Former opponents remember Kid Yamamoto

[ExitLUPin]

https://www.thescrap.co/legends-live-forever-remembering-kid-yamamoto/

This guy was a FW who could make BW and knocking out ranked LWs. He was never the same after 2007 w/ injuries/surgeries but his last 2 wins still held up for the past couple years as Yahya was 7-1 in the UFC recently and is still competitive with good fighters. He's been one of the best submission fighters for a while and one of the most underrated fighters in general. Bibiano has been one of the best BWs for years and was even a very good FW with a FW GP win and win over a borderline great LW in Hellboy. He's been one of the better P4P fighters of the lighter weight classes for about a decade now. Only lost to Kid and Faber which was as anticipated a superfight as almost any back in the mid 2000s. Kid was a top 10 ranked P4P fighter in his prime along with Faber. Outside of Fedor, Wand, Shogun after GP, Saku (altho getting washed at that point), maybe Gomi/Penn but they had their detractors, hardcores there wasn't a more beloved or highly regarded guy in mid 2000s

He has an NC to Josh Thomson because of a nut shot but Kid was dominating him before that. Think about that. This BW was dominating Josh fucken Thomson. A world class LW that was Strike force LW champ with wins over Kajan,Razor Rob, Bang, Franca, Noons, JZ, Healy, Giblert, who most thought got robbed against prime Benson Henderson and who head kick TKOd Nate Diaz.....was getting dominated by a bantamweight....

He wasn't the only LW. Royler, Uno and Genki all got finished by him in a LW tourney.

Then afterwards he did this which is basically tied with Masvidal for fastest KO ever



Overall wins over

Katsuta
Curran
Miyata
Jadamba (had a really solid career specially FW career after, prolly GOAT Mongolian fighter in MMA, had a great tooth and nail fight with Gafurov, one of the best FWs outside UFC , at their peaks)
Royler
Uno
Genki
Bibiano
Yahya

Not many fighters have beaten quality opponents at 3 weights. Anderson, Hendo, Pettis, Saku, Penn, arguably Conor....Not much else. And Kid is the only one from BW-FW-LW

He had a controversial personality due to how conflicting it was with Japan norms.

He also had the GOAT fighter ink and shorts

In an age where almost everyone's tattoos sucks specially fighters he stood out in a good way. If there was ever one Asian fighter who would've been a superstar in UFC even in WME era it was Kid. With his personality, ridiculous explosiveness/athleticism, KO ability, weight jumping, all-around skills and flair/style. At 135 to 145lbs he would've been a nightmare for almost anyone. Double champ threat IMO

 

[JustOnce]

Love Kid. That olympic trial and broken elbow, never was same after. I think he was a classic example where power didn't translate at all to a lower weight class as well unfortunately. Small guy for even FW, fought at LW, I always believed he'd beat Faber too.

Rest in peace, one of my earlier idols in MMA.

 

[STAY GOLD]

KID is an MMA legend. I remember how much talk there was among Sherdoggers about the dream match against Faber, but of course that never panned out. (Yes, I was around then under a different account). His flying knee over Miyata is still the greatest flying knee KO in MMA history.

KID’s career really began to go downhill after the Warren fight. It was a huge upset at the time as Warren was still starting his MMA career then and everyone thought KID would run through him. I haven’t watched it since around the time it happened, but I remember Warren clinching him against the ropes and taking him down with the push off the ropes. It was a relatively uninteresting fight, but it was the start of Warren’s rise through the ranks.

 

[doggo]

Rough to think He's gone.

That flying knee KO left the other guy drinking out of straws for a few months. Brutal.

 

[mmaElite53]

Absolute legend.

 

[STAY GOLD]

Not to hijack the thread, but Miyata (the guy who KID KO’d with the flying knee) turned his career around and went on some good runs. Unfortunately he only fought in Japan. He was physically built like Kawajiri and was also a great wrestler like Kawajiri. His style would’ve worked perfectly in the US and he would’ve done well fighting in cages.

 

[Reign009]

Kid was a freak athlete. Sometimes it's hard to believe he's really gone.

RIP.


This photo is great because back then, this was the dream fight in the lighter weight classes.

Older Kid:

And just a great photo to remember him by:

 

[TheTickG]

Whatyearisthis.gif

I went to the Rizin event his sister fought in right after his death. She won, did a speech mostly in English.

Fun event. I think a typhoon flew by that day also.

 

[Tito Tapped]

Absolute legend right there. Real fans know.

 

[HaulParris]

Rest in peace. My last memory of him was after losing to some British dude in the UFC, he punched the mat out of frustration and I remember feeling so bad for him. I'm the same age now as he was when he died, and I really feel for his kids and family. I appreciate the good times he gave the fans, and I am sorry for how tragic his life was.

 

[Bobby Boulders]

Around 2007, when I'd fallen off the MMA train for a few years, I saw an old Kid HL video on YouTube. I can pinpoint that exact moment as the one that brought me back as a fan of MMA. I owe the last 15 years of fandom to him. RIP.

 

[VinceArch]

RIP.

 

[stronghulk]

Legend for sure. Hero1s HL, if someone has it please post it. In his prime, Norifumi was an animal. Athletic and very powerful. One of the greats in the lower weight classes.
He even fought in K-1 Max, brought Masato to a decision. He was also on the recieving end of a beautiful KO by Mike Zambidis.

 

[stronghulk]

KID is an MMA legend. I remember how much talk there was among Sherdoggers about the dream match against Faber, but of course that never panned out. (Yes, I was around then under a different account). His flying knee over Miyata is still the greatest flying knee KO in MMA history.

KID’s career really began to go downhill after the Warren fight. It was a huge upset at the time as Warren was still starting his MMA career then and everyone thought KID would run through him. I haven’t watched it since around the time it happened, but I remember Warren clinching him against the ropes and taking him down with the push off the ropes. It was a relatively uninteresting fight, but it was the start of Warren’s rise through the ranks.

I would say Cory Sandhagen vs Frankie Edgar is better, no follow up blows was neccessary
But Kid vs Miyata was hyped up, and it was over before it even began. Damn I miss the good old days, japanese events.

 

[ICHEERTHEBULL]

R.I.P gone but not forgotten

 

[GIBLERTBAPTISTA]

Nobody in MMA had swag like Kid. RIP a true G

 

[ExitLUPin]

Whatyearisthis.gif

I went to the Rizin event his sister fought in right after his death. She won, did a speech mostly in English.

Fun event. I think a typhoon flew by that day also.

It was the 4 year anniversary of his death FWIW

 

[Substance Abuse]

RIP to a Legend.

FUCK CANCER. I CAN'T TYPE THAT ENOUGH.

 

[ssx]

Kid was an absolute beast in his prime. He also had the GOAT of MMA wives back then. I don’t like how he turned his back on Enson, but I’ll always be a big fan.

 

[Sivo The Ram]

one of my all time favorites. rip KID