Japanese MMA star Norifumi ‘Kid’ Yamamoto has died at the age of 41.
Yamamoto, who was one of the sport’s most popular fighters in the mid-2000s, revealed in an Instagram post in August that he had been diagnosed with cancer. Krazybee, Yamamoto’s Tokyo gym, announced he had passed away on Tuesday Sept. 18.
RIP…. Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto 😞 pic.twitter.com/K8OJblm0ip
— Dana White (@danawhite) September 18, 2018
A 5’4″ Southpaw, Yamamoto made his name as a dynamic lightweight on the Shooto and K-1 circuits. At a K-1: Hero’s 5 event in 2006, Yamamote broke the MMA record for the fastest knockout when he defeated Kazuyuki Miyata in just four seconds.
Yamamoto retired with a 17-1 record following his victory over Rani Yahya on Dec. 31 2007. The fighter would return to the ring several times however, such as when he made his long-awaited UFC debut in a loss to Demetrious Johnson at UFC 126 in 2011.
After defeat to Johnson, Yamamoto had three more fights in the UFC — all ending in defeat — the last of which was against Roman Salazar in February 2015.