Fight Entertainment Group, the parent company of K-1 and HERO'S, has officially added another star to its Dec. 31 K-1 Premium 2007 Dynamite!! card at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka.
Japanese superstar
Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto (Pictures) will square off with grappling-turned-MMA stalwart
Rani Yahya (Pictures), FEG announced Thursday at a news conference in Tokyo.
FEG President Sadaharu Tanigawa thanked World Extreme Cagefighting executive
Scott Adams for allowing the promotion to book Yahya, who is still under contract with the Zuffa-owned WEC.
Following an unsuccessful bid to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in freestyle wrestling, Yamamoto returned to MMA action in September. Fighting at a 139-pound catchweight against BJJ world champion
Bibiano Fernandes (Pictures), Yamamoto took a tougher-than-expected unanimous decision after three rounds.
The 23-year-old Yahya also saw action in September, when he cut to 135 pounds to face WEC champion
Chase Beebe (Pictures). Although the ADCC 2007 champion was a pre-fight favorite and was dominant through the first round, Yahya faded and dropped a unanimous decision in a 25-minute ground battle.
FEG did not announce a contract weight for the bout, but it is anticipated that the fight will be contested at 143 pounds.