Tag: kid yamamoto

UFC 126 Undercard Predictions

Preliminary card Welterweight bout: Mike Pierce vs Kenny Robertson Mike Pierce is one of the most underknown and underappreciated welterweights. I’ve got Pierce winning this. Light Heavyweight bout: Kyle Kingsbury vs Ricardo Romero For whatever reason, Romero seems to pull out the victories at the end of the day. I lean towards Romero here in […]

Preliminary card

Welterweight bout: Mike Pierce vs Kenny Robertson

Mike Pierce is one of the most underknown and underappreciated welterweights. I’ve got Pierce winning this.

Light Heavyweight bout: Kyle Kingsbury vs Ricardo Romero

For whatever reason, Romero seems to pull out the victories at the end of the day. I lean towards Romero here in the underdog position.

Lightweight bout: Paul Taylor vs Gabe Ruediger

Taylor should eat Ruediger up as Ruediger is rather poor on his feet, but good on the ground and Taylor is excellent on the feet and mediocre on the ground. Taylor should win this fight via decision.

Preliminary card (Facebook Stream)

Bantamweight bout: Norifumi Yamamoto vs Demetrious Johnson

Kid Yamamoto against a guy I don’t know. I go with Yamamoto everytime.

Preliminary card (Spike TV)

Featherweight bout: Chad Mendes vs Michihiro Omigawa

I know Mendes is likely to win, but you can’t write off Omigawa so easily either. Mendes is -357 to Omigawa at Intertops. With crazy skewed odds I’ll go with Omigawa.

Lightweight bout: Donald Cerrone vs Paul Kelly

This is going to be a great fight. Kelly is tough as nails, Cerrone is as well. I don’t think Cerrone has faced someone as strong as Kelly yet. I think Kelly wears em down and takes the decision.

Main card

Bantamweight bout: Miguel Torres vs Antonio Banuelos

Miguell Torres is likely to win, but I’m avoiding this due to the odds being out of bounds.

Light Heavyweight bout: Jon Jones vs Ryan Bader

This is my favorite fight on the card. I got Jon Jones winning this fight. Intertops has it -357 for Jones and +240 for Bader.

Welterweight bout: Jake Ellenberger vs Carlos Eduardo Rocha

One of the best fighters to bet on is Ellenberger. However, this fight is tricky. Rocha is a absolute jiu-jitsu ace and has a ton of leg related sub victories. I’m passing here as I think Rocha could pull off an insane upset. However, the oddsmakers look like they are thinking like me and Ellenberger is not such a large favorite in this one.

Demetrious Johnson on KID Yamamoto Fight: ‘It’s a Dream Come True’

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LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to Demetrious Johnson about his upcoming UFC 126 fight against KID Yamamoto, which will air live on Facebook. “Mighty Mouse” talked about facing the Japanese star, what he expects to see from him, his own UFC debut and his unique nickname.

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LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to Demetrious Johnson about his upcoming UFC 126 fight against KID Yamamoto, which will air live on Facebook. “Mighty Mouse” talked about facing the Japanese star, what he expects to see from him, his own UFC debut and his unique nickname.

KID Yamamoto Calls UFC 126 Debut ‘Destiny’

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LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to KID Yamamoto on Wednesday about his upcoming UFC 126 debut against Demetrious Johnson on Saturday night. The former K-1 Hero’s star talked about why he was so excited to make his UFC debut, his thoughts on the decline of Japanese MMA and what he expects from “Mighty Mouse.”

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LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to KID Yamamoto on Wednesday about his upcoming UFC 126 debut against Demetrious Johnson on Saturday night. The former K-1 Hero’s star talked about why he was so excited to make his UFC debut, his thoughts on the decline of Japanese MMA and what he expects from “Mighty Mouse.”

In Case You Forgot: Kid Yamamoto Makes His UFC Debut This Saturday

(Yamamoto def. Federico ‘Kiko’ Lopez via KO, 1:41 of round 1, 5/29/10)
It’s a sad state of affairs when one of the greatest featherweight fighters of all time can arrive in the UFC with virtually zero fanfare, buried on a preliminary card dark-mat…

(Yamamoto def. Federico ‘Kiko’ Lopez via KO, 1:41 of round 1, 5/29/10)

It’s a sad state of affairs when one of the greatest featherweight fighters of all time can arrive in the UFC with virtually zero fanfare, buried on a preliminary card dark-match against a young contender. Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto enters the Octagon for the first time this Saturday at UFC 126, and while that would have been a major story three years ago, times have changed. 

Yamamoto made his name in K-1’s MMA shows as a lightning-fast knockout artist, but his reputation took a major hit in 2008-2009, when he followed-up a long knee-injury layoff with two decision losses against Joe Warren and Masanori Kanehara. (He also divorced his hot wife in 2009. So, bad times all around.) Last year, Yamamoto dropped to bantamweight for the first time in his career to face journeyman Federico Lopez at Dream.14. Showing flashes of his old self, he finished the fight in less than two minutes, crumpling Lopez with a right hook and smashing him with shots on the ground until the ref intervened.

Of course, it’s too early to say that the Kid is "back" — his opponent, Demetrious Johnson, is a tough customer who’s looked impressive in his last two wins in the WEC, and having a successful Octagon debut is easier said than done. Can Yamamoto jump-start his career in the U.S., or is it too late for him to make an impact? Check out some of his greatest victories after the jump, and remember the good times…

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Norifumi ‘KID’ Yamamoto, Michihiro Omigawa Sign With UFC

Filed under: DREAM, UFC, News, JapanUFC president Dana White has made it no secret over the years that he has been interested in signing Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto. With sources indicating that Yamamoto had a falling out with FEG post-DREAM.14, finally on…

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UFC president Dana White has made it no secret over the years that he has been interested in signing Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto. With sources indicating that Yamamoto had a falling out with FEG post-DREAM.14, finally one of Japan’s top featherweights will be making his way to the UFC, White revealed via twitter on Friday.

Yamamoto isn’t the only fighter that has been poached from DREAM this week, top 10 featherweight Michihiro Omigawa has also re-signed with the UFC this week and will be making his debut against Chad Mendes at either UFC 126 in February or UFC 128 in March.

Unreal Comeback By Joe Warren

Joe Soto was winning the first round 10-8. However, against Joe Warren, a guy you can’t count out…ever. Warren comes out clips Soto on the ear, Soto falls, but is clearly ok. Warren follows with punches from above, Soto gets up. As they move towards the cage, Warren catches Soto with a knee followed by […]

Joe Soto was winning the first round 10-8. However, against Joe Warren, a guy you can’t count out…ever.

Warren comes out clips Soto on the ear, Soto falls, but is clearly ok. Warren follows with punches from above, Soto gets up. As they move towards the cage, Warren catches Soto with a knee followed by a left hook that folds Soto with a KO ref stoppage and takes the belt.

Amazing come back. Catch it on youtube or wherever.

*I picked Joe Warren to beat Kid Yamamoto, just saying.