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After his incredible comeback win at ONE X against rival Shinya Aoki, Yoshihiro 'Sexyama' Akiyama has been making the rounds in MMA media. The Japanese fighter of Korean descent recently appeared on renowned MMA journalist Ariel Helwani's YouTube show The MMA Hour.
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Speaking through a translator, Akiyama discussed his 14-year bad blood with Aoki, his victory at ONE X, the origin of his nickname, his UFC stint, and much more. One of the more interesting converstations they had was when Akiyama, who is now 46 years old, discussed his goals regarding his fighting future.
When asked about his future in the sport, Akiyama said:
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"I will definitely go until I'm 50. Yes, that is my current goal depending on my physical. So yeah, if you calculate, twice a year and I have four years left in me, so that's more than eight [fights]."
When asked if he has anyone in particular that he hasn't fought yet that he wants to fight before retiring, here's what he had to say:
"Yes, so 170 and the other weight [185] as well, considering. I want to fight the champion. I'm not there yet, but I want to keep on fighting so I can challenge."
These are bold plans for the ageless wonder. Now that more and more athletes are getting stronger with age thanks to modern technology, fighting at 50 might not be as absurd as it sounds. The current UFC light heavyweight champion, Glover Teixeira, was 42 when he won the strap.
The oldest UFC champion, the legendary Randy 'The Natural' Couture, held the belt when he was over 43 years old. He also won 3 of his last 4 fights before retiring at the age of 50.
Judging by Akiyama's prime-looking physique at ONE X, we can definitely see 'Sexyama' bringing more "sexy" to the fights before hitting the big 5-O. We're definitely looking forward to seeing more of his world-class display of heart and Judo mastery.
Watch the full interview here:
Yoshihiro Akiyama ends 14-year rivalry with Shinya Aoki in a blazing comeback win at ONE X
In one of the highlights of the historic ONE X card, Yoshihiro Akiyama put on a comeback for the ages against his bitter fellow Japanese rival, Shinya Aoki. It was the culmination of 14-years being called out and disrespected publicly by 'Tobikan Judan'.
The fight didn't start smoothly for 'Sexyama'. He spent the majority of the first round with Aoki on his back hunting for submissions. Considering how many people the submission artist had put away in that position, it was incredible how the 46-year-old managed to survive for most of the time without getting submitted.
In the second round, Akiyama blitzed Aoki early, dropping him en route to a hard-earned TKO finish. The win was Akiyama’s first in two years, improving his overall professional MMA record to 16-7. His performance also earned him a $50,000 performance bonus from ONE Championship.
