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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight Yoshihiro Akiyama<\/strong>, better known as \u201cSexyama,\u201d will compete in his final mixed martial arts (MMA) fight against former opponent and original Ultimate Fighter<\/em> cult hero Chris Leben<\/strong> at BLACK COMBAT 17: VANTABLACK next month (Sat., Nov. 21, 2026) inside Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea.<\/p>\n Akiyama and Leben originally met at UFC 116 in July 2010, producing one of the most entertaining fights of the year.<\/p>\n More than 16 years later, they are apparently doing it again.<\/p>\n 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<\/strong> at the inaugural BKFC KnuckleMania event in 2021.<\/p>\n Since then, the 46-year-old has remained involved in MMA as a referee and judge.<\/p>\n Now, for reasons only the combat sports gods understand, he is fighting again.<\/p>\n Akiyama (16-7), meanwhile, will call it a career at 51 years old.<\/p>\n 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<\/strong> and Shinya Aoki<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cSexyama\u201d most recently competed against kickboxing legend Nieky Holzken<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n Akiyama never made it out of the boxing portion, suffering a brutal knockout loss in less than two minutes (watch highlights).<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Akiyama and Leben will carry a combined 97 years of life experience into the cage at BLACK COMBAT 17.<\/p>\n Nostalgia is one hell of a drug.<\/p>\n