Yoshihiro Akiyama (Japanese: 秋山 成勲, born July 29, 1975), also known as Choo Sung-hoon (추성훈) and by his nickname Sexyama, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and judoka who won the gold medal at the 2001 Asian Championships for South Korea and for Japan at the 2002 Asian Games.
Representing South Korea, Choo won the gold medal at the 2001 Asian Judo Championships.
Representing Japan, Akiyama won the gold medal at the 2002 Asian Games defeating Ahn Dong-Jin of South Korea in the finals.
Akiyama defeated three opponents from France, Mongolia and Turkey to reach the semi-finals of the 81 kg Light Middleweight division.
Wearing a reserve gi, Akiyama lost two games in a row (semifinal and 3rd-place match) and missed the medal.
[3][4] International Judo Federation referee director Juan Carlos Barcos said an examination of the gi found that the slippery texture was due to high humidity which prevailed in Osaka and a detergent used to wash the uniform.
[5] Akiyama's mixed martial arts debut was in the K-1 Premium 2004 Dynamite event on December 31, 2004, where he defeated boxer Francois Botha by armbar submission in the first round.
Akiyama defeated Melvin Manhoef at the Hero's light-heavyweight Grand Prix 2006 final round, and gained the champion belt.
This created a controversy amongst MMA fans in Japan, assuming Akiyama was using some sort of body oil or lubricant, banned in K-1 rules.
[8] Pre-fight footage also showed Akiyama casually applying six bottles of lotion to his body in his locker room.
His opponent was Denis Kang, who was the finalist of PRIDE Bushido Grand Prix 2006 and making his debut in Hero's.
Akiyama was later scheduled to face Nate Marquardt at the same event,[27] but pulled out due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and was replaced by Dan Miller.
[29] Following the fight, Dana White stated that Akiyama most likely would not be cut from the organization if he agrees to move down to welterweight.
[31] During the bout, Akiyama was able to utilize multiple judo techniques which was praised as the main highlights of the fight; despite losing the decision.
During the Q&A, Akiyama stated he was thinking about returning for another bout as long as he has a free schedule as well as being matched against a well-known opponent that would interest fans.
[34] After over two and a half years away from the sport, Akiyama returned from his self-imposed hiatus on September 20, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 52.
[38] After another year away from the sport, Akiyama returned to face Alberto Mina on November 28, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 79.
[46] But due to suffering an injury during training camp, Akiyama pulled out of the fight and the bout was subsequently scrapped.
Instead, Akiyama focuses mostly on defending takedowns in order to brawl with his opponent or getting top position on the mat to perform ground and pound.
[54] However, he has shown skill with harai goshi, kosoto gake and ouchi gari/osoto gari combinations, as well as the more complex uchi mata.
[55] Akiyama's great-grandfather, Choo Jeong-won, was born in South Jeolla's Cheju County during the Korean Empire era, in what is now Jeju City.
[57] He names heavyweight champion boxer Mike Tyson as his hero and holds a university degree in commerce.