’s 20-year-old Argentine winger Julian Fernandez would like to play for Liverpool in the future, despite his club being owned by the City Football Group, Manchester City’s owners. (Express), external

Wrestling. That’s what caused Robelis Despaigne to suffer his first professional defeat in MMA.

The Olympic karate bronze medalist got his momentum halted in May when Waldo Cortes-Acosta handed him his first loss. Despaigne (5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who entered the promotion earlier this year with a ton of hype, was beaten in a unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 56 and was heavily criticized by many for his defensive wrestling or better yet, lack thereof.

Now, five months later, the Cuban knockout artist promises he addressed that deficiency ahead of his return at UFC Fight Night 245.

“Oh, we’ve put in so much work (in the wrestling),” Despaigne told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “We’ve dedicated a lot of time to it, almost 50-50. Wrestling involves a different distance, and different type of cardio. It’s completely different, so we’ve dedicated a lot of time to it. I’ve received a ton of support from the fighters at American Top Team. It’s almost a family, and they’ve helped me out a ton.”

Following his dominant defeat, Despaigne attended part of his training camp at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla., which he describes as very formative in his MMA journey.

“We’re in collaboration with American Top Team,” Despaigne explained. “I go and train there because I have more training partners my size. It’s been very satisfactory. I’ve learned a lot, and I’ve had many trainings and sparring with great athletes, and it’s benefited me a ton.”

Despaigne returns to the octagon this Saturday in the opening bout of UFC Fight Night 245. He takes on Austen Lane (12-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) in an exciting heavyweight clash. Despaigne understands some of the criticism surrounding his potential, but he also feels a lot of it is not coming from the right place.

“The critics are normal, it’s a normal thing,” Despaigne said. “Sometimes I win, and I even get criticism, so that’s a part of the sport. You just have to take the constructive criticism, and everything else, the ones that are aimed to destroy, those I don’t pay attention to.”

Despaigne is looking to pick up a first-round finish in his return to the octagon. He sees Lane as a dangerous opponent, given they’re both in must-win situations.

“We’re coming out with everything,” Despaine said. “I’m coming from a loss, he’s coming from a loss, and we’re going to try to win at all costs. I’m going to give it my all, and I’m ready for it.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 245.

Tom Aspinall has a lot of respect for Francis Ngannou.

This Saturday, Ngannou makes his long-awaited return to MMA when he faces Renan Ferreira in the main event of PFL: Battle of the Giants. It will be Ngannou’s first MMA fight since 2022 when he successfully defended the UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane in his final fight with the promotion. Since then, Aspinall has made quite the impression on the UFC’s heavyweight division, winning the interim heavyweight belt and then defending his interim title back in July.

Currently, Aspinall hopes to finally have a title unification bout with UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones after Jones defends his belt against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November, but with Ngannou’s return to the sport, fans are now also interested in how a hypothetical fight between he and Aspinall might look. And addressing that question on his YouTube channel recently, Aspinall believes it’s close.

“That’s a good fight! That’s a great fight,” Aspinall said. “I’ve always been a big fan of Francis. I love his story, love what he’s all about. I think it’s a 50/50 fight, to be honest. Francis is a scary man. But I think technically I would take the edge. But I think that’s a great fight.”

Of course it’s exceedingly unlikely Aspinall and Ngannou will ever meet in the cage as the UFC almost never agrees to co-promote fights. However, there is a different superfight Aspinall might be able to get if Ngannou or a unified heavyweight title fight doesn’t manifest: light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

“Poatan” has been teasing a move up to heavyweight this year and if he finally does decided to make the jump, Aspinall is more than happy to welcome him in a champ vs. champ fight.

“I like the idea of that,” Aspinall said. “It’s up to Alex. He’s doing massive things at light heavyweight, he’s obviously done massive things at middleweight as well. So that’s completely up to him. If he wants to come and test the waters at heavyweight, sign me up. I’m up for it.”

Whether or not that will happen is still up in the air, but for the time being, Aspinall is simply waiting. The interim champion is set to serve as the backup fighter for the Jones vs. Miocic fight at UFC 309 next month and revealed that plans are already in motion for what comes next if his services are not needed then.

“I’m just training to be the backup fighter right now,” Aspinall said. “I’m getting myself fight. Do I think it’s going to happen? Probably not. But I’ll be ready for it if it does. And we just spoke to the UFC, we’ve got some plans in place. I can’t reveal them right now because they’re top secret but there is big news coming soon.”

Tom Aspinall has a lot of respect for Francis Ngannou.

This Saturday, Ngannou makes his long-awaited return to MMA when he faces Renan Ferreira in the main event of PFL: Battle of the Giants. It will be Ngannou’s first MMA fight since 2022 when he successfully defended the UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane in his final fight with the promotion. Since then, Aspinall has made quite the impression on the UFC’s heavyweight division, winning the interim heavyweight belt and then defending his interim title back in July.

Currently, Aspinall hopes to finally have a title unification bout with UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones after Jones defends his belt against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November, but with Ngannou’s return to the sport, fans are now also interested in how a hypothetical fight between he and Aspinall might look. And addressing that question on his YouTube channel recently, Aspinall believes it’s close.

“That’s a good fight! That’s a great fight,” Aspinall said. “I’ve always been a big fan of Francis. I love his story, love what he’s all about. I think it’s a 50/50 fight, to be honest. Francis is a scary man. But I think technically I would take the edge. But I think that’s a great fight.”

Of course it’s exceedingly unlikely Aspinall and Ngannou will ever meet in the cage as the UFC almost never agrees to co-promote fights. However, there is a different superfight Aspinall might be able to get if Ngannou or a unified heavyweight title fight doesn’t manifest: light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

“Poatan” has been teasing a move up to heavyweight this year and if he finally does decided to make the jump, Aspinall is more than happy to welcome him in a champ vs. champ fight.

“I like the idea of that,” Aspinall said. “It’s up to Alex. He’s doing massive things at light heavyweight, he’s obviously done massive things at middleweight as well. So that’s completely up to him. If he wants to come and test the waters at heavyweight, sign me up. I’m up for it.”

Whether or not that will happen is still up in the air, but for the time being, Aspinall is simply waiting. The interim champion is set to serve as the backup fighter for the Jones vs. Miocic fight at UFC 309 next month and revealed that plans are already in motion for what comes next if his services are not needed then.

“I’m just training to be the backup fighter right now,” Aspinall said. “I’m getting myself fight. Do I think it’s going to happen? Probably not. But I’ll be ready for it if it does. And we just spoke to the UFC, we’ve got some plans in place. I can’t reveal them right now because they’re top secret but there is big news coming soon.”

More than eight months after voicing frustration with the promotion, Sage Northcutt has been granted his ONE Championship release.

After signing with the company in 2019, Northcutt (12-3) has only competed twice under the ONE Championship record, going 1-1. The loss was a brutal one, as he suffered a violent 29-second knockout against Cosmo Alexandre in May 2019 that caused multiple facial fractures and led to extensive surgery and a nearly four-year layoff.

He picked up his lone promotional win in May 2023 with a 39-second heel hook finish, and was scheduled to face Shinya Aoki at January’s ONE 165 event in Tokyo. The fight was called off late in the game, and Northcutt took issue with the “completely inaccurate” portrayal of what unfolded that led to the bout being canceled.

It’s been largely silent since then, but on Friday, ONE Championship issued a statement on its official website announcing the UFC veteran had received a “mutually agreed” upon release from his promotional contract.

“ONE Championship and Sage Northcutt have mutually agreed to his release from the organization,” the statement read. “ONE wishes Northcutt the best in his future endeavors.”

It didn’t take long for Northcutt, 28, to react to the news with glee and positivity about his future.

“Excited for 2025 and looking forward to having some big fights!” Northcutt wrote on Instagram.