ONE X: Why is Yoshihiro Akiyama’s nickname ‘Sexyama’?

While not everyone knows Yoshihiro Akiyama by his full name, they would probably recognize the Korean-Japanese star if you introduced him as ‘Sexyama'. The 46-year-old has been in the martial arts game for almost two decades now, and the nickname has stuck like glue.

If you didn’t know Akiyama, it’s easy to think that it’s just a play of words. Standing at 1.78 meters with a muscular build, there’s a logical etymological origin for his monicker. ‘Sexy’ is self-explanatory, while ‘yama’ is the Japanese word for ‘mountain'.

However, there’s no confirmation if this is exactly the meaning of his name. MMA website Sherdog has forums dedicated to fans of the Japanese icon, with discussions filled with pictures appreciating Akiyama's undeniable charisma.

ONE Championship color commentator Michael Schiavello, who called Akiyama’s fights even during his early days across various promotions, is credited with being the first person to dub him ‘Sexyama’ in a US telecast.

In an interview with Bloody Elbow from way back in 2012, Schiavello said that he’s been calling him ‘Sexyama’ for a long time already. He credits fans for giving the Japanese star a nickname that he loves.

Over on Twitter recently, Schiavello shared that he bumped into Akiyama, who’s still looking as sexy as he has all those years before.

In the caption, he said:

“Holy sh$t! The man I named Sexyama many moons ago is ripped, stripped and striated and ready for his JMMA dream match against Aoki on the ONE X PPV this weekend! ⁦@ONEChampionship⁩”

No matter what the origin of ‘Sexyama’ may be, the man lives up to it in every sense of the word.

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‘Sexyama’ battles fellow Japanese legend Shinya Aoki at ONE X

Yoshihiro Akiyama will bring all that ‘Sexy’ to battle when he faces Shinya Aoki at ONE Championship’s 10-year anniversary show, ONE X, on March 26.

The two men have been icons of Japanese martial arts for close to two decades already. Aoki has been present in grappling bouts, MMA matches and even in the local professional wrestling scene.

Meanwhile, Akiyama has brought glory as a Japanese national judo athlete and has since continued to proudly represent his country through various promotions across the globe.

Their different paths allowed them to thrive separately, but with Akiyama joining ONE Championship in 2018, the possibility of the two locking horns rose significantly.

In October last year, Aoki called out Akiyama for allegedly refusing to fight him in a match. Akiyama claimed an injury prevented him from doing so, but Aoki urged him to agree to a match by December, saying ‘Sexyama’ doesn’t have much time left, alluding to his advanced age.

It may be slightly delayed, but Aoki finally gets his wish as they are scheduled to get their hands on each other at the ONE X: Grand Finale pay-per-view, which starts at 8:00PM SGT this Saturday.