'At my age, training at 100% every day is a stress': 'Sexyama' Choo Sung-hoon returning to pro MMA in 2024

Last March, MMA fighter Choo Sung-hoon delivered his final punches to fellow fighter Shinya Aoki and was crowned winner in the last three minutes of ONE Championship ONE X on its 10th anniversary — and the crowd went wild.

Fans all over the world wanted to see more of Sung-hoon, also known as Yoshihiro 'Sexyama' Akiyama, flexing his muscles and were given a treat earlier this year when he appeared in Netflix smash hit Physical: 100 and made it to the final 20 contestants.

For those who can't get enough of him, good news for you: Sexyama is returning to the fighting ring next year.

Speaking to AsiaOne at the Zentosa LiveWELL Festival at Sentosa last Saturday (June 10), the 47-year-old Japanese-Korean mentioned that he is currently training for his next fight.

He said: "I have been scheduled for competitions in South Korea next year, so that is when I am going to make my return."

Sexyama shared that he believes in consistency and training every day to keep up with his standards. However, he is also concerned about overexerting himself.

"At my age, training at 100 per cent every day is a stress for me because my body will not be able to take it and I may get injured, so instead I will put in 70 per cent effort and exercise every day," he said.

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He added that, on average, he trains at least twice a day and at most three times on a good day.

To maintain his well-being and ensure that he is in his best condition every day, Sexyama believed that "the early bird gets the best worm".

He said: "I believe in sleeping early and waking up early because that's when I feel most refreshed, my body is able to recover well. I will also be able to enjoy my breakfast and exercises."

He even shared with us that he slept at 9pm the night before, woke up at 6am on Saturday, went to the gym, before returning to change at the hotel and kickstart the Discovery Walk at the Zentosa LiveWELL Festival at 8am.

The wellness festival, which runs till July 9, focuses on five pillars — PlayWELL, EatWELL, BondWELL, RestWELL and FeelWELL — and sees Sentosa transformed into an island retreat with over 250 activities for guests to rejuvenate their mind, body and spirit.

Guests can choose to participate in a variety of activities such as therapeutic forest walk, cycling, breathwork, yoga, scavenger hunt and press flower art-making among others. Tickets for selected activities are priced at $6 each.

With talent, recognition and fame comes haters, and Sexyama is no stranger to them.

Before he won against Aoki, 40, in ONE X last year, the latter had already publicly called him out a few times.

In October 2021, Aoki confronted Sexyama at the octagon ring, demanding the latter to explain why he declined Aoki's earlier offer to fight.

Sexyama explained calmly that he was healing from a torn muscle and was under doctor's orders to rest. Aoki, who wanted the final say, said that Sexyama "doesn't have that much time left".

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When we asked Sexyama how he deals with hate comments, he shared that he is actually grateful for it.

"I am actually very thankful for [the comments], because it means that somebody is paying attention to me, and that's why they feel the jealousy and hatred needed to leave those comments," said Sexyama.

"Of course, I feel that if I didn't receive those comments, that would be great. But in this world, it's hard to not have people hating others.

"So I believe in the mindset of, 'If I am thankful for it, I will not have any bad or negative feelings about it'.

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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com

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