Chris Leben is ending a layoff of nearly 13 years to fight Yoshihiro Akiyama in Akiyama’s retirement bout at Black Combat 17 on November 21 at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
Black Combat revealed the matchup on its event poster, which bills the fight as “Vendetta: The Rematch.” The poster lists Akiyama at 16 wins (14 finishes) and 7 losses, and Leben at 20 wins (15 finishes) and 12 losses.
Akiyama, who is known in South Korea as Choo Sung-hoon, said in an August 11 YouTube video that he wanted one last fight on the card, according to Korea Daily. No opponent had been named at that point.
A rematch of a 2010 Fight of the Night
The two first met at UFC 116 in July 2010, with Leben stepping in on short notice after Wanderlei Silva pulled out with broken ribs. Leben took the fight two weeks after beating Aaron Simpson.
He submitted Akiyama with a triangle choke at 4:40 of the third round, and both men earned Fight of the Night bonuses. It was Akiyama’s first loss in the UFC, coming after a decision win over Alan Belcher in his promotional debut at UFC 100.
Leben last fought in MMA on December 28, 2013, when a doctor stopped his bout with Uriah Hall at UFC 168 after the first round. He has since moved into judging. Asked about a comeback in a 2017 interview with Cageside Press, he answered “probably not.”
Akiyama, 51, last fought in March 2022, when he knocked out Shinya Aoki in the second round at ONE X.
