Friending Facebook: Why I'm Glad To Get KID Yamamoto vs. Demetrius Johnson For Free

The MMA community as a whole is quickly gearing up for this weekend’s UFC 126 “Silva vs. Belfort” Pay-Per-View, and with good reason. UFC 126 is stacked from top to bottom, with big names fighting on the main card, the televised prelims, and even the untelevised prelims. Recently, it was announced that the UFC is once again traveling to the land of Facebook in order to give fans access to an exclusive, free-to-watch preliminary fight featuring the famous (and somewhat infamous) Japanese MMA star Norifumi Yamamoto. Here are all my thoughts on what should certainly be an interesting bout.

The reasoning behind this announcement seems to be two-fold. First and foremost, the UFC recently held a successful and double-length “Prelims Live” special on Facebook, streaming four free fights from the recent “Fight for the Troops 2” event. The special two-hour broadcast (as opposed to the series’ usual single-hour format) earned the UFC about 60,000 “likes” throughout the course of the broadcast. The second reason is that KID Yamamoto is a relative unknown in mainstream America, but enjoys a considerable Japanese fanbase and a dedicated cult following in America. So this should help expose “KID” to more mainstream audiences while also giving back to the UFC’s hardcore fanbase.

For those not aware, Norifumi Yamamoto used to be one of the biggest stars in Japanese MMA. “KID” once put together an incredible fourteen-fight win-streak, and as a whole, thirteen of his eighteen career wins have come by some form of (T)KO. After a prolonged absence that stretched from 2007 to 2009, Yamamoto had a rough welcome back to the sport that made him famous, losing two straight bouts. A drop down to Bantamweight seems to have rejuvenated “KID”, though, as he won his last bout via first-round KO.

Standing in his way is the 8-1 Demetrious Johnson, who has never been knocked out before and has earned five of his eight wins by submission. Johnson made his debut in the WEC during its final year, and fought three times for the promotion, ending his short stint in the famed blue cage with an overall record of 2-1.

I’m really glad that the UFC is giving this fight for free, it’s one of the preliminary fights that really interested me and I honestly was a bit let down that I wouldn’t get to see “KID” debut in the UFC. Sure he’s controversial, but he’s also incredibly exciting to watch, and I think Demetrius Johnson is an excellent first test for him. Yamamoto will obviously come in hunting for the KO, but Johnson is a good fighter and has proven highly resilient in his short time inside the WEC. If Yamamoto does get the KO, it’ll be a big victory for him and I think the next time we see him it’ll be on a main, televised card. And if Johnson wins, it should certainly also be a large feather in his cap.

There’s going to be a lot of MMA to watch on February 5, and I intend to watch all of it. And what about you, fans and friends? What do you think of the UFC making a special exception for “KID”? And will you be watching this bout on Facebook?