‘Sexyama’ Accepts Special Rules Superfight Against Former Kickboxing Champ

The Japanese judoka will have to survive two stand-up rounds against kickboxer Holzken to make it to a third MMA round.

ONE has added more fire power to its big Tokyo, Japan event on January 28th with the announcement of Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Nieky Holzken in a ‘special rules superfight.’

Their bout will feature three rulesets: the first round will be under boxing rules, the second round under Muay Thai, and the third round under MMA. That’s pretty advantageous for Holzken, who is a former kickboxing champion under multiple organizations. At 40, Nieky is also nine years younger than Akiyama.

Akiyama is a legend of combat sports in both Japan and South Korea. He came up under the K-1 Hero’s promotion and Dream before joining the UFC in 2009, where he fought for six years. A reality show featuring his daughter called The Return of Superman raised his profile even higher, and interest has been even higher for “Sexyama” after an appearance on the popular gameshow competition Physical:100.

The Japanese judoka has held up well in competition despite his age. He’s fought three times under the ONE banner, going 2-1 with knockout wins over Sherif Mohamed and Shinya Aoki. Hoelzen is 2-2 over his last four, with his last victory coming over John Wayne Parr in April 2021

ONE Championship is hoping to make waves in Japan with ONE 165, headlined by Muay Thai star Superlek Kiatmoo9 vs. former three-weight K-1 champion Takeru Segawa. Segawa was originally set to fight Rodtang Jitmuangnon, but a hand injury resulted in Superlek stepping into the kickboxing bout.

Also on the card: ONE Grappling champ Kade Ruotolo takes on Tommy Langaker in a rematch of their exciting June 2023 fight. Sage Northcutt and Shinya Aoki will finally fight after a 2021 booking fell apart. And Garry Tonon will face Martin Nguyen in a lightweight MMA bout.

The success of this card could be key to ONE’s continued survival. They’re currently hoping to turn things around after several years of uneven cashflow, and a big event could help it secure much-needed funding from the investment firms that it will reportedly need to make it into 2025.