Legends will collide at UFC 165 when “The Pride of El Salvador” takes on “Kid” Yamamoto!
The bantamweight bout was confirmed late last night by Nancy Audet of TVA Sports in a pair of tweets.
Le combattant Ivan Menjivar va affronter Norifumi Yamamoto lors du UFC 165 a Toronto a appris @TVASports #ufc
— Nancy Audet (@naaudet) June 20, 2013
Ivan Menjivar is gonna fight Norifumi Yamamoto september 21 at Toronto. #ufc165
— Nancy Audet (@naaudet) June 20, 2013
Ivan Menjivar vs. Norifumi Yamamoto set for UFC 165
“The Pride of El Salvador” Ivan Menjivar (25-10) is a legend in Canada, and still a growing star to the rest of the world. Beginning his career at welterweight in Quebec, Menjivar fought all over the world, slowly dropping down in weight as new classes opened up before ultimately finding his home at bantamweight. Since joining the UFC as part of the merger with the WEC, the Tristar gym co-founder has gone 4-2, losing only to once-hot prospect Mike Easton and fellow lighter-weight legend Urijah Faber. He is looking to rebound from his most recent fight, the loss to Faber. Will he be able to do it at the expense of the Yamamoto?
Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto (18-6) is a legend in his home country of Japan in the same way as Menjivar is in Canada. Unfortunately, unlike “The Pride of El Salvador,” Yamamoto has been on something of a skid since 2009, winning only once in 6 fights. His last win was at Dream 14 over Federico Lopez, which convinced the UFC to give in to fan demand and sign him. Since making the jump to the Ultimate Fighting Championships, “Kid” has gone 0-3, with his most recent loss being to Vaughn Lee at UFC 144. Will the main man of Team Krazy Bee be able to resurrect his career with a win over Menjivar?
UFC 165 goes down on September 21st at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, ON. The card is currently scheduled to be headlined by a light heavyweight championship fight, bringing the champion Jon Jones into the cage against the first challenger from his own generation, Alexander Gustafsson. Stay tuned to MMASucka for more on this and other upcoming events!
