ONE Championship’s ‘Sexyama’ Choo Sung-hoon reflects on Netflix Physical 100 exit – ‘old men, we can still do it’
- MMA legend Choo, aka Yoshihiro Akiyama, was one of the biggest stars of Netflix’s hit reality competition
- ‘I wanted to prove people in their 40s and 50s like me can beat young people if they work hard,’ he says after loss in penultimate challenge
ONE Championship star “Sexyama” Choo Sung-hoon has reflected on his exit from the hit Netflix show Physical 100.
The 47-year-old Choo was one of the stars of the Korean reality competition, which debuted on the streaming platform in January and pitted 100 contestants who are in top physical shape against each other in a series of gruelling challenges.
CrossFit and snowboard athlete Woo Jin-yong ultimately won the cash prize of 300 million South Korean won (US$230,000), beating Olympic cyclist Jung Hae-min in the finale, which aired in late February.
But Japanese-Korean mixed martial artist Choo – also known as Yoshihiro Akiyama – was one of the most popular contestants among fans of the show.
Choo made it all the way to episode 8, falling in the penultimate challenge, “The Punishment of Sisyphus”, which involved repeatedly rolling a 200-pound boulder up an incline.
Following his defeat, Choo showed his class in an exit interview. “It’s a pity, but this is a competition and that’s the fun of it,” he said.
“I have no regrets, but I’m disappointed. I wanted to prove that people in their 40s and 50s around the world, like me, can beat young people if they work hard,” he later wrote in an Instagram post last week, reflecting on his time on the show.
“I’m sorry I lost. But old men all over the world! We can still do it! Thank you so much to everyone who supported me/us.”
Choo last competed in ONE in March 2022, taking a second-round TKO over fellow legend Shinya Aoki of Japan at the Singapore-based martial arts promotion’s 10th anniversary spectacular, ONE X.
“Results are important, but I think the process of setting a goal and working hard every day is more important,” he added.
“Life goes on no matter the outcome. And whatever you do is never done alone. Whenever you have a hard time, please think of someone dear to you and overcome it together.
“Stay healthy and go for life everyone.”
Choo – who won gold for South Korea in judo at the 2001 Asian Championships, and for Japan at the 2002 Asian Games – was also popular among his fellow contestants.
In the first challenge, his fellow MMA fighter Shin Dong-guk – who competes in South Korean promotion Road FC – challenged Choo to use MMA rules (with open palm strikes instead of closed fists) to battle for the ball, saying it was an honour to compete against such a legend.
Choo was reunited with some of his fellow contestants from the show last weekend, sharing a post on Instagram of their meetup.
“Best physical friends,” he wrote.
