Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight Yoshihiro Akiyamabetter known as “Sexyama”, competes in his latest mixed martial arts (MMA) fight against a former opponent and original. Ultimate Fighter cult hero Chris’s life next month (Saturday, November 21, 2026) at BLACK COMBAT 17: VANTABLACK at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea.
Akiyama and Leben originally met at UFC 116 in July 2010, resulting in one of the most entertaining fights of the year.
More than 16 years later, they’re apparently doing it again.
The infamous knockout artist eventually returned to combat sports through bare-knuckle boxing, compiling a 3-1 record with three knockouts. Leben withdrew from the race again after flattening Quentin Henry BKFC at the inaugural KnuckleMania event in 2021.
Since then, the 46-year-old has remained involved in MMA as a referee and referee.
Now he’s fighting again for reasons only the martial arts gods can understand.
However, Akiyama (16-7) calls it a career at the age of 51.
After leaving the UFC in 2015, the Japanese star remained inactive for more than three years before signing with ONE Championship. He went 2-1 in three MMA appearances with a stoppage victory Sherif Mohamed and Shinya Aoki.
“Sexyama” last competed against the kickboxing legend Some kind of Holzken In a freak fight in January 2024 under normal rules. The opening round was held under boxing rules, the second was scheduled for Muay Thai and the third would have used MMA rules.
Akiyama never got out of boxing, suffering a brutal knockout loss in less than two minutes (watch the highlights).
The good news is that his latest fight will take place under familiar MMA rules. The bad news is that he’s facing a notoriously heavy-handed man who already has a win over him.
Akiyama and Leben bring a combined 97 years of life experience to the BLACK COMBAT 17 cage.
Nostalgia is one hell of a drug.
