Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto (山本"KID"徳郁 (, 山本"KID"徳郁?), birth date March 15, 1977) is a Japanese mixed martial arts fighter. He is associated with Purebred Tokyo and Killer Bee. He quickly gained popularity in the Shooto organization due to his aggressive, well-rounded style and controversial persona. He moved on to K-1 HERO'S, where he won their tournament in December, 2005 after defeating Genki Sudo via a controversial TKO due to punches.
Yamamoto comes from a wrestler-family as his father Ikuei Yamamoto represented Japan at the 1972 Olympic games in Munich and his sister Seiko competes at international level[1][2]. Norifumi wrestled during his high school years in the United States and trained briefly under Choi Mu Bae[3]. Wrestling at Marcos de Niza High School in Tempe, Arizona, Yamamoto achieved great success in his exploits, capturing three state championships in four years, along with a third place finish as a freshman.
Perhaps most impressive about Yamamoto's career is that he has fought many fights in the Lightweight (155 lbs.) division, despite the fact that he is a natural Featherweight (145 lbs.).
Yamamoto recently announced an indefinite leave of absence from MMA to train for and compete in freestyle wrestling for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.[1]
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