‘Kid’ Yamamoto to Make Octagon Return at UFC Fight Night Ottawa on June 18

Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto will seek his first Octagon triumph when he faces Chris Beal at UFC Fight Night Ottawa on June 18.

Promotion officials announced the bantamweight bout on Friday. UFC Fight Night takes place at TD Place Arena in Ottawa and is headlined by a welterweight clash between Rory MacDonald and Stephen Thompson. The evening’s main card airs on Fox Sports 1.

The K-1 Hero’s 2005 middleweight grand prix tournament champion, Yamamoto began his UFC tenure with consecutive losses to Demetrious Johnson, Darren Uyenoyama and Vaughan Lee. Most recently, the Krazy Bee representative’s bout with Roman Salazar at UFC 184 was declared a no contest after Salazar couldn’t continue due to an accidental eye poke. Yamamoto is 18-6 as a pro, including 13 wins via KO or TKO.

Beal went 0-2 in 2015, dropping a split decision to Chris Kelades at UFC Fight Night “Holloway vs. Oliveira” in August and unanimous verdict to Neil Seery at UFC on Fox 14 in January. The 30-year-old Californian began his professional career with 10 straight triumphs, including victories over Tateki Matsuda and Patrick Williams in the Octagon.