Two potent 135-pound punchers will do battle on Sept. 24, as the UFC announced Monday that Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto (Pictured; file photo) and Damacio Page have agreed to meet at UFC 135.
“These are two of the most aggressive sluggers in the always-exciting bantamweight division,” UFC President Dana White stated in a posting on UFC.com.
The matchup will mark the sophomore UFC outings of both Yamamoto, 34, and Page, 28. Both men faltered in their Octagon debuts, with the Japanese star dropping a unanimous decision to Demetrious Johnson in February, and Page being guillotine-choked for the second time by Brian Bowles in March.
Onetime K-1 Hero’s star Yamamoto has lost three of his last four on the judges’ scorecards, also falling by decision to current Bellator featherweight champ Joe Warren and former Sengoku ace Masanori Kanehara in Japan. The Krazy Bee gym leader’s only win since returning from knee surgery in 2009 came in a first-round knockout of Federico Lopez in May 2010.
Page has been guillotined in back-to-back bouts, falling also to “Mighty Mouse” Johnson in his final WEC appearance last November. The “Angel of Death” had previously won two straight, submitting Will Campuzano and viciously KO’ing Marcos Galvao in 2009.
While not yet formally announced by the promotion, the event is expected to take place at Denver’s Pepsi Center, and could be headlined by a light heavyweight title bout between champion Jon Jones and Quinton Jackson. A welterweight clash pitting Matt Hughes against Diego Sanchez has also been confirmed for the card.
Source: ‘Kid’-Page Agreed Upon for UFC 135 in Denver