ONE Championship has signed several, big name fighters in recent months, and one of those is Yoshihiro Akiyama. In fact, depending on what market we’re talking about, one could make the case the biggest star is “Sexy Yama”.

If you’re brand new to MMA, then you may not be aware of who Akiyama is, as he hasn’t fought since 2015. The now 43-year-old fighter started making a huge name for himself back in the early 2000’s thanks to his championship wins in Judo. The Japanese born martial artist, of Korean descent, transitioned into MMA in 2004. From there, Akiyama went on to establish himself as one of the top middleweights on the planet.

After recording some big wins with Hero’s and DREAM, Akiyama signed with the UFC in 2009. More recently, the reality TV star and celebrity signed with ONE, and Akiyama will battle Agilan Thani at ONE’s “Legendary Quest” card on June 15th.

You can check out ONE’s recap of Akiyama’s career below.

Here is the complete line-up for “Legendary Quest”, which will take place in Shanghai, China.

Stamp Fairtex (c) vs. Alma Juniku (ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Championship)
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Agilan Thani (mixed martial arts – welterweight)
Zhang Chenglong vs. Tyler Hardcastle (ONE Super Series kickboxing – bantamweight)
Han Zi Hao vs. Andrew Miller (ONE Super Series Muay Thai – bantamweight)
Koyomi Matsushima vs. Kwon Won Il (mixed martial arts – featherweight)
Tarik Khbabez vs. Anderson Silva (ONE Super Series kickboxing – light heavyweight)
Reinier De Ridder vs. Gilberto “Giba” Galvao (mixed martial arts – middleweight)
Rodlek PK.Saenchaimuaythaigym vs. Liam Harrison (ONE Super Series Muay Thai – featherweight)
Chen Lei vs. Anthony Engelen (mixed martial arts – 67.5-kilogram catch weight)
Fan Rong vs. Sherif Mohamed (mixed martial arts – middleweight)
Niu Kang Kang vs. Eric Kelly (mixed martial arts – bantamweight)
Victorio Senduk vs. Phoe Thaw (mixed martial arts – featherweight)
Yoon Chang Min vs. Trestle Tan (mixed martial arts – lightweight)
Itsuki Hirata vs. Angelie Sabanal (mixed martial arts – women’s atomweight)

Mentioned in this article:

More About: