Colbey Northcutt witnessed ONE Championship’s historic debut show on U.S. soil on May 5, firsthand, and it’s fair to say that she was impressed.
The American MMA star spent time in the backroom of ONE Fight Night 10 at Colorado’s 1STBANK Center to help her brother, Sage Northcutt, prepare to face Ahmed Mujtaba. She also made her way into the stands to watch the rest of the star-studded card.
Northcutt has been involved in martial arts since her childhood, so she is no stranger to live events, and she says that a ONE spectacle more than compares to other combat sports organizations.
“It was kind of surreal seeing it because I’ve been to a lot of fights. I’ve been to Bellator fights. I’ve been to UFC fights. I’ve been in other promotions and stuff. But kind of seeing it from a fan’s perspective and then a fighter’s (perspective) also behind the scenes with everything Sage is going through, everything was run so smoothly and so professionally,” the 30-year-old said.
“Everything that (ONE) did – from the press conference to the performance and fight night, itself – it exceeded any kind of expectation I would’ve imagined for their first U.S. show.”
Given her all-access approach to ONE Fight Night 10, Northcutt got a unique view as to how the Singapore-based promotion’s new audience embraced everything on offer.
There wasn’t a free seat in the house on May 5, but Northcutt predicts ONE’s events will get even bigger as the American crowd becomes more familiar with the intense action it delivers.
“Of course, the arena sold out. It was massive. The show itself was exceptional. Then getting to do the fan meet and greet a few hours before the show even started, (I got to) interact with all the fans and see how many hardcore ONE Championship fans were there,” she said.
“I truly believe and truly know in my heart that when they come and do more U.S. shows, it’s going to be a sell-out arena every time. And America will finally get to see what ONE Championship is all about. It makes me super proud to be part of such an awesome promotion.”
Northcutt (2-1) has racked up two fights under the ONE banner, against Putri Padmi and Courtney Martin, respectively, with both ending in victory for the flyweight star. She has taken time off recently to focus on starting a family, but the organization has never been far from her mind.
As an American representative of the ONE roster, the Texas native was proud to interact with her compatriots in Colorado and was blown away by the level of knowledge the fans she met had about ONE, as well as the variety of sports it offers across its platform.
“The people who come and watch ONE Championship fights, they’re very knowledgeable, and they have a good understanding of what muay Thai is about, kickboxing is about, and, of course, MMA,” Northcutt said.
“They have a different kind of respect for all of the athletes and what they do out there, instead of just wanting to see people, you know, get bloodied up from elbows and knockouts and things like that.”
