UFC Vet Yoshihiro Akiyama to Clash With Sherif Mohamed at One: King of the Jungle

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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight contender Yoshihiro Akiyama is returning to action in an upcoming One Championship event in February.

Even though he is nearly 45, “Sexyama” is not even remotely thinking about hanging the gloves up, and is now set to lock horns with Egypt's Sherif Mohamed in One’s welterweight division (185 pounds) at One: King of the Jungle.

Akiyama (14-7, 2 NC) came out of retirement in 2019 after nearly four years on the bench. "Sexyama" made his One debut at One: Legendary Quest, when he lost a decision to Malaysian fighter Agilan Thani. Prior to that, the Japanese fighter was edged by Alberto Mina in a close fight at UFC Fight Night 79. Akiyama's last victory dates back to 2014, when the judges awarded him a unanimous decision victory over Amir Sadollah at UFC Fight Night 52.

In spite of his past three appearances, Sherif Mohamed (8-5) is looking for his first victory under the One banner. "The Shark" lost both to Igor Subora at One: Quest for Power and Thani at One: Quest for Greatness via a unanimous verdit back in 2017. In his latest fight, he was crushed by China's Fan Rong at One: Legendary Quest.

One: King of the Jungle will go down at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Feb. 28. A pair of championship affairs will headline the event, as Nong Stamp defends her atomweight kickboxing belt against Janet Todd, while Sam-A Gaiyanghadao puts his strawweight Muay Thai title on the line against Rocky Ogden.