Norifumi Yamamoto

(Image courtesy of DreamOfficial.com)

Maybe the word "epic" is overused on the Internet. Certainly we've been guilty of using it vain when "totally sweet" would have sufficed. But I think "epic" really does apply to DREAM.9 (May 26th, Yokohama) which contains the quarterfinals of DREAM's "Super Hulk Tournament" and Featherweight Grand Prix, as well as a great lightweight feature between Tatsuya Kawajiri and Gesias Cavalcante, and the middleweight title fight between Jason Miller and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza.

The show will be broadcast in North America on HDNet Tuesday morning at 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT, and while I'm not really down with farmer's hours, I might have to watch this one live (and maybe even liveblog it) — especially since it'll also represent an emotional farewell to HDNet. Right, so DREAM.9's official fight order will be...

(Kid Yamamoto highlight reel, y'all. Bounce ta dis.)

As previously rumored, former K-1 HERO's champ and #4-ranked featherweight Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto will end a year-and-a-half hiatus at DREAM.9 (May 26th; Yokohama, Japan) when he enters their ongoing featherweight grand prix, taking an automatic bye to the quarterfinals. Yamamoto hasn't competed since his second-round TKO victory over Rani Yahya at K-1 Premium 2007 Dynamite!! on New Year's Eve 2007, which was his 14th-consecutive win. And it seems like DREAM's organizers have a sense of humor, because they're slotting him against former U.S. wrestling champion Joe Warren, who, like Yamamoto, was involved in a reputation-injuring marijuana scandal. (Weed is a big no-no over there. Very dishonorable.) May the best pothead win? DREAM.9's featherweight GP matchups will be arranged thusly:

Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto vs. Joe Warren
Masakazu Imanari vs. Bibiano Fernandes
Yoshiro Maeda vs. Hiroyuki Takaya
Abel Cullum vs. Hideo Tokoro*

#2: Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Kazuyuki Miyata @ K-1 Hero’s 5 (5/3/06), 4 seconds

Though the official time of the stoppage was 0:04 into round 1, that seems more like a generous estimate than an exact measurement. Kid Yamamoto takes a Rickey Henderson-style leadoff before the fight even starts, and dives knee-first into the hapless Kazuyuki Miyata’s face. Miyata clearly hadn’t trained for this scenario, but as he’d find out, ducking into the blow is not the most effective defense. The stunning flying-knee KO was Yamamoto’s 11th-straight win, his ninth-straight win by stoppage, and the fastest knockout in MMA history to that point. Unfortunately, his record wouldn’t last long…

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO

(Masakazu Imanari during his win over Mike Brown at DEEP 22 in December 2005. Photo courtesy of stephenfactory.)

DREAM's next multi-event grand prix kicks off at DREAM 7 (March 8th; Saitama, Japan), featuring featherweights; the exact weight limit will be either 63 or 63.5 kilograms, which is closer to 140 pounds than the 145-pound Western definition of the weight class. According to Nightmare of Battle, eleven fighters have been officially announced so far. Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto's participation is still a question mark, though he'd probably get seeded to the second round if he signs on. Here's what the field is looking like currently:

Masakazu Imanari: #5-ranked featherweight. Is the reigning Cage Rage World Featherweight champion, and DEEP Bantamweight champion.

Hiroyuki Takaya: Shooto/K-1 vet who most recently fought for the WEC, where he has lost consecutive fights to Leonard Garcia and Cub Swanson.

Takafumi Otsuka: DEEP/Fury FC vet

Hideo Tokoro: Has had nearly 40 career fights, with three appearances at DREAM events. Most recently lost to Daisuke Nakamura at Dynamite!! 2008 on New Year's Eve. Holds wins over Alexandre Franca Nogueira and Royler Gracie; once fought Royce Gracie to a draw.

("Wii Fit not as easy as looks.")

DREAM.5 is only three days away — not the most convenient time for the lineup to fall apart. First, the bad news: Featherweight star Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto (pictured above) has injured his right knee in training and won’t fight at Monday's show; the injury might put him on ice for six months. Even worse, a feature in the forthcoming issue of the Japanese tabloid Shukan Gendai alleges that Yamamoto is a regular user of marijuana. (Apparently, that's looked down on over there; we Americans revere marijuana for its glaucoma-easing and gogoplata-inspiring properties.) Yamamoto last fought at K-1 Premium 2007 Dynamite!! (12/31/07), where he smoked Rani Yahya via TKO.

Featherweight Hideo Tokoro is also in danger of dropping from the card, as he was rear-ended while driving on Wednesday, and suffered a back injury could take a week to heal completely. Strangely enough, FightOpinion reports that Tokoro's scheduled bout against Takeshi Yamazaki was being promoted as an "ikemen" (hot guy) match. And if that's what it takes to sell fights in Japan, I think I'm going to arrange a superfight between Hard Gay and Bruno.