Once in a while, an awe-inspiring celebrity visits Singapore and fans' dreams to meet their hero come true.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Choo Sung-hoon, who gained further fame after his stellar performance in the recent Netflix Korean variety show Physical: 100, visited Singapore over the weekend (March 24 and 25) for a fan meet-and-greet at the One Championship event One Fight Night 8: Superlek vs Williams on Saturday.

Snaking queues of enthusiastic fans presented photos and boxing gloves for him to sign, which the 47-year-old, a fourth-generation Korean living in Japan and who is also known by his Japanese name Yoshihiro 'Sexyama' Akiyama, did so in a baby-blue pullover from his label Sung 1975.

AsiaOne spoke with Sexyama after the event and asked if he would be keen for his daughter Choo Sarang, 11, to join show business.

"I did see that she had many artistic talents as a child. But I have not heard her mention that she wants to become a celebrity. Her mother is a famous model, so I think that this may be something she will be interested in in the future," he quipped cheerfully in Korean.

Sarang shot to fame after appearing in the hugely popular Korean variety show The Return of Superman from 2013 to 2017, returning for a special episode in 2022 with her mother Shiho Yano.

Sexyama won multiple gold medals for judo at regional championships from 2001 to 2003 — one for South Korea at the 2001 Asian Championships, and another one for Japan at the 2002 Asian Games.

In 2006, he was also the K-1 Hero Light Heavyweight Grand Prix world champion. He has been dubbed "Sexyama" for being able to maintain his physical fitness and MMA performance even into his forties.

According to media reports, Sexyama shared recently in a TV show that Sarang experienced some degree of trauma when she was three years old due to her popularity on The Return of Superman.

Many people had enthusiastically wanted to get close to Sarang when they saw her in public.

"But because too many people approached her at one go, she became very terrified," he explained.

Thankfully, he and his wife explained to her that they were approaching her because they liked her, and she gradually accepted it and became warmer to fans.

During the interview with AsiaOne, Sexyama also said his family do not typically offer advice to each other on what they should or should not do. They respect that they have things they want to do, and they give each other support to do those things.

That was also the case for his participation in Physical: 100.

After the competition, he kept in touch with the contestants.

"We drink and have dinner together. A few weeks back, I bought 50 of them dinner. I intend to keep doing the same," he told AsiaOne.

Regarding the controversy surrounding the final round involving Woo Jin-yong and Jung Hae-min, Sexyama also shared his views: "I was not on set when it happened. All I knew was that the two athletes did all they could, and because of that, I give them all my respect."

Sexyama also opened up about his greatest joys and regrets from the show.

"I had great fun moving the ship with my team. That was definitely my number one memory of the show. And because I was unable to make it to the finals in The Punishment of Sisyphus, that was also my greatest regret."

The Punishment of Sisyphus was the last challenge where he had to push a 100kg boulder up a slope in a battle against three other contestants.

He also gave high recognition to everybody in the final few rounds, praising them to be "prime specimens of athletics".

Nonetheless, one particular person dazzled him.

"Yun Sung-bin, the guy with an Olympics gold medal in skeleton racing, left a deep impression. When we were working out and interacting and doing our challenges, I could feel that he was really, really, really strong, and very fit," he recalled.

Regarding his MMA career with One Championship, Sexyama mentioned that he plans to return to fighting but needs time to train, and hopes for the event to be held in South Korea soon.

On the March 25 match, Superlek "The Kicking Machine" Kiatmoo9 and Allycia Hellen Rodrigues both managed to defend their One Championship titles. The next One Championship event will be held in Broomfield, Colorado, United States in May 2023, which Sexyama confirmed he will be attending as a member of the audience.

ALSO READ: I played by the rules, says Physical: 100 winner Woo Jin-yong as he refutes claims of match-rigging

jolynn.chia@asiaone.com

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