Akiyama Yoshihiro (Yoshihiro Akiyama)

Also known as: Choo Seong Hoon, Chu Seong Hoon, Choo Sung Hoon, 추성훈, Sexyama

Date of birth: 29 July 1975 (51 years old)

Country: Japanese

Akiyama Yoshihiro, also known by his Korean name Choo Sung Hoon, is a Japanese former mixed martial artist and judoka turned TV personality. He graduated from Seifu High School and later obtained a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Kinki University. He began his career as a judoka after being involved in the sport since he was 3 years old. In 2001, he represented South Korea and won the gold medal at the Asian Judo Championships. One year later, now representing Japan, he won the gold medal at the Asian Games. He then faced controversy at the 2003 World Judo Championships when several opponents he had defeated began accusing him of cheating by wearing a slippery judogi. After being forced to change uniforms, he lost the remaining matches and missed out on a medal. He then switched to mixed martial arts and debuted at the K-1 Premium 2004 Dynamite event, where he won his first combat. However, in the 2006 edition of the event, he was once again accused of cheating by being slippery. Pre-fight footage showed him casually applying six bottles of lotion to his body in his locker room. As a result, he was disqualified, and his agency opted to suspend him for one year. In 2009, he signed to fight at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events and continued fighting with several long hiatuses until 2015. He moved to ONE Championship in 2019 and had sporadic events as he wanted to continue fighting until his 50th birthday. In 2009, he married famous Japanese fashion model Yano Shiho after dating for 2 years. The couple have one daughter, Choo Sa Rang or Akiyama Saran, born in 2011. He is now appearing in many variety shows and reality competitions involving physical activities and travelling between Japan and South Korea year-round.