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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto has indeed signed with the UFC, and according to a report from MMAWeekly, he will make his organizational debut in February at UFC 126.
Per the report, Yamamoto will meet Demetrious Johnson in a bantamweight bout on the Super Bowl weekend card in Las Vegas.
The 24 year old Johnson is coming off perhaps the biggest win of his career in November, when he submitted Damacio Page in the third round of their bout at WEC 52. Johnson lost a hard fought and exciting fight to Brad "One Punch" Pickett by decision in his organizational debut, but bounced back with a decision win over Nick Pace in September before scoring the win over Page.
UFC 126 takes place from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, headlined by a Middleweight Championship bout between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort.
Penick's Analysis: This is a hell of a debut fight for "Kid." Johnson, despite being a small bantamweight that will be very well suited for flyweight when the UFC introduces that division, brings speed, power and excitement to the cage. That combination, added to his youth, makes him one of the most dangerous fighters the UFC could have paired "Kid" against in his debut fight. It's a great piece of match-making, and if Yamamoto has anything left, he'll prove it in this fight.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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