Norifumi Yamamoto

At 41 years old, Norifumi Yamamoto has this physical status:

Norifumi Yamamoto (March 15, 1977 – September 18, 2018) was a Japanese mixed martial artist and kickboxer who competed in the UFC's bantamweight division.

He quickly gained clout in the Shooto group due to his unique, well-rounded look, and eccentric persona.

After beating Genki Sudo via a controversial TKO due to punches, he continued to K-1 Hero's 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament Champion. Although he was a natural bantamweight in most respects, many of Yamamoto's most important battles occurred in the lightweight division, which was the greatest division in Hero's history.

More recently, he competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the bantamweight division, but he didn't do well there, winningless in his first four fights.

Personal life

Yamamoto was married to MALIA (,), a Japanese female fashion model with two sons and a daughter. In 2009, the couple got divorced.

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Mixed martial arts career

Yamamoto made his professional mixed martial arts debut against Masato Shiozawa in 2001 at Shooto - To The Top 2, where he defeated by unanimous decision. In the first round, he will advance to his next two fights, both by TKO in the first round.

At Shogun 1, Yamamoto encountered future Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Josh Thomson in Honolulu, Hawaii. Yamamoto dominated Thomson with takedowns and strikes, but the round two game was decided a no contest due to an accidental kick to the groin three minutes into round two.

Yamamoto was defeated by TKO to Stephen Palling on May 5, 2002. Palling responded with a knee, opening a massive cut to Yamamoto's face when Yamamoto was down for a double-leg takedown. Although Yamamoto succeeded in slamming Palling, blood started pouring out of the cut and the referee called off the match. Yamamoto was unable to continue, and Palling was named the winner.

Kid went on to win his next three fights over Tetsuo Katsuta, Jeff Curran, and Caleb Mitchell.

Yamamoto's K-1 Hero made his K-1 Hero debut on April 7, 2004, where he choked out Tony Valente only 58 seconds into the match. Yamamoto's fame soared over the next year as he went on to defeat Kazuya Yasuhiro, Jadamba Narantungalag, and Ian James Schaffa in an exciting fashion.

Yamamoto would win the 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix after defeating three well-known competitors, Royler Gracie, Caol Uno, and Genki Sudo.

Yamamoto beat Kazuyuki Miyata four seconds into the fight with a flying knee moment after the bell sounded on May 3, 2006. It was the fastest knockout in a big MMA tournament ever.

Yamamoto declared an indefinite leave of absence from fighting in Beijing's 2008 Summer Olympics, making him return to his roots and prepare for and compete in freestyle wrestling. He had hoped to win the Olympic Gold medal for freestyle wrestling ever since he was a child, as his father, Ikuei Yamamoto, represented Japan in the 1972 Olympic games in Munich. Yamamoto began in qualifying with a dramatic win over Japanese Self Defense Forces member Akihiro Tsuchida. Yamamoto was nimble and explosive against Tsuchida, who had placed third in the 132-pound freestyle class at the 2006 Emperor's Cup. In the semifinals against 2004 Athens Bronze Medalist Kenji Inoue, Yamamoto dislocated his right elbow and was thus prone to the quick pinfall. Yamamoto had no choice but to abandon his hopes of competing in the Olympic Games and return to mixed martial arts after this injury.

Yamamoto's return to MMA came on September 17, 2007 against future Dream Featherweight Champion Bibiano Fernandes at K-1 Hero's 10. Yamamoto won the match by a unanimous vote.

At K-1 Hero's Dynamite!!

Yamamoto defeated Rani Yahya at Bantamweight [1] on December 31. Yamamoto won the second round via TKO due to soccer and ground kicks.

Fighting and Entertainment Group founded Dream in February 2008, a new MMA event that was supposed to be the successor to Hero's. Norifumi Yamamoto was one of the many former Pride and Hero's fighters who was announced to participate in the new competition[2]. He was supposed to make his Dream debut against Joseph Benavidez at Dream 5 but the match was postponed three days before due to a knee injury sustained by Yamamoto.

Yamamoto revealed his participation in the Dream Featherweight Grand Prix, which began at Dream.7. He did not qualify until the second round at Dream.9 on May 26, facing future Bellator Joe Warren due to an injury. Yamamoto lost by a slim margin against Warren Buffett, the newcomer. Given that Warren (2-0 MMA record at the time) ended Yamamoto's 14-fight winning streak, it was considered a major surprise at the time.

Yamamoto lost to SRC Featherweight Champion Masanori Kanehara after a unanimous vote at Dynamite. On New Year's Eve, 2009, it was 2009.

Yamamoto had intended to make his Strikeforce debut against Team Quest's Federico Lopez at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery, but instead, DREAM had him defeated Lopez at Dream 14. Yamamoto won his first match after two straight upset losses, beating Lopez via TKO (Punches). In preparations for the fight, Yamamoto decided to "reinvent" himself by heading to Okinawa to work under former WBA Light Welterweight Champion Akinobu Hiranaka.

At UFC 126, Yamamoto made his UFC debut against future UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson. He lost the fight by unanimous decision, despite being unable to resist Johnson's regular assaults.

At UFC 130, he was then scheduled to face Chris Cariaso on May 28, 2011. Yamamoto was forced out of the match due to a back injury and was replaced by Michael McDonald. On September 24, 2011, Damacio Page at UFC 135 will have another bout. After both fighters sustained injuries in preparation, it was also cancelled on September 1.

Yamamoto then defeated Darren Uyenoyama at UFC on Fox on Fox on Nov. 12, 2011: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos. Despite being hurting Uyenoyama several times, including a knockdown in the second round, Yamamoto lost by unanimous decision after Uyenoyama had him on the ground for the majority of the combat.

On February 26, 2012 at UFC 144, Yamamoto's next fight was against Vaughan Lee. Yamamoto shook Lee early in the first round with a right hand, but minutes later, a British hook-uppercut pair was wobbled. Lee knocked down Lee but was trapped in a triangle choke; Lee then switched to an armbar, handing Yamamoto his first ever defeat by submission.

On September 21, 2013, Yamamoto was supposed to face Ivan Menjivar at UFC 165. However, Yamamoto was dropped from the match and Wilson Reis was brought to his rescue.

Yamamoto returned from a three-year absence to face Roman Salazar at UFC 184 on February 28, 2015. After an accidental eye poke by Yamamoto, Salazar was unable to progress through the second round.

At UFC Fight Night 75, Yamamoto was supposed to meet Matt Hobar on September 27, 2015. However, the match was called off due to injury suffered by both fighters in the week leading up to the tournament.

Yamamoto was scheduled to meet Chris Beal at UFC Fight Night 89 on June 18, 2016. Yamamoto was excused from the match on May 26 due to an undisclosed injury. Joe Soto had him removed from his service.

Kickboxing career

At K-1 Premium 2004 Dynamite, Yamamoto met Masato! In a much awaited match under K-1 rules, the decision was decided by the judge. The fight attained a 31.6 rating and was watched by more than 34 million viewers.

Kid Yamamoto was disqualified by TKO in the fourth round of the Amateur Kickboxer Percy Ramos at the 2006 Fighter of the Year tournament.

Yamamoto then met Mike Zambidis in the K-1 World Max 2005 Tournament, but he would also miss this match by KO early in the third round.

Yamamoto was defeated by Korean kickboxer Jae Hee Cheon via KO at K-1 World MAX 2009 World Championship Tournament Final 8. He is now 1-3 under K-1 rules.

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