UFC NEWS: Dana White says Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto has been signed by the UFC

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Just a day after MMAJunkie.com reported that the UFC was in contract negotiations with famed Japanese featherweight Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, Dana White stated on Twitter that the organization has indeed signed him.

The revelation came during an exchange with a fan expressing excitement over the signing of Michihiro Omigawa, and imploring the UFC President to sign Kid as well. White responded, stating simply, "We did sign Kid."

Yamamoto was last seen knocking out Federico Lopez at DREAM 14 in May, a win which snapped a shocking two fight losing streak in 2009. There are no more details to the signing at this point.

Penick's Analysis: There have been some reports stating Yamamoto still owes two fights to FEG in Japan, so there may still be more to this, and until there's a more confirmed report it's possible White was mistaken when stating he was already signed. Still, this will make for an exciting addition to the roster, and I wouldn't be surprised to see "Kid" drop to bantamweight to go after a bout with Urijah Faber that never came to fruition while Faber was the WEC Featherweight Champion.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_7798.shtml

Cheick Kongo Roy Nelson Rich Franklin Forrest Griffin