Watch: When late UFC fighter Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto landed a 4-second flying knee KO 13 years before Jorge Masvidal stunned Ben Askren
As Jorge Masvidal gets ready to fight at UFC 272, a video of former UFC fighter Norifumi Yamamoto has surfaced on social media. The clip courtesy Twitter user @RoeJogan1 shows Yamamoto knocking out his opponent Kazuyuki Miyata with a flying knee within four seconds. The fight took place at K1-Hero's 5 in 2006.
Watch Norifumi Yamamoto's flying knee KO below:
Since the UFC is showing tons of love to the Masvidal Knee i think it’s a good time to remind everyone that Kid Yamamoto did it first and did it better https://t.co/Gq1H7FUVBU
Yamamoto joined the UFC in 2011. However, he failed to win a fight in the organization. The Japanese fighter was diagnosed with stomach cancer in August 2018 and passed away a month later.
Meanwhile, Masvidal reached the pinnacle of his popularity when he knocked out Ben Askren in five seconds with a flying knee at UFC 239. It was the fastest knockout in UFC history.
Watch Masvidal's flying knee KO of Ben Askren below:
Askren was an undefeated fighter at that point in time. He had also held world titles in global organizations like Bellator MMA and ONE Championship. However, Jorge Masvidal executed the perfect move to hand 'Funky' his first-ever loss.
Jorge Masvidal returns to fight Colby Covington this weekend
Covington vs. Masvidal is set to headline the UFC 272 pay-per-view this weekend. The fighters are two of the most well-known athletes in the promotion's 170 lb weight class.
There is also a personal storyline involved in this contest. Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal were very good friends and training partners and spent years together at the American Top Team (ATT) gym.
Watch the story of Masvidal and Covington's rivalry below:
However, their bond started to weaken when 'Chaos' introduced his trash-talking persona. Despite having a good record in the organization, Covington's fighting style was labeled as unattractive by the UFC. So, he started to play the role of a pantomime villain to save his career.
It worked wonders for him. He started to headline UFC cards and even fought for titles. However, his own teammates at ATT soon became the subject of his jibes. That didn't sit well with many, including Masvidal. The situation got out of control when Covington allegedly didn't pay his coach, Paulino Hernandez, who was also Masvidal's coach.
'Gamebred' and 'Chaos' haven't been friends since, according to the Miami native. The were reportedly kicked out of the gym for disrupting team harmony. Masvidal was later allowed back into ATT, while Covington started training at the MMA Masters gym.
Their friendship now seemingly over, Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington finally have the chance to settle the beef this weekend at UFC 272.