WATCH: Yoshihiro Akiyama’s emotion-filled KO victory over bitter rival Shinya Aoki at ONE X

There is no better feeling in the world for a professional fighter in an extremely heated rivalry than to be the one to end it in spectacular fashion, and that was certainly the case for Yoshihiro Akiyama.

‘Sexyama’ was in for the fight of his life at ONE X as his long-standing rivalry with Shinya Aoki was finally coming to a head after nearly two decades of bad blood.

‘Tobikan Judan’ has been calling out his Japanese-Korean counterpart for the better part of their careers, and it all came to a head when Aoki called out Akiyama in 2021 to the point of accusing him of avoiding their fight.

Then in February 2022, ONE Championship finally confirmed that the pair will share the ONE Circle at ONE X happening the following month.

Aoki immediately closed the distance and was able to get onto the back of Akiyama and threatened a rear-naked choke for nearly the entirety of round one.

However, Akiyama would make him pay for his repeated attempts at a takedown, stunning the two-time ONE lightweight MMA world champion against the cage with his superior striking, eventually putting him away with a cavalcade of punches to win via TKO.

After the bout, Aoki stated that their bad blood is now all in the past.

---

Akiyama warns ONE 165 opponent

The Japanese star will get another shot at bettering his legacy as he competes in a special rules bout with Nieky Holzken at ONE 165 inside the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, January 28.

The 48-year-old knows that Father Time is right around the corner and while Holzken may look to take advantage of this, Akiyama is determined to prove that he can still compete at the highest level.

Check your local listings or visit ONE Championship's official website on how to watch ONE 165 from your location.