The promotion’s annual New Year’s Eve super-show was headlined by a flyweight title fight, as Kyoji Horiguchi, a former Bellator MMA and RIZIN bantamweight champ and UFC flyweight title challenger, looked to claim more gold against Makoto Shinryu.

The pair had first met earlier this year, when an accidental eye poke had left Shinryu unable to continue, resulting in a No Contest.

In the night’s co-feature, Juan Archuleta had been set to defend his bantamweight title against Kai Asakura. But after badly missing weight, Archuleta was stripped of the belt, leaving only Asakura eligible to win gold. Under RIZIN rules, should Archuleta win, the bout would be declared a No Contest.

Additional standout match-ups at RIZIN 45 included John Dodson taking on TUF alum Hiromasa Ougikubo, a fight that could set Dodson, the current BKFC flyweight champ, up for a future title shot. And in the women’s super atomweight division, 49-year old former wrestling star Miyuu Yamamoto entered the final fight of her career in a non-title bout with Seika Izawa.

Where to Watch RIZIN 45

RIZIN 45 takes place Sunday, December 31, 2023 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, just outside Tokyo. The event is available to stream globally via Fite.tv. Full results from the card, which gets underway at 12AM ET on the 31st, can be found below.

RIZIN 45 Results

Main Card

Kyoji Horiguchi def. Makoto Shinryu by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2 — for the vacant RIZIN flyweight championship
Kai Asakura def. Juan Archuleta by TKO (knee and punches), Round 2 — for the vacant RIZIN bantamweight championship. Due to Archuleta missing weight and being stripped of the belt, only Asakura eligible to win the title
Kleber Koike def. Yutaka Saito by technical submission (d’arce choke), Round 3
Ren Hiramoto def. Ren Sugiyama by unanimous decision

Intermission

Seika Izawa def. Miyuu Yamamoto by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 0:37
Mikio Ueda def. Tsuyoshi Sudario by TKO (head kick and punches), Round 2, 0:55
Hiromasa Ougikubo def. John Dodson by unanimous decision
Vince Morales def. Yuki Motoya by unanimous decision
Shinobu Ota def. Ryusei Ashizawa by KO, Round 1, 2:21

Intermission

Koji “KOUZI” Tanaka def. Kota Miura by TKO (soccer kicks), Round 2, 0:59
Igor Tanabe def. Shinso Anzai by technical submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1
Hiroya Kondo def. Jo Arai by TKO (head kick and punches), Round 2, 2:53
Yuta Kubo def. Rukiya Anpo by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 4:28

Preliminary Card

Suguru Nii def. Satoshi Yamasu by KO (punch), Round 2, 1:03
Tatsuki Shinotsuka def. Daichi Tomizawa by unanimous decision — kickboxing
Ryujin Nasukawa def. Jung Min Shin by TKO, Round 2, 2:16
Joe Hiramoto def. Yushi Sakura by unanimous decision

The post RIZIN 45 Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

That fight finally arrives at RIZIN 45 on New Year’s Eve, where the 49-year old Yamamoto will face unbeaten super atomweight champ Seika Izawa. Originally booked for May, with the bout being pushed back — Yamamoto suffered an ACL tear — there’s been plenty of time for it to all sink in. As Yamamoto explained to Cageside Press in a recent interview, however, she wasn’t initially going to publicly announce her decision to move on from actively fighting.

“I wasn’t going to make an announcement at all, because my brother, Kid Yamamoto, Kid never— he never said he retired. So I was going to stick with it. But when I talked to [Nobuyuki] Sakakibara-san, the promoter, he’s like my boss, he said he understands, but [he said to] think about my fans. Maybe they deserve to know this one’s going to be the last fight. Maybe some people wanted to watch live, in person, they wanted to be there.”

That appreciation for her fans, for supporting Yamamoto, and her responsibility to them, helped her with the decision. “That’s why I made the announcement.”

At 49, age is obviously a factor in Miyuu Yamamoto’s decision to walk away from fighting. While she only made the move to MMA in 2016, she’s been a competitive athlete most of her life, winning a trio of gold medals in freestyle wrestling at the World Championships in 1991, 1994, and 1995. Like her father, Ikuei, who competed at the 1972 Olympic Games, Yamamoto hoped to compete on the biggest stage, and in 2013 moved to Toronto, Canada, eventually becoming a Canadian citizen and aiming to compete in the Rio Olympics.

In other words, it’s been a long career for Miyuu Yamamoto, but it comes down to more than just years and mileage.

“The reason why I decided to retire was because at the time, I had a lot of stuff going on. I had my gym, Crazy Bee, we just had a re-opening, so kind of like a restart,” explained Yamamoto, whose brother, Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, was a trailblazer in the lighter weight classes for K-1 and Shooto, later competing in the UFC. He passed away after a battle with stomach cancer in 2018. “After Kid died, we kind of had to focus on our new gym— not new gym, but we have a lot of fighters, younger kids. I just wanted to make sure they’re okay, they’re training okay, preparing for fights okay.”

“I’m not like a boss, I’m the mom to them. So I felt like I had a lot of responsibility to focus on. So that’s why, I feel like maybe I should stop focusing on my fights and myself and then start focusing on my team, my family and my gym.”

And so on New Year’s Eve, part of RIZIN’s annual blockbuster, Miyuu Yamamoto calls it a career. Of course, if the former title challenger wins and becomes the first to beat champ Izawa, in a non-title fight, there will likely be calls to run it back. Could she fight again with a win over the champ?

“I never know, because I think I kind of stopped planning my life. No plan. Because every time I plan something for my life, I never follow it. I always go a different direction,” answered Yamamoto. “So I guess you never know what’s going to happen, but for now, I feel like I should focus more on team, gym, than my stuff. So that means I’m not 100%. So it’s not— I want to be 100% ready for the fight. I’m 100% ready for this fight, but I don’t know if after this fight, I can be 100% for my fights, putting everything into it. I wasn’t sure. So that’s why, if it wasn’t 100%, I shouldn’t be fighting. That’s kind of disrespectful.”

There is little question that brother Kid Yamamoto was a huge influence on Miyuu, and little question that his loss has impacted her greatly. His career also helped inspire her to make the jump to MMA, a dream that was eventually made reality when RIZIN’s Sakakibara approached her about fighting.

“I never thought I would get into MMA. Because I was always the one watching,” she stated. Yamamoto was used to being in the audience for her brother’s fights. “When I decided to start becoming an MMA fighter, the first thing I thought of was walking to the ring. [The] walkout. Every time I watched his walkout, [I thought] ‘man that must have felt really good.’ All the fans cheered for him, he’s dancing, being him. I was literally happy to go watch it. I never thought that ‘I can be that,’ but I always thought ‘that must feel really good.’ Now I’m doing the same thing, and I’m so happy. The first time I walked out, I walked into the ring, I remember ‘oh my god, this is it.'”

Yamamoto still felt the shock that she was about to fight, but ‘when I walked in there, like I walked into the ring, I was happy, that I was going to have my happy place. I turned around, I looked at Kid, my brother, and then I didn’t say anything but I was like ‘I’m here. I’m like you.'”

That first fight came with a little surprise for her brother: she opted to use his entrance music. “I didn’t tell him that I was going to use his walkout song. He was so surprised, he started dancing too. That moment, I still have the picture.”

Now, Miyuu Yamamoto’s career is set to come to a close, against an unbeaten champion considered by most to be the best atomweight fighter in the world. Yamamoto, over 20 years the elder to her opponent, sees in Izawa a “good grappler.”

Judo, and wrestling, are among Izawa’s elite skills. But Yamamoto believes that “I trained enough to beat her.” And, she added, “RIZIN gave me an undefeated champion for my last fight. I know it’s non-title of course, but that means I can be the first person to beat her. So wish me luck!”

Watch our full interview with RIZIN 45’s Miyuu Yamamoto above.

The post Miyuu Yamamoto Aiming to Be First to Beat Seika Izawa in Retirement Fight at RIZIN 45 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Yamamoto, 49, previously fought for the promotion’s super atomweight title, coming up short against Ayaka Hamasaki in 2020. For her final fight, she’ll take on Seika Izawa.

Izawa is the current RIZIN FF super atomweight champ, though the fight will be a three-round, non-title affair.

Promotion officials announced the news in a press release distributed Friday. Yamamoto (6-7), who got a late start in MMA, is a former multi-time amateur wrestling champion. She’s the sister of late K-1 and UFC star Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto.

Seika Izawa (11-0) won the promotion’s super atomweight grand prix in 2022, capturing the title in the process and has defended it once since, while also winning a non-title fight under the DEEP Jewels banner earlier this year.

Also announced for RIZIN 45 on Friday, Kota Miura faces kickboxing KOUZI in an MMA bout, while Satoshi “Dominator” Yamasu faces Suguru Nii. UFC and Bellator MMA vet Shinsho Anzai will also be in action, taking on Igor Tanabe.

RIZIN 45 takes place January 31, 2023 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The following match-ups have been announced for the event:

• Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Makoto Shinryu — flyweight title fight
• Juan Archuleta (c) vs. Kai Asakura — bantamweight title fight
• Hiromasa Ougikubo vs. John Dodson
• Kleber Koike vs. Yutaka Saito
• Shinobu Ota vs. Ryusei Ashizawa
• Tsuyoshi Sudario vs. Mikio Ueda
• Miyuu Yamamoto vs. Seika Izawa
• Kota Miura vs. KOUZI
• Satoshi Yamasu vs. Suguru Nii
• Igor Tanabe vs. Shinsho Anzai

The post RIZIN 45 Adds Multiple Bouts, Including Miyuu Yamamoto Retirement Fight appeared first on Cageside Press.

Kubota entered the fight on a three-fight win streak, and had fought all bout two of her professional mixed martial arts bouts under the RIZIN banner (with one of the other two taking place in Bellator in 2019). Another win or two, and she would be a lock to face current super atomweight champ Ayaka Hamasaki. Coincidentally, it was Hamasaki that Yamamoto had last fought, in a failed bid for the title in December of last year.

RIZIN 32 takes place Saturday, November 20 at the Okinawa Arena in Okinawa, Japan. The event will be streamed live in English via LIVE-Now. Full results from the event can be found below.

RIZIN 32 Results

Rena Kubota def. Miyuu Yamamoto by KO (knee), Round 2
Koji Tanaka def. Kazuma Sone by unanimous decision – kickboxing
Yoshihiro Maeda def. Katsuya Kitamura by unanimous decision
Bobby Ologun def. Katsuya Kitamura by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 2:34
Noah Bey def. Daryl Lokoku by KO (punch), Round 3, 1:09
Juri Ohara def. Kohei Tokeshi by TKO, Round 1, 1:16
Haruo Ochi def. Tatsuya So by unanimous decision
Yuichi Miyagi def. Tomohiro Adaniya by KO (knee), Round 1, 0:47
Mizuki Oshiro def. Aira Koga by split decision
Tanner Lourenco def. Shinya Kumazawa by submission (Okuri Eri Jime), Round 2, 1:34
Hirokatsu Miyagi def. Lopez Satsuma by TKO, Round 1, 2:39 – kickboxing
Sho Sekihara def. Takahiro Kuniyoshi by unanimous decision
Ryoga Terayama def. Hiroki Kinjo by unanimous decision – kickboxing

The post RIZIN 32: Okinawa Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

It took under three minutes for Horiguchi, whose last fight was a non-title affair against Asakura in August of 2019, to get back to his winning ways. With the RIZIN bantamweight title on the line — Kai Asakura had eventually won the title vacated by Horiguchi following his ACL injury — Horiguchi connected with a right hand that sent Asakura to the ground midway through the opening frame. With his opponent stunned and on his back, Horiguchi swarmed in with additional strikes to seal the deal. The TKO win came officially at 2:48 of round one.

https://twitter.com/YugiMMA/status/1344634928433160192

The victory brings the long and arduous journey back from injury to a close for the former two-promotion champion. Prior to his fall 2019 ACL tear, the Japanese fighter had held gold in both RIZIN Fighting Federation and Bellator MMA — an almost unparalleled feat in mixed martial arts. While the Bellator bantamweight title currently rests in the hands of Juan Archuleta, Horiguchi, considered by many the best lower-weight fighter outside the UFC, is once again at the top in RIZIN.

The win at the legendary Saitama Super Arena improves Horiguchi’s record to 14-1 since his 2015 fight with Johnson. Horiguchi would never get a second crack at “Mighty Mouse,” instead exiting the UFC in 2016 following a three-fight win streak.

Horiguchi’s victory over Asakura at RIZIN 26 improves his record inside that promotion to 10-1. He has fought exclusively for the Japanese outfit since exiting the UFC, with the exception of his Bellator title win at Bellator 222 in June 2019 against Darion Caldwell. The pair had previously fought under the RIZIN banner in December 2018, with Horiguchi winning the inaugural RIZIN bantamweight title at that time.

For Kai Asakura, the loss to Horiguchi is just the third of his professional career. He was defeated at RIZIN 20 in 2019 by current UFC athlete Manel Kape, in his first attempt to claim Horiguchi’s old title. He bounced back with a win over Hiromasa Ougikubo at RIZIN 23, then finally captured gold against Shoji Maruyama this past September. The fight against Horiguchi represented his first attempt to defend the title — and it clearly wasn’t his night.

Hamasaki Pulls Off Impressive Submission to Reclaim Atomweight Belt

Also on the RIZIN 26 card, former Invicta FC champ Ayaka Hamasaki claimed RIZIN’s vacant atomweight title in style. In a rarely-seen submission, Hamasaki caught opponent Miyuu Yamamoto, sister of the late, legendary Kid Yamamoto, in a leg scissors choke, capturing gold under two minutes into the opening round.

The win improves Hamasaki’s record to 21-3. The 38-year old now enters her second reign as RIZIN atomweight champion. She previously held the title from 2018 to 2019, defending it once prior to losing the belt against Seo Hee Ham at RIZIN 20. Ham would later vacate the title after signing with ONE Championship.

Full results from RIZIN 26 are available here.

The post Kyoji Horiguchi Exacts Revenge, Reclaims Bantamweight Title at RIZIN 26 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Joining the bantamweight title fight main event are:

Hideo Tokoro vs Shinobu Ota
Ayaka Hamasaki vs Miyuu Yamamoto
Kanna Asakura vs Ai Shimizu
Yuki Motoya vs Naoki Inoue
Ren Hiramoto vs Kyohei Hagiwara
Sudario Tsuyoshi vs Minowaman
Ulka Sasaki vs Kenta Takizawa

All bouts will be contested under MMA rules, though several will be without elbows. Among the standouts, Ayaka Hamasaki, the former Invicta FC atomweight champ, will face Miyuu Yamamoto for the vacant RIZIN super atomweight championship. Also on the card, former UFC fighter Ulka Sasaki returns against Kenta Takizawa, and Minowaman faces Sudario Tsuyoshi.

At 44-years old, Minowaman (Ikuhisa Minowa) is one of the last holdovers from PRIDE. With an absurd record of 65-43-8, the Japanese fighter known for his red speedo has faced the likes of Sakuraba, Cro-Cop, Butterbean, Phil Baroni, Don Frye, Bob Sapp, Hong Man Choi, Sokoudjou, Satoshi Ishii, Oli Thompson, and a host of others.

RIZIN 26 is set to take place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, just outside Tokyo. 10,000 spectators will be allowed inside the arena in accordance with current Japanese COVID-19 protocols.

The post Additional Bouts Added to RIZIN 26 Card on New Year’s Eve appeared first on Cageside Press.

RIZIN Fighting Federation has officially announced its next show, RIZIN 19. On Wednesday, the Japanese MMA promotion and heir apparent to PRIDE distributed a press release unveiling the key players on the card, which will take place October 12 at the Edion Arena in Osaka, Japan. Among them, Bellator mainstay Patricky Pitbull, who will take part in the lightweight grand prix. And the debut of light heavyweight Fabio Maldonado, who had returned to the boxing world of late.

In addition to Pitbull (21-8), the RIZIN lightweight grand prix will consist of Johnny Case (26-6-1), Luiz Gustavo (9-1), Tatsuya Kawajiri (37-13-2), Tofiq Musaev (15-3), Roberto de Souza (9-0), Damien Brown (19-12) and Hiroto Uesako (16-7). Opening round match-ups have yet to be determined, and will be announced at a later date.

Maldonado (25-13), meanwhile, will be making his debut for the Japanese promotion against light heavyweight champ Jiri Prochazka (24-3-1). Prochazka won the title against King Mo back in April at RIZIN 15.

Also on the card, former UFC fighter Keita Nakamura (34-10-2) will make his RIZIN debut opposite BJJ ace Marcos Sauza (8-1). Rena Kubota returns as well, taking on Canada’s Shawna Ram (1-0), who will be in just her second pro fight.

Korea’s Seo Hee Ham, another UFC alum, will also be appearing, opposite Miyuu Yamamoto.

The post RIZIN 19 Announced, Including Lightweight Grand Prix Participants, Debut of Fabio Maldonado appeared first on Cageside Press.

Hot on the heels of RIZIN 15 in April, Japan’s RIZIN Fighting Federation has announced a handful of fights for their next event. RIZIN 16 is set to feature a champ vs. champ battle, as RIZIN women’s super atomweight champion Ayaka Hamasaki will face Invicta FC atomweight champion Jinh Yu Frey. It’s another cross-promotional effort from the Japanese MMA organization, who have also teamed up with Bellator MMA a handful of times. Hamasaki’s title will be on the line for the fight. The promotion announced the news in a press conference and subsequent press release Wednesday.

Hamasaki (17-2) and Frey (8–3) have fought before. They first met in 2016 at Invicta FC 16. Hamasaki, then the Invicta FC atomweight champ, won the fight after a doctor’s stoppage due to a cut suffered by Frey. However, to that point, it had been a competitive contest. Frey later complained that the fight was stopped too soon, and that the cut man should have been given a chance to do his job, given the stoppage was late in the second round.

A rematch was hotly anticipated. However, instead, Hamasaki moved up in weight in a losing effort against Livia Renata Souza at strawweight, then left Invicta and joined RIZIN. She has won all three of her bouts in the promotion thus far, claiming the promotion’s super atomweight title at RIZIN 14 in December. Two of those three wins have come via submission.

Frey, meanwhile, bounced back with a win over Ashley Cummins in 2017 after losing to Hamasaki, then came up short in a bid for the ROAD FC atomweight title against Seo Hee Ham. Returning to Invicta, she has won two straight, winning and defending the title against Minna Grusander in back-to-back fights.

Also added to the RIZIN 16 card, another super atomweight bout will see Kanna Asakura (14-3) take on Miyuu Yamamoto (4-3), sister of the late Kid Yamamoto. A world champion wrestler, Miyuu Yamamoto has spent her entire fighting career in RIZIN, and will enter the fight on a three-fight win streak.

At heavyweight, meanwhile, Roque Martinez (13-5-2) will face Jake Heun (11-9). Martinez was last seen in a losing effort against Mirko Cro-Cop, while Heun has lost three straight.

At bantamweight, Erson Yamamoto (2-4), son of Miyuu Yamamoto, is set to take on Tim Eschtruth (4-1). Kickboxing action will also join the card, with ITTO vs Kan Nakamura and Kunitaka vs Kizaemon Saiga.

Finally, breakout star Tenshin Nasukawa will return once again, this time aiming to challenge for the ISKA Featherweight title. An opponent has yet to be confirmed for the match.

RIZIN 16 takes place at the Kobe World Memorial Hall in Kobe, Japan on June 2, 2019.

The post RIZIN 16 Pits Ayaka Hamasaki Against Jinh Yu Frey, Other Bouts Announced appeared first on Cageside Press.

RIZIN Fighting Federation returned to action on Sunday, September 30 with a card simply brimming with intriguing story lines. First and foremost, there was a generational battle in the main event. Tenshin Nasukawa had proven to be a phenom in both kickboxing and MMA. Kyoji Horiguchi, meanwhile, had long been the best flyweight (and now bantamweight) outside the UFC. In an MMA fight, Horiguchi would be the clear favorite. Yet the RIZIN 13 main event was under kickboxing rules — which could give Tenshin Nasukawa the edge.

Then there was the return of Miyuu Yamamoto, in a rematch against ‘The CrAsian’ Andy Nguyen. The rematch itself would be notable, as Nguyen had won the pair’s first meeting two years ago. However, Yamamoto’s brother Norifumi, a.k.a. the legendary Kid Yamamoto, had passed away just week’s earlier. A loss that would no doubt weigh on the wrestler.

RIZIN 13 also offered the return of Mirko Cro-Cop, edging ever closer to retirement. Probably. Cro-Cop had been set to meet Roy Nelson at Bellator 200 over the Summer but was forced to withdraw due to injury. On Sunday, he took on Rogue Martinez in Saitama.

Bob Sapp was on the card as well, along with Daron Cruickshank facing former TUF standout Diego Brandao.

RIZIN 13 Results:

Tenshin Nasukawa def. Kyoji Horiguchi by unanimous decision
Jiri Prochazka def. Jake Heun by TKO (strikes), Round 1, 4:29
Mikura Asakura def. Karshyga Dautbek by unanimous decision
Daron Cruickshank def. Diego Brandao by knockout (flying knee), Round 1, 5:18
Miyuu Yamamoto def. Andy Nguyen by unanimous decision
Mirko Cro Cop def. Roque Martinez by TKO (doctor stoppage), Round 1, 4:58
Bob Sapp def. Kintaro Osunaarashi via unanimous decision
Haruo Ochi def. Mitsuhisa Sunabe by knockout (soccer kick) Round 3, 2:51
Kai Asakura def. Topnoi Thanongsakiek via unanimous decision
Ayaka Hamasaki vs. Mina Kurobe: Hamasaki def Kurobe via Kimura in Round 2
Taiga Kawabe vs. Kento Haraguchi – Kickboxing Rules: Bout ends in a draw
Manel Kape vs. Yusaku Nakamura: Kape def Nakamura via RNC in Round 3

The post RIZIN 13: Nasukawa vs. Horiguchi Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Some sad news out of Japan today: Norifumi ‘Kid’ Yamamoto, a pioneer in MMA’s lighter weight classes, had died at age 41. The news comes as a shock, as Yamamoto announced just last month that he was battling cancer, with few other details released. On Tuesday, however, his team, Krazy Bee, revealed Yamamoto’s passing.

“To everyone who supported [Kid Yamamoto], [he] passed away today on September 18th at 41 years and 6 months of age,” the statement read (translated). “I would like to express my sincere gratitude to every one of the fans. In addition, please refrain from interviewing the Yamamoto family, family members, friends etc, so that we can give [them] consideration.”

山本KID徳郁を応援して下さった皆様へ
山本KID徳郁(享年41歳6ヶ月)が、本日9月18日に逝去致しました。生前に応援、ご支援をして頂きました関係各位、ファンの皆様に本人に変わり御礼申しげます。
尚、山本家、家族、友人への取材等はご遠慮頂き、ご配慮頂けますようお願い申し上げます。
KRAZYBEE

— KRAZY BEE OFFICIAL (@KB_official) September 18, 2018

Yamamoto began his path to MMA greatness in high school, attending Marcos de Niza High School in Tempe, Arizona, and joining the school’s wrestling program. Winning three state championships, he would then return to Japan to pursue MMA under Enson Inoue, debuting for Shooto in 2001. A bantamweight or featherweight at best fighting at lightweight in days before lighter weight classes were common, Yamamoto would go 17-1 (1 NC) between 2001 and 2007. During that time, he captured wins over notable names like Bibiano Fernandes, Genki Sudo, Caol Uno, Rani Yahya, Royler Gracie and others.

Yamamoto, whose father and sister were both decorated wrestlers as well, stepped away from MMA following the Yahya fight, trying out for the 2008 Olympics. However, after winning his first qualifying match, he dislocated his elbow in his second. The injury dashed his Olympic dreams, and he returned to MMA. Sadly, he was never the same, winning just once more.

Joining the UFC later in his career, Yamamoto struggled, losing to Demetrious Johnson (at bantamweight), Darren Uyenoyama, and Vaughn Lee from 2011 to 2012. A brief comeback in 2015 saw a fight with Roman Salazar end in a No Contest after Salazar was unable to continue following an eye poke. Yamamoto never returned to the cage.

That said, his accomplishments as a pioneer, punching well above his weight, remain impressive. The MMA world showed their respects Tuesday following the announcement, with an outpouring of support online.

RIP…. Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto 😞 pic.twitter.com/K8OJblm0ip

— danawhite (@danawhite) September 18, 2018

The world lost a true warrior today – Rest In Peace “Kid” Yamamoto.

— Scott Coker (@ScottCoker) September 18, 2018

RIP Kid Yamamoto, Osu !! My condolences to the family !! 🙏 pic.twitter.com/a0tWlhnN1w

— Ray Sefo (@SugarRaySefo) September 18, 2018

Yamamoto’s older sister, Miyuu Yamamoto, currently competes for RIZIN Fighting Federation, as does her son, Erson. Our condolences to his family, friends, and team.

The post Legendary Japanese MMA Pioneer Kid Yamamoto Dies of Cancer at Age 41 appeared first on Cageside Press.