‘Kid’ in a Candy Store

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Though Yamamoto has reciprocated the desire to fight, it will not be Faber who “Kid” meets first in the Octagon. While Yamamoto remains mum on the specifics of his preparation to face the once-beaten Johnson, he concedes that he is preparing as best he can for the encounter.

“I watched Johnson in WEC, and he moves very quickly, but I feel confident about fighting him. I understand his style and what his strengths are, and my trainer and I have watched his fights. We feel comfortable in our strategy for him,” Yamamoto says excitedly. “He’s aggressive, but he’s got a lot of wasted motion. He moves a lot, but he’s just burning energy.”

With a record of 1-2 over the last three-plus years, many onlookers have attributed Yamamoto’s inactivity and shortcomings to his general disinterest in the direction of Japanese MMA. The 33-year-old fighter’s soft-spoken demeanor belies his obvious excitement at beginning the next chapter of his career. Though in practice, little has changed -- he still makes his home at his own Krazy Bee gym for training camp -- Yamamoto seems fit to be called “Kid” again.

Yamamoto is confident that traveling to the states one week before his fight will give him more than enough time to acclimate to the dry Las Vegas weather. However, training camps, elbows and handling the American media -- everything new about this first endeavor into the UFC -- is an admitted trial run for him. The catch-all boogeyman of big show failure, “the Octagon jitters,” does not seem to faze Yamamoto. The topic is broached repeatedly, and he only seems eager.

“The fans? Oh, I love them. Because I’m quiet, you know? So I love to hear them,” says Yamamoto, sighing fondly, almost melodramatically. “Cheers or boos, anything, I like it all. I don’t know, maybe I’ll feel pressure being in front of them. Or I might just start smiling to myself quietly, because I’m going to love it. I’ll be so excited. I’ll walk [into the cage] and be so happy, but I’ll have to focus.”

The best way to describe Yamamoto’s enthusiasm for the trappings of American MMA is giddiness. At the mere thought of walking to the Octagon, he comes off like a kid in a candy store. The simple recollection of their energy seems to invigorate him. Yet, Yamamoto is careful not to tear the previous chapters of his career out of the book entirely.

“I’m going to the UFC to fight now. However, I always have a hope of coming back to Japan to fight in front of the Japanese fans,” he says. “If people in Japan follow me to the UFC, I hope they will start watching more.”

Interpretation by Fumihiko Ishii