Yoshihiro Akiyama is the former K-1 HERO's Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament Champion.
44 Facts About Yoshihiro Akiyama
2.
Yoshihiro Akiyama began training in Judo at the age of three.
3.
Yoshihiro Akiyama has trained Karate, Boxing, Kick Boxing, Wrestling and Submission Wrestling with Greg Jackson.
4.
However, all three opponents claimed that Yoshihiro Akiyama had a slippery judogi.
5.
Yoshihiro Akiyama was accused of wearing slippery gear by former world and Olympic champion Kenzo Nakamura when they fought at the world championship trials in 2002.
6.
Yoshihiro Akiyama's first defeat was to Jerome LeBanner, who knocked him out with knees in his second fight at the HERO'S 1 event on March 26,2005, although LeBanner is a heavyweight that came into the fight at 262 pounds, while Akiyama came into the fight at 189.5 pounds.
7.
Yoshihiro Akiyama has notable wins against Tokimitsu Ishizawa, Taiei Kin, Kestutis Smirnovas and Melvin Manhoef.
8.
Yoshihiro Akiyama defeated Melvin Manhoef at the Hero's light-heavyweight Grand Prix 2006 final round, and gained the champion belt.
9.
In K-1 Premium 2006 Dynamite, Yoshihiro Akiyama fought the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba in the main event.
10.
Pre-fight footage showed Yoshihiro Akiyama casually applying six bottles of lotion to his body in his locker room.
11.
Yoshihiro Akiyama himself was suspended indefinitely from HERO'S competition six days later.
12.
Public outcry against Yoshihiro Akiyama did not cease however, and Nike was swamped with complaints when Yoshihiro Akiyama was featured on a television commercial in Japan.
13.
Yoshihiro Akiyama was cleared from his FEG-induced suspension and FEG announced that Yoshihiro Akiyama would return to K-1 Hero's in Seoul, on October 28,2007.
14.
Yoshihiro Akiyama's opponent was Denis Kang, who was the finalist of PRIDE Bushido Grand Prix 2006 and making his debut in Hero's.
15.
On February 24,2009 it was announced on the official UFC website that Yoshihiro Akiyama had signed a deal with the company.
16.
On May 30,2009 Yoshihiro Akiyama opened a new gym in Tokyo, Japan.
17.
The 'Yoshihiro Akiyama Dojo' has Judo and MMA halls, 30 tatami mats and three octagonal cages.
18.
Yoshihiro Akiyama joined Xtreme Couture for the month of October 2009 to work on his striking skills.
19.
Yoshihiro Akiyama was expected to face MMA legend and former PRIDE Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva on February 21,2010 at UFC 110, but Silva instead faced British striker Michael Bisping on the card, winning via unanimous decision.
20.
At the Post-fight conference, UFC President Dana White stated that Yoshihiro Akiyama had requested to fight Silva for a while and has refused to fight other opponents, after which both fighters verbally agreed to fight.
21.
Yoshihiro Akiyama was expected to face Silva on July 3,2010 at UFC 116.
22.
Yoshihiro Akiyama lost to Michael Bisping on October 16,2010 at UFC 120 by unanimous decision.
23.
In preparation for his fight with Bisping, Yoshihiro Akiyama switched to Jackson's Submission Fighting in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
24.
Yoshihiro Akiyama earned his third "Fight of the Night" honors.
25.
Yoshihiro Akiyama has now earned "Fight of the Night" honors for all three of his UFC appearances.
26.
Yoshihiro Akiyama was briefly scheduled to face Chael Sonnen on March 19,2011 at UFC 128, but, due to Sonnen's suspension, the fight was scrapped.
27.
Yoshihiro Akiyama was later scheduled to face Nate Marquardt at the same event, but pulled out due to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami and was replaced by Dan Miller.
28.
Yoshihiro Akiyama was defeated by Vitor Belfort at UFC 133 via KO in the first round.
29.
On November 3,2011, a picture of Yoshihiro Akiyama had circled the web of his body frame as a welterweight.
30.
Yoshihiro Akiyama faced Jake Shields on February 26,2012 at UFC 144.
31.
Yoshihiro Akiyama lost the fight via unanimous decision.
32.
Yoshihiro Akiyama was expected to face Thiago Alves on July 21,2012 at UFC 149.
33.
However, Yoshihiro Akiyama was forced out of the bout with an injury.
34.
Yoshihiro Akiyama stated he still has interest in fighting Wanderlei Silva, a bout scheduled for UFC 116 but was changed when Silva had to pull out of the fight due to injury.
35.
Yoshihiro Akiyama was scheduled to face Kyle Noke on the card.
36.
Yoshihiro Akiyama faced Agilan Thani in a co-headliner bout at ONE Championship: Legendary Quest on June 20,2019.
37.
Yoshihiro Akiyama faced Sherif Mohamed at ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle on February 28,2020.
38.
Yoshihiro Akiyama won the fight via knockout in the first round, his first stoppage via strikes in nearly 13 years.
39.
Yoshihiro Akiyama was initially scheduled to face Mohammad Karaki at ONE on TNT 3 on April 21,2021.
40.
However, the bout was cancelled and Yoshihiro Akiyama was supposed to face Eduard Folayang at ONE on TNT 4 on April 28,2021.
41.
Yoshihiro Akiyama announced that he plans to fight till he is 50.
42.
Yoshihiro Akiyama was lauded for his excellence performance and leadership at the age of 47 and placed a very respectable 20 out of 100 contestants, before ultimately being eliminated in the round entitled 'The Punishment of Sisyphus'.
43.
In March 2009, Yoshihiro Akiyama married famous Japanese fashion model Shiho Yano whom he had been dating since January 2007.
44.
Yoshihiro Akiyama is close friends with South Korean actor Jang Keun-suk.