Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight Yoshihiro Akiyama, better known as “Sexyama,” will compete in his final mixed martial arts (MMA) fight against former opponent and original Ultimate Fighter cult hero Chris Leben at BLACK COMBAT 17: VANTABLACK next month (Sat., Nov. 21, 2026) inside Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea.
Akiyama and Leben originally met at UFC 116 in July 2010, producing one of the most entertaining fights of the year.
More than 16 years later, they are apparently doing it again.
The infamous knockout artist did eventually return to combat sports through bare-knuckle boxing, compiling a 3-1 record with three knockouts. Leben retired from competition again after flattening Quentin Henry at the inaugural BKFC KnuckleMania event in 2021.
Since then, the 46-year-old has remained involved in MMA as a referee and judge.
Now, for reasons only the combat sports gods understand, he is fighting again.
Akiyama (16-7), meanwhile, will call it a career at 51 years old.
After leaving UFC in 2015, the Japanese star remained inactive for more than three years before signing with ONE Championship. He went 2-1 across three MMA appearances, scoring stoppage victories over Sherif Mohamed and Shinya Aoki.
“Sexyama” most recently competed against kickboxing legend Nieky Holzken in a bizarre custom-rules fight in Jan. 2024. The opening round was contested under boxing rules, the second was scheduled for Muay Thai and the third would have used MMA rules.
Akiyama never made it out of the boxing portion, suffering a brutal knockout loss in less than two minutes (watch highlights).
The good news is that his final fight will take place under familiar MMA rules. The bad news is that he will be standing across from a notoriously heavy-handed man who already owns a victory over him.
Akiyama and Leben will carry a combined 97 years of life experience into the cage at BLACK COMBAT 17.
Nostalgia is one hell of a drug.
