K-1 Closes Year with ‘Dynamite!!’

HERO'S Rules: 5 min. x 3R
Rani Yahya (Pictures) vs. Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto

Sadaharu Tanikawa personally thanked WEC co-owner Scott Adams for lending Rani Yahya (Pictures) to K-1. The Zuffa-contracted fighter is damn good, and good guys fighting good guys is what this sport needs in Japan.

Actually "good" is a ridiculous understatement for Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto. Kid has the potential to be the best pound-for-pound athlete in the sport; he just needs to fight the best. He has spent his career not just beating 155 pounders but also beating them soundly. Now that K-1 has made the 138-pound division, Yamamoto's natural weight, he could be ready to realize his potential.

In 2006 Yamamoto made an ill-fated attempt to follow the family tradition and continue with his wrestling by trying out for the Beijing Olympics. It made nationwide news when he badly broke his arm while getting taken down during a qualifier, ending his Olympic run. Fortunately for us, that means mixed martial arts gets him back.

Since returning, Kid has only fought exhibition matches, though his bout against Bibiano Fernandes (Pictures) turned out a lot more difficult than expected. This is Yamamoto's real return to serious competition. He has incredible ground-and-pound, but he may want to stand and box against this wily submission artist.

Out of his 11 wins, Yahya tapped out 10 opponents. The ADCC vet is nonstop with his positions and submissions and will be looking for this fight to play out on the ground.

Despite a decision loss to Chase Beebe (Pictures) in a five-round war earlier this year, he still has the goods to give Kid a competitive match. Only Gesias Calvancante (Pictures) has beaten Yahya inside the distance, and Yahya is an interesting match against Yamamoto's skill set.

The Rickson Gracie (Pictures) student favors the choke. His route to success should be catching Kid in a guillotine during a scramble or off a takedown.

Prediction: Rani's wrestling is a weak spot. If Yamamoto doesn't want this fight on the ground, it isn't going there. Hopefully this turns in to a back-and-forth bout with Kid working ground-and-pound and Yahya working subs. But most likely Kid will pick away at the Brazilian on the feet en route to a decision.

Also let's hope that this is the start of a beautiful relationship between Zuffa and FEG that will allow Jerome Le Banner to fight Tim Sylvia (Pictures) and other interesting matches.